Skimmerz for Dummiez

[KnightlyBuzz]

After about a year in the hobby I’m breaking down and buying a skimmer, but I’ve got a few questions.

1) How many hours should I run it per day? Or do I only run it if a certain parameter is high? (I assume nitrates.)

2) Are nitrates the main paramater most use to determine if they need to run the skimmer more or less?

3) What is wet vs dry skimming, and which is better?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jekyl]

I run mine 24/7. They remove waste in the water and provide aeration and ph. Wet vs dry is just how you calibrate it. Both accomplish the same thing.

 

[Pistondog]

As jekyll said, run it continuously.
Wet is lighter yellow collection, higher volume
Dry is darker brown concentrated
I drain/plumb my collection cup into a 1 gallon jug via tube.

 

[AdamB]

24/7
Usually dry skim

 

[czoolander]

Same run mine 24/7 and dry . I will add that setting your skimmer to the proper height is very important and often overlooked mostly by myself I was running my skimmer for a year on the bottom of my sump glass and my skimmer was constantly overflowing like a volcano even on the lowest setting. I was told to raise my skimmer off the bottom and I ended up raising it up about 3" onto a makeshift stand which was my biobrick it did not sit completely level. So I bought a proper skimmer stand acrylic and now it sits 3" up and level. It runs like a dream now with no overflow.

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

Thanks, I didn’t know the height mattered.

Is there a certain parameter you’re watching to make sure it’s doing a good job? Or do you just know it’s working well by how much crud it’s removing from the water?

 

[czoolander]

Thanks, I didn’t know the height mattered.

Is there a certain parameter you’re watching to make sure it’s doing a good job? Or do you just know it’s working well by how much crud it’s removing from the water?

You will need to find the height in your tank that works best for you. For me I know that the bubbles are bursting about 1-2 inches from the top of the cup and pushing the "skim" just over the top. you will start to build up some nasty fish waste and other unknown gross debris over the next few days -weeks. But yeah I would set your height and speed then watch the level of the bubbles and adjust accordingly until it is set at the final level you desire that works best for your skimmer

 

[KnightlyBuzz]

Will do, thanks again.