Skimmer question

Tbird165 · Mar 18, 2021

How long after using this should I wait to turn skimmer back on?

Pistondog · Mar 18, 2021

I wait 4 hours.

Garf · Mar 18, 2021

Why are you putting it in?

Tbird165 · Mar 18, 2021

Garf said:
Why are you putting it in?

It’s for the coral

vetteguy53081 · Mar 18, 2021

Another important thing to remember is that your protein skimmer if left on while you dose phytoplankton for your corals, will skim the phytoplankton out of your aquarium. So it is best to turn off your skimmer before you dose phytoplankton into your marine aquarium. Just remember to turn your skimmer back on when you are finished, or you’ll have bigger problems than you had bargained for. Two hours is sufficient.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 18, 2021

Garf said:
Why are you putting it in?

Phytoplankton (also called microalgae) are small photosynthetic organisms (similar to single-celled plants) that make up the bottom of the food chain. Many marine filter-feeding invertebrates one link up in the food chain depend on phytoplankton as a primary or secondary food source.

Garf · Mar 18, 2021

Tbird165 said:
It’s for the coral

I don’t think corals eat Phyto. Yes, copepods eat Phyto IF they are free swimming but how many of these have we got? The main input may be the nutrients in the Phyto when they degrade. Adding Phyto isn’t necessary in my experience if you feed other foods.

Tbird165 · Mar 18, 2021

Garf said:
I don’t think corals eat Phyto. Yes, copepods eat Phyto IF they are free swimming but how many of these have we got? The main input may be the nutrients in the Phyto when they degrade. Adding Phyto isn’t necessary in my experience if you feed other foods.

Phytoplankton - (1) 16oz - Great for feeding filter feeders and micro mouth animals like SPS.

Tbird165 · Mar 18, 2021

vetteguy53081 said:
Another important thing to remember is that your protein skimmer if left on while you dose phytoplankton for your corals, will skim the phytoplankton out of your aquarium. So it is best to turn off your skimmer before you dose phytoplankton into your marine aquarium. Just remember to turn your skimmer back on when you are finished, or you’ll have bigger problems than you had bargained for. Two hours is sufficient.

Thanks for the info