Calcium deposits if skimmer is disconnected?

[Christian J]

I'm thinking of running a skimmerless tank, but still keep a Tunze skimmer at hand for emergencies. Can I let the skimmer stay in the tank (with the power off), or will calcium deposits etc build up faster inside the pump and nozzle if it's not used? Would it help if I let the skimmer run say 15 minutes every day?

If the skimmer can stay in the tank I might get a Reefpack, but if it's better to keep the skimmer out of water when not in use a standalone version seems more practical...

 

[rvitko]

I can't think of any way calcium would build up without the skimmer running. Calcium builds up on technical equipment because of heat and pressure changes reducing how much CO2 is dissolved, this causes the pH to rise and the calcium precipitates in that micro region. This is the same way your corals take calcium out of the water except the symbiotic algae using CO2 causes the pH rise. If it isn't running there is no heat or pressure change, but, you may have issues with bacteria, snails, vermetid worms, forams and algae growing over things when they aren't running.