Protein Skimmers, should they be a fulltime thing?

clsbgirl · Apr 18, 2016

Ok so my skimmer gave up about 3 weeks ago, I had it running everyday. I haven't noticed any major change as far as water quality yet, but I do keep a regular water change schedule. I am getting another skimmer though, (better safe than sorry right), question is, should I run it all day everyday? or give it a break every so often?

AZDesertRat · Apr 18, 2016

24/7. If the skimmer is not running the water in the column is becoming septic or oxygen starved. Each time you start it back up you dump this back into your tank. Not so bad if you have a huge system and a small skimmer volume but still not ideal. The skimmer also helps with dissolved oxygen levels in the tank when running.

sc50964 · Apr 18, 2016

You should run it all the time. Even if your bioload is light, it still does one thing very well and that's to oxygenate your tank, assuming you have appropriately sized the skimmer.

Zero Nitrates · Apr 18, 2016

6 hours a day works for me.

NanaReefer · Apr 18, 2016

24/7 for the exact reasons AZDesertRat stated. Can't see any benefits running one any other way.

Psiber_Syn · Apr 18, 2016

What about when you dose phyto or zoo or fuel or reef chili still run it during them?

CodyRVA · Apr 18, 2016

Psiber_Syn said:
What about when you dose phyto or zoo or fuel or reef chili still run it during them?

If you have a sump, just kill the return pump; otherwise yea, maybe. I run mine 24/7, it's one of my most expensive pieces of equipment, why would I not utilize it to its fullest extent?

Psiber_Syn · Apr 18, 2016

Good point thanx for the info

AZDesertRat · Apr 18, 2016

Inexpensive or expensive, doesn't matter, it's still on of the most beneficial pieces of equipment you have.

CoralNerd · Apr 20, 2016

I'm running it at night for seven hours only. Adds oxygen when it's needed most. Since I changed it from 24/7 to 7 hours at night, coral growth has taken off.

NanaReefer · Apr 20, 2016

CoralNerd said:
I'm running it at night for seven hours only. Adds oxygen when it's needed most. Since I changed it from 24/7 to 7 hours at night, coral growth has taken off.

More likely you were not feeding enough. Feed more and let the skimmer run.

ksc · Apr 20, 2016

Try turning your skimmer off......forever. More and more people are realizing that the antiquated skimmer is the most overrated piece of equipment used on a reef tank.

CodyRVA · Apr 20, 2016

ksc said:
Try turning your skimmer off......forever. More and more people are realizing that the antiquated skimmer is the most overrated piece of equipment used on a reef tank.

So, in your opinion, what's the most valuable?

Jeff.:P:. · Apr 20, 2016

Metal Halides of course!

CodyRVA said:
So, in your opinion, what's the most valuable?

CoralNerd · Apr 20, 2016

NanaReefer said:
More likely you were not feeding enough. Feed more and let the skimmer run.

I work from home and feed the tank 3+ times a day. Running the skimmer 24/7 in my case made the tank too sterile. Running the skimmer at night only has been the best thing I've done for the tank.

clsbgirl · Apr 20, 2016

CoralNerd said:
I work from home and feed the tank 3+ times a day. Running the skimmer 24/7 in my case made the tank too sterile. Running the skimmer at night only has been the best thing I've done for the tank.

That's what I was thinking, can your tank be too clean? I have mostly softies and LPS, and I've always heard that they tend to like to live life on the dirtier side, lol. My wavemaker is positioned to agitate the water surface, so I'm thinking thats good for my O2. Don't get me wrong I'm still getting the skimmer, I had my water go wonky once last year that lead to deaths

so I'm always into preventative measures.

clsbgirl · Apr 20, 2016

CoralNerd said:
I work from home and feed the tank 3+ times a day. Running the skimmer 24/7 in my case made the tank too sterile. Running the skimmer at night only has been the best thing I've done for the tank.

That's what I was thinking, can your tank be too clean? I have mostly softies and LPS, and I've always heard that they tend to like to live life on the dirtier side, lol. My wavemaker is positioned to agitate the water surface, so I'm thinking thats good for my O2. Don't get me wrong I'm still getting the skimmer, I had my water go wonky once last year that lead to deaths

so I'm always into preventative measures.

NanaReefer · Apr 20, 2016

CoralNerd said:
I work from home and feed the tank 3+ times a day. Running the skimmer 24/7 in my case made the tank too sterile. Running the skimmer at night only has been the best thing I've done for the tank.

What size skimmer?

CoralNerd · Apr 20, 2016

JNS SK-2 Protein Skimmer which is also a Aquamax skimmer, great skimmer.
I only dry skim, the wet stuff removes too much good stuff.
Tank about 100g.
I'm also maxed out on fish.
SPS dominated, healthy healthy.

NanaReefer · Apr 20, 2016

Could be people took the "bigger is better" to the extreme. Instead of running the recommended skimmer for their tank size. So now they're forced to shutting it down, stating it's stripping the water of nutrients.

This has not been my experience at all. I run the Icecap K2-120 rated for tanks 75-120g, plus a sock and a fuge full of chaeto. My tank is a 40B/20L sump. 5 fish and lots of corals. I feed Reef Frenzy 2x daily and Reef Roids 1x weekly.
I've got awesome growth. Most corals are 1-7yrs old. My skimmer runs 24-7.
So why am I having a different experience?