Dry & Wet Skimming

[NewSchool04]

Do you pull out different waste by skimming wet or dry? What makes people decide which way they are going to go?
I've been going dry since I got my first skimmer and decided to switch it around and go wet just to see if I can see a difference. So far just cleaning out the cup more often.

 

[coker98]

i think wet skimming concentrates more on pulling or helps lower phosphates and dry is nitrates.

 

[Serioussnaps]

ahhh...the 2 p's......perception and preference

 

[King-Kong]

BB guys skim wet because they dont want to miss anything that would otherwise return to the tank and rot.

 

[Horace]

When you skim wet, I THINK you have a better chance at getting not only dissolved organics, but actual larger particles out of the water as well. When you dry skim, you get much less skimmate, but more highly concentrated skimmate. IMO skimming wet is going to get more stuff out, but it also requires you to empty the cup more often. I really cant imagine any advantage of skimming dry other than you may not take as many trace elements out as you would with wet skimming.