Basic do-es and don'ts to skimmer use and set up.

[FamilyTank]

Hi RC, I'm setting up a 40breeder with a 29 sump/fuge. I have a New Reef Octopus 110 int. What are the do-es and don'ts to running a skimmer? Run it while cycling? Shut it off while feeding? Turn skimmer on after return has been turned back on for x amount of mins after feeding. What about water changes. Basically do-es and don'ts of skimmer setup use and function,please and thank you.

 

[mcgyvr]

Read manual..follow directions for setup/break in/water level/adjustment,etc..
Leave it on all the time.. during cycling is perfectly fine..
Turn it off during water changes if the water level in the area its located changes during shutdown as it will overflow,etc....
No need to turn off during feeding..

oh and
Never intentionally smell whats in the cup

 

[joeybemate]

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to replace the skimmed water from the collection cup with fresh saltwater - if you are purely topping up with RO until you do a water change, your salinity will slowly lower with time.

Something I was wondering is how do people do this if they have an ATO - do people prepare a slightly saline ATO mix to compensate for both skim and evaporation? Or just replace it weekly or whenever they empty the collection cup?

 

[anthonys51]

i normally just test my water in my tank every month or so. the little bit of water that comes out shouldn't affect salinity that much. plus most times i fill the tank, i put a little extra saltwater in over the ato sensor so i think it compensates for the saltwater lost in the skimmer

 

[Betaktical]

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to replace the skimmed water from the collection cup with fresh saltwater - if you are purely topping up with RO until you do a water change, your salinity will slowly lower with time.

Something I was wondering is how do people do this if they have an ATO - do people prepare a slightly saline ATO mix to compensate for both skim and evaporation? Or just replace it weekly or whenever they empty the collection cup?

How often do you clean your collection cup? I've got mine set for dry and I clean about 1/10th of a gallon maybe once a month


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[joeybemate]

How often do you clean your collection cup? I've got mine set for dry and I clean about 1/10th of a gallon maybe once a month

I daily remove about 400mL. I don't have an ATO at the moment but I'm looking into getting one, but my normal procedure is testing salinity every couple of weeks and occasionally doing a saltwater top up instead of an RO one.

 

[Walla2GSP]

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to replace the skimmed water from the collection cup with fresh saltwater ...

I must be skimming wrong, I rarely find salts in my skimmate, just a thin brown sludge.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I must be skimming wrong, I rarely find salts in my skimmate, just a thin brown sludge.

Your thin brown sludge has salt in it.

 

[A sea K]

Everyone has a different approach to some degree. I keep things pretty simple on a new set up, I never pre clean the skimmer on a new system/skimmer, just plop it in the sump and let the skimmer break in while the tank is cycling. I dont turn it off during feeding either, be prepared for foam production to stop for a bit while feeding, it reacts to the oils in the food will kick back in after a short duration. Some sump set ups will cause the skimmer to overflow when the return pump is off or loss of power, this is caused by the elevated water levels in the sump, my new 80gal is this way so I installed a delay timer (5mins) to give the sump time to get to normal levels when the power is restored. In sump needlewheel type skimmers are very sensitive to the water height they are placed in and I typically run my skimmer at the shallow end of what is reccomended and at times even shallower, I find this makes the skimmer a little easier to tune and also less prone to overflowing. As for water changes, I know that my skimmer will react differently to the new water and is also temporary. Getting to know your skimmer and set up takes a little time and will come with experience.

 

[joeybemate]

Your thin brown sludge has salt in it.

+1
You aren't actually going to see the salt in your sludge, just like you won't see the salt in salt water, but yeah salt isn't removed from the bubbles created by the skimmer and so is passed on to the collection cup.