Coralline Algae and Skimmer Performance

[-Logzor]

I have a ton of coralline growing on the inside of my skimmer. It's probably quite thick with crap in there by now. Does this negatively affect performance?

 

[CJO]

Bump for an answer as I have some on mine as well. My guess is that the bubbles don't travel up as easily so you get less skimmate, however, the effect is probably minimal. I have wondered if we could roughen up the walls, put a light on it and have a skimmer that doubles as an algae filter.

CJ

 

[-Logzor]

Bump for an answer as I have some on mine as well. My guess is that the bubbles don't travel up as easily so you get less skimmate, however, the effect is probably minimal. I have wondered if we could roughen up the walls, put a light on it and have a skimmer that doubles as an algae filter.

CJ

Yeah the problem is you couldn't easily keep the coraline off with that type of application. It would be a really cool idea though. I'm picturing trays that slide in from the top and make a water-tight seal. There could be some mechanism inside the scrap the algae off and let it flow into the skimmer cup. I'm thinking something similar only you slide in some type of media that allows sponges to easily attach.

I've got about 3-4 variety of sponges in my reef, some of which have taken root in the sump. Would be really need to have a natural sponge filter / skimmer in one. They seem to tolerate a very small amount of light and don't need complete darkness.

 

[mcarroll]

I have a ton of coralline growing on the inside of my skimmer. It's probably quite thick with crap in there by now. Does this negatively affect performance?

Yes. Running the skimmer in vinegar for a while followed by light scrubbing should be the easiest way to clean things up.

Get it out of (or block) the light if you can too.