Chemiclean - Skimmer on or off?

[meverha1]

Just dosed Chemiclean to get rid of some Cyano. The box says to leave the skimmer on but I see people online talking about leaving the skimmer off for 48 hours. Which is correct? I don't want the skimmer to pull the Chemiclean out of the water before it's had a chance to do it's job.

Also, my skimmer is going nuts. I have it draining into a 5 gallon bucket and after an hour the bucket is almost full. I have a feeling my ATO is going to be working overtime. Should I worry about dropping salinity, etc...? I have a 110 gallon tank and 40 gallon sump, so about 125-130 gallons total.

 

[maddmaxx]

when dosing chemiclean. your supposed to remove the skimmer cup and let the skimmer run. it will continuously overflow but that's ok. eventually it will calm down. I left my cup off for 24hrs. but in general, most ppl leave the skimmer running...

 

[tinfoilsoldier]

The skimmer is needed to get oxygen in to the water, by whatever magic chemiclean works it will deplete oxygen. Skimmers are great at aeration so, leaving it on without the cup is good, or you can use an air stone, but it will probably be louder and less effective.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

[jml1149]

You're going to crash your tank if youre not careful. Drain your skimmer back into the tank and be done with it

 

[jml1149]

I have used chemiclean several times, no problems any of them. IMO works GREAT. BUT the O2 does drop and the skimmer goes bananas. So I pulled the cup out and let it bubble over the sides, for O2.

If you keep dumping 5g buckets of "skimmate" out you're going to drop your salinity so low, so fast, the tank will literally die. Just let it run back into the tank. Won't harm anything for the three days.

And then, 50% water change, start carbon, and turn your skimmer back on. You'll never know the difference. Minus the cyano.

 

[Bent]

When I used it, I kept the skimmer on and just removed the cup.

I also threw a couple of powerheads with Venturi inslets in the sump. Had micro bubbles like crazy in the DT, but lack of o2 wasn't an issue.

It worked like a charm too btw.

 

[meverha1]

Success!

48 hours was up yesterday and the tank is cyano free.

I ended up leaving the skimmer on but the cup off. Did my water change yesterday and the skimmer is still going crazy so it's off now until later tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

[jd371]

Just finished a round of Chemiclean too. My skimmer was still going crazy so I did another wc two days after the first one and within a few hours the skimmer was back to normal.

 

[jml1149]

Carbon helped me there

 

[meverha1]

48 hours after the water change I just turned on my skimmer and let it run for about an hour. It was foaming over like crazy with clear tank water so I let it run back into the sump. No real improvement, just some foam.

I might do another water change tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[CStrickland]

You can open the valve to tune it to run drier, or raise it up a couple inches to get a drier foam. It won't quit overflowing until it gets rid of the chemiclean residue. Skimming dry will do that with less waste than large water changes (on top of the one you are advised to do in the instructions) or dumping cups of nearly clear water.

 

[meverha1]

I've got it all the way open and it's up so far it's almost out of the water. I may be able to raise it a bit higher... not sure.

 

[lasomers]

Just dosed Chemiclean to get rid of some Cyano. The box says to leave the skimmer on but I see people online talking about leaving the skimmer off for 48 hours. Which is correct? I don't want the skimmer to pull the Chemiclean out of the water before it's had a chance to do it's job.

Also, my skimmer is going nuts. I have it draining into a 5 gallon bucket and after an hour the bucket is almost full. I have a feeling my ATO is going to be working overtime. Should I worry about dropping salinity, etc...? I have a 110 gallon tank and 40 gallon sump, so about 125-130 gallons total.

 

[lasomers]

I keep the skimmer OFF (for 48 hours) because I do not want to chance losing the Chemiclean active ingredient (erythromycin), (although the manufacturer (API) does not mention the skimmer in its instructions)
When I turn the skimmer back on (after 48 hours), I keep a close eye on the skimmer cup because it will fill up very quickly and will require timely emptying..

 

[Sk8r]

Answer is heavily dependent on the means of oxygenation in your tank. A good skimmer is a main source of oxygenation, and your fish potentially can suffocate if that's all they have and you cut it off. Other sources are a waterfall entry of water to the sump: mine drops 6 feet to a basement sump, and makes quite a constant splash in the sump. Abundant Cheato moss if lighted 24/7 can help. Personally I prefer the lights-out method of cyano removal. Takes longer, sometimes 3 days in each successive month, but poses no risk.

 

[Ab129]

I just used an algae control additive a month ago and followed the directions and turned my skimmer off. When I got home from work my fish were all at the surface gasping for air due to lack of oxygen.
Whatever you do, don't turn your skimmer off.

 

[Cedjeffski]

Chemiclean - Skimmer on or off?

Any of you guys ever had problem with your macroalgae using chemiclean? Just got some yesterday, about to pull the trigger. How bad was your guys outbreak before you decided to use it? I have quite a bit, I was able to get some of it out, just worried it will be too much to dissolve into the water stream at once.