Skimmer speed?

[Notsolostfish]

Does the skimmer pump speed, affect how much phosphate, and nitrate it removes? I have at setting 3 reef octopus 200 INT. My phos keeps going up 0.24 nitrate 13

 

[Coolcasino]

IME a skimmer really didn't lower my po4 or no3. And mostly maintained it at the level I got it too with other means like gfo or carbon dossing. The speed of the pump will determine how many bubbles are created in the reaction body. The level adjustment and your skimmer will do just that, adjust the level of the bubbles in the reaction body. So if you want to skim more water, yes... you increase the pump speed. But you also have to adjust the level of the skimmer. The wetter it is the more you'll take out.

 

[Notsolostfish]

IME a skimmer really didn't lower my po4 or no3. And mostly maintained it at the level I got it too with other means like gfo or carbon dossing. The speed of the pump will determine how many bubbles are created in the reaction body. The level adjustment and your skimmer will do just that, adjust the level of the bubbles in the reaction body. So if you want to skim more water, yes... you increase the pump speed. But you also have to adjust the level of the skimmer. The wetter it is the more you'll take out.

Correct it’s maintaining my po4 and no3. I guess i will keep doing water changes. Its a new tank 3 months old. So rocks leashing still

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The skimmer does not remove phosphate, nothing to do with it, need a different tool for that.

It also does not directly reduce nitrate, it proactively pulls organics out before they break down and are converted to nitrate. The existing nitrate in the water needs extraction by other methods (water change, refugium, etc...)