Turning OFF my skimmer

[basile]

My tank is a high nutrience 150 G reef tank , principaly because its a softy tank, but also because its a system connected to a display refugium 75g . I also have a NPS zone in there( high dosing of supplements) Gorgonians, suncorals,clams and sponges all ove the tank. Since most of my tank requires pytoplancton and brine shrimp in fair amount, i dose broadly.


I realise that what ever i dose gets skimmed OFF by my skimmer. Its rates for 300 Gal (Reef Octopus SUPER SRO 3000INT In-Sump Protein Skimmer.) and my system is a total 210 G system .


But if i leave it on i waste my dosing formulas and supplements. So i unplug the colection cup so the water just flow right through. Although it doesn't collect anything at least it gets areated .


Anyone else do or have to do this. If so how long do you do it.

The refugium feeding the reef by gravity

I write big for my iphone friends.


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[Reefing Madness]

Ya, theres a bunch of people that turn their skimmers off for this kind of stuff, no harm done there.

 

[jokervueboi]

what's a skimmer?

 

[pickupman66]

I would just hit the skimmer into a feed mode. kill the pump for 15 mins...

 

[basile]

I would just hit the skimmer into a feed mode. kill the pump for 15 mins...

oh it takes more than 15 min, in my case . this morning , 24h after dosing the skimmer is at its lowest settings and still skimming, where usually nothing skims, and its skimming.

 

[pickupman66]

Yikes.. yo umay just have to settle with good and bad. kill it for a day then.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

Imagine if the pump from the main tank to the refugium ever fails?

 

[basile]

Imagine if the pump from the main tank to the refugium ever fails?

Both the main reef and the refugium are connected to the sump and both have their own seperate DC pumps. Both have a coast to coast external overfow for skimming, herbie system one return each, and the refugium is connected to the main reef by a bulkhead 1 inch below the water line on the side panel, to feed by gravity the good stuff and not the gunk that goes in the overflow skimming . The 1/2" connecting flex has a gatevalve to regulate the flow between the fuge and the main reef. Herbie are controlled by gatevalve and its pretty quiet. I have sorbothane under all my pumps and fitting which absorb 98% of vibrations.

 

[Vpham]

What u doing now is using skimmer to add oxygen into urs system, to maintain that supports a life of beneficial bacterias and reef animals...
Couldn't u just use a powerful air pump (with an output adjustable as possible) and a couple air stones to that. Put a skimmer aside for later use....
In theory, it's my opinion. ....

 

[ReefMadScientist]

Both the main reef and the refugium are connected to the sump and both have their own seperate DC pumps. Both have a coast to coast external overfow for skimming, herbie system one return each, and the refugium is connected to the main reef by a bulkhead 1 inch below the water line on the side panel, to feed by gravity the good stuff and not the gunk that goes in the overflow skimming . The 1/2" connecting flex has a gatevalve to regulate the flow between the fuge and the main reef. Herbie are controlled by gatevalve and its pretty quiet. I have sorbothane under all my pumps and fitting which absorb 98% of vibrations.

Very nice!

 

[zesty]

There you are! You used to post over on 3reef as well. I wondered what happened to this tank!

Looking good!!

As in turning the the skimmer off, I will feed a frozen blend with aminos in there and my skimmer will go crazy. So, I tend to feed at night, turn the skimmer off and then back on in the morning. So... not sure that this is exactly what you're looking for, but I've been doing that for a while now and it's been good so far...

 

[gtbarsi]

I definitely agree with shutting off the skimmer for a while during feeding times, heck I would even go as far as to recommend that you turn off your sump return pumps, that way you keep all of your food in the DT.

If you are going to keep it (your sump / skimmer) off for an extended period of time (more than 15 min) then you will need to insure your DT power heads are up and running strongly shortly (10-15) min after the feeding to insure proper gas exchange at the DT surface, and prevent too much food from settling to the bottom. After that bring the skimmer on, and then the return pump. I would expect that your skimmer should be able to catch up withing 3-5 hours, any longer than that and you may want to look at your skimmer settings.

My skimmer is able to process 3x my DT volume / hr. I do not normally dose anything like you are but the couple times I did try a sample of the Red Sea Reef Energy the skimmer was back to normal somewhere between 2-3 hours after I started it back up.

 

[basile]

Very nice!

Thanks Its a custom made system by Concept Aquarium from Calgary , Alberta Canada. I had a clear vision of what i wanted , i even had an external glass waveboxe made for the main reef tank, no loss space in there.

There you are! You used to post over on 3reef as well. I wondered what happened to this tank!

Looking good!!

As in turning the the skimmer off, I will feed a frozen blend with aminos in there and my skimmer will go crazy. So, I tend to feed at night, turn the skimmer off and then back on in the morning. So... not sure that this is exactly what you're looking for, but I've been doing that for a while now and it's been good so far...

Thanks for the kind words. Yes i started with that but i'm still skimming too much. My skimmer is set to the lowest setting as i said earlier and its still skim . I have lots of different supplements, i tried splitting them over different days, or a longer period. i find either my phytoplancton or my iron supplement in the cup lol. Shutting it down for a 24 h is a reasonable period i think.

I definitely agree with shutting off the skimmer for a while during feeding times, heck I would even go as far as to recommend that you turn off your sump return pumps, that way you keep all of your food in the DT.

If you are going to keep it (your sump / skimmer) off for an extended period of time (more than 15 min) then you will need to insure your DT power heads are up and running strongly shortly (10-15) min after the feeding to insure proper gas exchange at the DT surface, and prevent too much food from settling to the bottom. After that bring the skimmer on, and then the return pump. I would expect that your skimmer should be able to catch up withing 3-5 hours, any longer than that and you may want to look at your skimmer settings.

My skimmer is able to process 3x my DT volume / hr. I do not normally dose anything like you are but the couple times I did try a sample of the Red Sea Reef Energy the skimmer was back to normal somewhere between 2-3 hours after I started it back up.

When i feed , i dose, because, when i feed, i stop my return to the main tank while the refugium is still going since they have independant pumps and the skimmer since i'm also dosing in the refugium. The seahorses have their feeding boxe, no need to stop the pumps there. So all pumps and powerheads are stopped in the main tank, for about 10 min.

Then i start the powerheads for and hour to circulate the food and supplements, without the return so everything stays in the Display tank for the hour. plenty of time for the fishes and some of the supplement to feed the filter feeders. Then i start the return , now i guess i'll stop the skimmer for at least 24-30 hours so not to collect too much . Thats my estimate for now. Now when i say stop, i mean to let the skimmate escape from the cup, i'm letting the skimmer areate the water with oxygen at any rate.

 

[basile]

To each is own

I have a few Tube vids with good example but i prefer myself to have a skimmer.


However it seem possible for some to be able to do it without a skimmer. I guess its all about the set up, and the bioload.


[video=youtube;_PKjd-TA1kM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PKjd-TA1kM&index=5&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFeUYFtXWkts76_Mmc6s0Sqo[/video]

[video=youtube;qMIlWxX4q1c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMIlWxX4q1c&index=6&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFeUYFtXWkts76_Mmc6s0Sqo[/video]

[video=youtube;W1HUkupmm-s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1HUkupmm-s&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFeUYFtXWkts76_Mmc6s0Sqo&index=7[/video]

[video=youtube;1q0EEboALH4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q0EEboALH4&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFeUYFtXWkts76_Mmc6s0Sqo&index=8[/video]

[video=youtube;_Uf5IyXvajg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uf5IyXvajg&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFeUYFtXWkts76_Mmc6s0Sqo&index=1[/video]

[video=youtube;-eCQSVdqBQA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eCQSVdqBQA&index=2&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFeUYFtXWkts76_Mmc6s0Sqo[/video]

[video=youtube;Vs_etaHSOfQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs_etaHSOfQ&index=3&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFeUYFtXWkts76_Mmc6s0Sqo[/video]




I'm not saying its the way to go , of course no its just to illustrate that turning my skimmer off wont have dire consequences like some could predict. I prefer myself to have the technology at my disosal and respect everyone choices in the matter.


But marvel at the same time at those who are able to acheive such tank without it; pretty amazin no? In any case finding the right balance is all i can hope for , for my system and i hope you can too. Mine is to have my refugium replace my GFO reactor and the skimmer not pulling out my supplements in put in for my corals and animals in my tank.


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[basile]

Ok , i've been doing a 12 hour shutdowns from 16:00 to 04:00 in the morning. A period of time i judge the tank to be less active and giving me time also to feed without the skimmer scooping up all the goodies out.




Some observations:




At first glance nothing as really change in neither direction I founf new spnoge growth on the backside of a tonga branch , but thats certanly older than 3 weeks. I also lost a sponge who has disintegrated for no aparent reason. In the dark , while the other are doing fine. I've lost 2 sponge out of my 15. My conclusion is , location, waterflow more precisely. I noticed in this one spot its was a vortex location. So no real flow for water exchange and good oxygenation. The firs on was algae build up.


A serpent star exist that lives and clean sponges, i'd like to get my hand on one, lol. Now i only have a tiger coweri that occasional munch on my sponge. No biggy. When that happen its a sign that i forgot to leave him some seaweeds at night. You have to take care of your critters, it also calm down your urchins that way. I'd be moving the fridg too if i was starving lol. So they move the rocks to see what under it.


Anyway not much about the water after the 12 hour break the skimmer starts take what in out of the tank and thats it. I do a dry skim . This week i did 2 water change my nitrates where a little high but thats maybe coincidence its to early to tell. For that dead sponge i'm researching if high nitrates can kill sponges , if anyone have articles on that , it would be helpfull for the research.


I did also some cleaning in the tank , one macro is an invasive one Caulerpa Mexicana. Its sold , but only say medium growth. I think not. Its a totally dominant species stay away from that. Once established on rocks its very hard to get out. I've use a technique they've use on grand scale removal. Seems to work, but their's always little pieces that may take roots as it propagates by FRAGMENTATION the worst kind of spreading.


Anyway that was one reason for my second WC actually lol. The die OFF of that algae did release some nitrates. I made a detailed post on that removal with pictures.



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[basile]

Thanks, discovering new inhabitant all the time, new critter, specially in my sand, since i dont touch my sand at all it has become very much alive and allsorts of things live in it. And seeing it come out at some point is very cool.

Of course some are all over their substrates every week syphoning and taking out everything and nothing has a chance to become stable and thats what they're missing. So thats their choice. For me i chose the other way, and my nitrates are at 10ppm and phosphate at 0.3 and stable , no problem, the refugium works very well and i've stopped my GFO in june, so almost 6 months and now i stop my skimmer for 12 h a day for my sponge and other filter feeders and their seem to be an improvement, i'm in my second month of that.

I write big for my iphone friends.​

 

[basile]

I feed twice and i dose 3 times.

I feed for the fist time around 10;00 and dose the first time ; i stop my return i don't need my food to go in my filter sock or be picked up by the skimmer. I restart in about 45 min the return pump.

The skimmer is ON from 04;00 to 16;00

I feed at 18;00 and dose the second time; skimmer closed, return stopped no need to feed my socks again.

I dose the last around 21;00 for the night crawlers , NPS, crinoides and such. all pump running this time the refugium getting some as well.

My parameter are ok, nitrates are good at 10ppm i can go 25, the macro loves that i have to fertilise sometimes, i almost lost the macro tank 4 months ago. Not enough food for them.

Same with the phosphates. 0.3 to 0.7 is fine, no ill effect on corals or inverts or the rest of the tank. I stoppe my GFO 4 month ago , 2 month completely.

My tank has some wonderfull microbidiversity in the sand principally. It moves at night. I don't touche it other than moving thing around sometimes, lol. For that i get a huge amount of little clams, and these

A Cirratulid worm, the tank is full of them. Detritus eaters they also provide food for some fish and other inverts. I'm glad to have a picture of this guy, i guess their was no more room lol .

In fact the sand is so alive with bacteria and critters that i almost lost a gorgonian to it, because i let it lay on its back too long and they ate its skin off to the core. Thats how efficient the substrate has become. So i can imagine that any poo or debris in there don't last very long lol. I red in a few article to leave some decay to feed the bacterian population or they'll diminish and their action will be reduced, it was interesting to read.

Decay bacteria are according to the magazine are not the same as are tank one we go for ordinairely, they're part of another group. I'm no expert and the article was too advance for me lol but it was talking about big system like seaworlds and other aquariums where they had all these mysterious deaths at one point, and the article was very interesting.


I write big for my iphone friends.​

 

[basile]

Its been 3 months now


Ok well i've been switching my skimmer OFF for periods of time between 4 to 12 hours , for the last 3 months now. I'm at 12 hours regularly now and my observations are as follows;


-My sponges seem to have regain better colors and a smoother surface.
-The damaged sponges have repared themselves.
-increase in filter sock changing, by 3
-Increase in Skimming in morning and day time. 04;00 to 16;00
-Increase in growth in all corals except zooz.
-Increase of hair algaes
-Nitrates 5ppm phosphate 0.5ppm (normal and desirable with and for my system)
-Skim cup emptied every day now not every 2 days.
-Water very clean and clear, no smell
-No particules or film on the surface
-Temp 74-75oF
-Gravity 1.026
-Cal 450ppm
-Mg 1500
-Alk 8.0
-Feeding twice a day
-Supplements Mix; 0009 ( Ultramin F;Ultra Clam,UltraOrganic,Ultra seafan, Ultra Reef Vitality, Reef-Roids, Ultramin S,Spirulina Powder, Iodine, Iron) in a 500ml bottle ; Dosed 3ml every hour 24/7


My new video almost a year in


[video=youtube;KW6FVujdAZw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW6FVujdAZw&list=UULnnCETzkTfNQ1xK2Ji7U9g[/video]

 

[basile]

Comming out of Hybernation lol

Over skimming and stopping your skimmer a report on one year experiment: Last year i deciced to reduce my skimming due to the fact that my system and my tank style demanded extra nutrients.


Fed by gravity with a 75G refugium full of 37 different macro's.


The reef has a NPS zone demanding extra feeding and extra nutrients.
12 species of gorgonians with special feeding needs.
It has 13 diffrent species of sponges which requires bacteria and other
nutrients to survive, i have enough sponge matter for it to filter my whole system in 24 hours.


I also have 2 Crinoides, one is a baskets star the other a feather star. Both requires particules
in the water column to survive.


Today after 8 months of skimming only 12 hours a day and looking at my sponges growth and having found the ultimate prize
my crinoides growth, i can say with certitude that shutting down your skimmer half the time is not bad for a system it may help
in its growth. Depending of course on your bioload and what kind of system you have and its demands. No system is alike nor are its
needs. You have to know what your system needs. I knew mine. I also knew how much my sponges filter my water and by how much.




[video=youtube;0J6xJW9pTs8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J6xJW9pTs8&index=18&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFfzK1jNhN7rAilGwHaEzvH5[/video]






If you look at the video of the feather star and the last of my picture you'll see that the end of her legs have regrown. When sea stars starve the eat their own legs ; its a survival reflex. And in the picture you can clearly see that she's got a nice regrowth. Proof that she's doing ok. They're not easy to keep alive i feel very lucky and hopefully stopping my skimming has helped her get extra food. Any way just wanted to share the result of a year long skimming reduction and its impact on a tank.

Sorry about the resolution its in the back of the tank and i had to over expose since it feeds at night. But she has more legs they can have up to 200 legs when they become large.

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[Reefing Madness]