Question about skimming.

[wdozier]

I have a question about skimming. I have heard different views on skimming. The one that most intrigues me is that we over skim our tanks.

Question is, how do each of you skim your tanks? I skim mine 24/7. If you only skim 12 hours a day, do you skim at night or day.

Any thoughts you may have on skimming is also appreciated.

Wayne

 

[jandree22]

unless it's a massive skimmer, you're not gonna over skim your tank. just keep up with water changes and any dosing requirements applicable to your tank and you really can't do it IMO.

I keep mine on 24/7

 

[Unarce]

Please see Myth 17:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-01/eb/index.htm

This is how I've been able to discontinue skimmer use completely.

 

[DaisyPolyp]

wow, that's a great article... I've always heard microbubbles are a problem but I kinda like the look of them in the water (crashing surf).

 

[Unarce]

wow, that's a great article... I've always heard microbubbles are a problem but I kinda like the look of them in the water (crashing surf).

Yeah, I really enjoy his views. There's also another article of his that reports how corals can feed off of the fecal matter of fish (particularly, the undigested remnants of plankton). I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Anonymous]

From http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-01/eb/index.htm

I still feel there is too little information on exactly what, how much, and how effectively foam fractionation affects various components of the water column of reef aquaria.

Thats the 3rd sentence in Myth #17. From there you can pretty much throw out the rest of Myth #17 as the author is stating that there isn't enough information. In addition, nowhere in Myth #17 is the author providing any supporting evidence for the belief that you can overskim.

Note: This does not mean I don't hold the author in very high regards for his contributions to the community.. - Just an observation that not enough information is available yet to make it a valid scientific statement..

FWIW, I put my skimmer on a timer to cut back the amount of skimming when the xenia start to appear "hungry"... - If I didn't have xenia I'm not sure what I would use as a gauge, don't have enough experience with other organisms that could be used as "indicators" I guess.

Norm

 

[DaisyPolyp]

Thats the 3rd sentence in Myth #17. From there you can pretty much throw out the rest of Myth #17 as the author is stating that there isn't enough information. In addition, nowhere in Myth #17 is the author providing any supporting evidence for the belief that you can overskim.

Actually, I think his point is that because there is not enough information regarding foam fractioning, you should use it as little as possible. He even gives good advice on the methodology that should be used to determine what is "as little as possible".

 

[Unarce]

Unfortunately, there's no research that I've seen that describes exactly what skimmers are pulling out. Something that skimmer manufacturers are perfectly fine with. It would be impossible to come up with an average content, considering all the variables that reef tanks are run. To most, it's just green gunk.

 

[Anonymous]

Actually, I think his point is that because there is not enough information regarding foam fractioning, you should use it as little as possible. He even gives good advice on the methodology that should be used to determine what is "as little as possible".

I agree.. - Thats why I threw in the little bit about using a timer and using my xenia as a gauge. I started this quite some time ago so I was happy to see his views in this article matched up to what I was already doing.

(I was just being picky that there is no supporting evidence yet that it is possible to overskim - it would be nice if there were, but there isn't...)

Something that skimmer manufacturers are perfectly fine with.

:lol: You bet!! (What? - I don't need a EuroReef for my 75? - I can still get away with a Remora?) :lol:

There is a fine line though.. - The growth of nasties in my little 30 when running a Seaclone vs. a Euroreef is like freakin night 'n day.. Not to mention the umm.. "quality"? of the skimmate.. Stuff from the Seaclone was almost sweet and tangy compared to the insta-hurl effects the aroma of the Euroreef skimmate illicits.

 

[ChrisRD]

IMO a big part of the question probably has to do with what you will be keeping in the tank, how you want to setup your system, what you want to do for maintenance, etc. IMO, some corals seem to do well in nutrient poor environments, some seem to fair better with higher nutrients.

To answer the original poster - I skim 24/7. Two things I like about using a protein skimmer... ...one I feel it gives me more margin for error (ie. fish load, feeding, laziness , etc.) and two I think it helps keep pH stable for me (blows off excess CO2 well).

That said, there are other good means of export as well - ie. doing enough water changes, using activated carbon, export via algae harvesting, etc. that seem to work for people.

BTW, here's an article by Ron Shimek showing what skimmers remove for those who might be interested...

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/rs/feature/index.htm

HTH

 

[Unarce]

Great article, Chris.

Essentially, each method is effective in the removal of organic and metal material. I've experimented with skimmers (12 years ago, so todays technology may not be comparable), algae, and xenia/clams for nutrient export. In my case, I've had the best results from my SPS corals using algae. Primarily Chaetomorpha, which pretty much grows faster than anything else I've seen (Shimek also pointed that out about Caulerpa).

I believe the primary distinction between the methods is how the organics are pulled. Skimming or xenia/clams will no doubt pull live phytoplankton and microfauna. This wouldn't be the case for algae.

This is my only reason for not using protein skimmers.

 

[ricky1414]

...when the xenia start to appear "hungry"... - If I didn't have xenia I'm not sure what I would use as a gauge, don't have enough experience with other organisms that could be used as "indicators" I guess.
Norm

What does a xenia look like when it is hungry? :?

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, thats why I used the quotes there.. - Kind of a tough one to gauge 'aint it??

Essentially I couldn't think of a better word to use that could sum up the pale/grayish, limp, slow (or non) pulsing appearance that mine seem to get when theres apparently not enough nutrients in the water to suit them..

I know its a poor choice of words, so I'm all ears as to what would be more succinct.. :wink:

 

[Unarce]

I know its a poor choice of words, so I'm all ears as to what would be more succinct.. :wink:

flaccid

 

[Anonymous]

:lol:



:lol: