Emptying skimmer

[Brew12]

I'd like to know how people empty their skimmer. I started by pulling my skimmer collection cup and cleaning it and the lid every few days. Now, I just drain the collection cup and only pull it every few weeks.

Thoughts to share?

 

[Ty Hamatake]

If I had space I would incorporate some sort of collection bucket to drain the cup into, but for now I just have to remove the cup about once a week and give the neck a wipe down in the process.

 

[drawman]

I clean and wipe mine just about every week.

 

[LostInTheDark]

I clean and wipe mine just about every week.

Ditto

 

[WilRams]

For me with the convenience of having my utility sink next to the sump its easy to dump and rinse clean.

 

[Scubabeth]

I clean and wipe mine just about every week.

+1...but sometimes it ends up being more like @Brew12's every other week cleaning.

 

[Bj’s Reef]

I clean and empty my skimmer at least once a week.

 

[ahiggins]

Nano skimmer. I dump it once a week, clean it every 3 weeks same time as wc

 

[atoll]

Drain it every 2 or 3 days then after a week or so when I see crud building up inside the riser tube I remove the cup and clean it.

 

[gfox]

I dump,rinse and clean mine once a week when i fill the top off.

 

[redfishbluefish]

My choice isn't there to vote....but sounds similar to what you do. I collect my skimmate in a DIY skimmate container and clean the cup about every four to five days.

If you decide to make the DIY skimmate container, the sight tube isn't necessary. I never use it and now it's all cruded up. The reason you don't need it is after about three to four weeks it starts to stink letting you know it needs to be emptied. The security of it not overflowing is THIS DIY float switch cutoff I made for the container.

 

[JOKER]

I run an automatic shutoff on a container for my skimmer. I try and clean the skimmer every week, but as above sometimes it is more. I am really thinking of getting a swabbie thing. LOL

 

[luke33]

Clean it every week with utility toothbrush : )

 

[Fish Werx]

Dump and clean the cup every time I do a water change. Weekly unless it skims more than usual for some reason, then its as needed.... I usually will wipe out the body neck as well every couple weeks.

 

[Mjl714]

Dump and clean about every three weeks, unless more cleaning appears necessary.

 

[Sistawolf]

I clean mine twice a week. That is when I shut it down to spot feed my coral so before I start it back I clean the cup..

 

[Betty1964]

My husband drilled a 1/4" hole in the bottom of the collection cup and runs a flexible tube down to a three gallon jug. Once a week I dump the jug. If the skimmer neck is getting really thickly layered, I wash it but otherwise leave it alone.

 

[Roy 9121]

I pull, empty and clean my skimmer cup every few days.

 

[Brew12]

I really appreciate all of the input.

The reason I even brought this up is because I find my skimmer, a Curve 7, runs much better if I don't clean the neck of the cup as often. Since I stopped cleaning it the 2 times a week I emptied it I seem to get much more consistent performance.

Judging from how many clean theirs every time it looks like I still have work to do to achieve better stability within my tank.

 

[Rybren]

I dump and clean whenever the cup is about 3/4 full; so that's about every 3-4 days.