Do skimmers remove too much good stuff?

[JW3571]

If you run a skimmer 24/7 do end up removing too much calcium, vitamins, and other good stuff? Are you smarter to only run your skimmer a few days per week?

 

[tkeracer619]

They don't remove that stuff. They remove Dissolved Organic Compounds.

 

[zma21]

They don't remove that stuff. They remove Dissolved Organic Compounds.

Vitamins and amino acids technically are organic compounds. Any time I see a benzene ring... :lolspin:

 

[Sentari]

Also make sure your skimmer is skimming dry instead of wet.

 

[cloak]

Woops...

 

[travis32]

Not meaning to hijack, and sorry for the newb question, even though I've been in the hobby for a year.. But, what does it mean to skim dry or wet?

 

[devilsthird]

This might answer a lot of questions:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/fm/feature/index.php

 

[Palting]

Here's a link to a thread I found most enlightening, fairly in-depth look at skimming: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1908773

 

[frankpayne32]

No.

 

[Palting]

No.

Yes. LOL!!

 

[frankpayne32]

Yes. LOL!!

Smart-a$$. I teed that one up for yah, LOL

 

[mfforeman]

So what is the difference between a wet skim and a dry skim?

 

[Alex T.]

Personally, I'll take wet skimming over dry skimming anyday. If you have a full blown sps tank, wet skimming is a great way to keep a nutrient problem from getting out of hand fast.

I don't believe in starving my fish for the sake of the corals, so I feed heavily, let the fish and corals get what they can, and then wet skim to grab as much out of the water column as possible. I'm not trying to wet skim like some who use it to an extreme as a water change means, but if there's any buildup in the skimmer neck in a few days' time, I know I'm skimming too dry.

And to answer the OP's question, I believe it's only possible to over skim if you have a skimmer rated for twice your tank's water volume and still feed only enough to barely keep your fish alive. Reefs in the wild have much cleaner water than we can replicate in a closed system, so feed the fish and skim heavily is my mantra.

Just my two cents.

 

[JW3571]

Don't most people recommend getting a skimmer that's rated for twice volume of the tank?