Intermittent vs. Continuous skimmer use

V

va_riverrat

New member
I read a thread a while back that talked about using a skimmer for 8 hours a day, right in the middle of the display lighting period, instead of running it continuously but I'm having a hard time finding the thread through a search.

Does anybody else run their skimmer this way? I'm interested in doing something like this on a new tank I'm planning since I'm upgrading from a small skimmerless setup to a larger setup. I like the idea of not stripping the water continuously but was wondering how it affects oxygen levels and PH.

Thanks.
 
I think I remember that thread, but couldnt be able to find it now.

Actually, it motivated me to try. Instead of running the skimmer just part time in the day though, I started turing it off a week at a time, or rather, moving it off my reef tank onto my FOWLR tank, and alternated like that for about 2 months. The last 3 months, I have been running the skimmer for a month, then off for a month. I dedided that one week was not enough time for anything to really happen.

I havent concluded the little test yet, or figured out just what it is that I want to figure out by running this little test, but I'll keep this going for a while, see what happens.
 
but, it would be nice to hear the comments of experienced reefers who have had their skimmer on their reef for a while (2 years on mine before I started this experiment), and then took it off. what is the long term affect, if any? yay or nay
 
I have been running mine from noon till midnight since this summer, no ill effects that I can see. Shavo on ReefOrg only runs his after lights out for years because he can not run both at the same time. We had a huge thread going on RO this fall with the pros and cons. I choise the times because the MH come on at 1130am till 8pm and I feed in the evening, and the fish are most active then I figure they need the DO in the water more, and the skimmer can still have a few hours after feeding to get the waist out.
Bob
 
I have featherdusters everywhere in my tank and the larger ones that I paid has all shed their crowns. I read they will do this when not getting enough food, so I decided to turn of the skimmer. I do not have a sump and liked the reduced microbubbles, but after a couple days red cyano started growing everywhere. I started running the skimmer again and the growth has slowed but I am still battling with it.
 
Thanks for posting your experiences.

I guess the main reason why this idea appeals to me is I want to make sure I am only skimming during maximum waste production times and not when things that may be beneficial to filter feeders or corals would be in the water. Since a lot of the animals in our tanks seem to spawn after lights out, I wanted to make sure the other tanks inhabitants get a crack at eating before it gets skimmed out. Same goes with feeding just before lights out, gives them plenty of time to consume what is fed before the skimmer start up the next day and cleans up the excess. Also, since pods seem to be most active after lights out, not running a skimmer at night could help reduce the number of them that get skimmed.

As far as dissolved oxygen, was thinking about maybe using a low tech bubble stone in the same chamber as the skimmer, when the skimmer cuts off, the bubble stone kicks in. Or maybe an ozone generator hooked to a Orp controller.

I see a lot of experimenting fun, should be interesting.
 
but, it would be nice to hear the comments of experienced reefers who have had their skimmer on their reef for a while (2 years on mine before I started this experiment), and then took it off. what is the long term affect, if any? yay or nay

When I did just that a number of years ago, the pH rose too much (I use limewater). The aeration aspects alone are worth running a skimmer in many tanks, IMO. Also, my concern is not primarily oxygen, although that is useful, but most importantly, carbon dioxide which is much harder to drive to equilibrium in many reef aquaria.

I personally do not see any benefit from not running 24/7, unless like the second poster, there are issues relating to noise.

FWIW, I discuss skimming more in this article:

What is Skimming?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-08/rhf/index.php
 
But what about intermittent use? Running the feed pump on a recirculating skimmer for an hour one and then an hour off?

I have been playing with the idea of a non photosynthetic aquarium Where heavy feeding is necessary for keeping the animals alive. most of the food added will be in the form of rotifers and phytoplankton, which will certainly skim out.

By intermittently using the feed pump the food will have longer time in the water column before being skimmed out, while the water in the skimmer will have much longer contact time.

Would this work?
 
Not skimming during feeding is a fine idea if you believe things are being skimmed out.

But if you just want less skimming overall, maybe just buying a smaller skimmer would be similar to 1h on/1 h off with a larger one?
 
Randy, I have heard that some organics can take as much as two hours to skim out. Assuming that this is a true statement, then wouldn't the alternating on off with the feed pump allow those molecule time to skim out before being flushed from the skimmer?
 
I'm confused here.

If you stopped the flow through the skimmer for extended periods of time wouldn't the water in the skimmer become stagnant ? Then when the skimmer was turned back on all that dirty water would be returned to the tank before the skimmer starts skimming again ?

Now if just the air intake was controlled that wouldn't be an issue. But who wants to do that twice a day ?


Edit, if you have a counter current skimmer with an airstone the above wouldn't be an issue. However that's only a small minority of the skimmers actually in use.
 
That is not what I mean. Let me explain.

In a recirculating skimmer there are two pumps. Pump #1 is the main recirculating pump, where the venturi is located, and is the main pump that mixes air into the skimmer body. It is connected in a closed loop with the skimmer. This pump would always be on mixing air into the skimmer body.

Pump #2 is the feed pump and supplies the skimmer body with water. This pump would be the one connected to a timer and periodically turned off.

A few modifications would need to be made to keep the skimmer level when the feed pump is turned off but it should be possible.

The same principle should work in a air driven counter current skimmer, just turn off the feed pump, and let the air pump run.
 
skimmers

skimmers

I am thinking about using two different skimmers for certain purposes . For example in the day time where the water clarity is at it's best for SPS corals , I would use a beckett / downdraft from 10:00am to 5:00pm shut off time , then feed the tank and allow 1 hour before using the second skimmer , pinwheel (H&S) from 7:00pm to 9:00am(soft skim through the night till morning) corals actually eat at night . Allow 1 hour shut off time and then at 10:00am the beckett or downdraft starts up again . What do you think of this idea ?
bernie lyons
 
i think your making things too complicated for yourself but if you really wanted to do it, i think the idea with the recirculating skimmer would be best. i would turn off the inside recirculating pump though, not the feed pump. if you turn off the feed pump it might raise the water in the sump and mess with the ATO.

i think if you don't use filter socks and sponge filters its enough. if you turn off your skimmer pump because it can kill pods, what about your return pump?
 
Randy, I have heard that some organics can take as much as two hours to skim out.

Any given single organic molecule either skims out in a single pass, or it waits for the next pass. Such a statement, if having any basis in reality, is simply an indication that some organics need a lot of passes to be mostly skimmed out. Whether those passes are all today or some today and some tomorrow matters little to the molecule involved. :)
 
I think things may have gotten a little complicated..... running the skimmer at one-hour intervals sounds like way too much work, where the benefits (or not) cannot ever really be noticed, in such a short time

What about running a skimmer at one month intervals? can that ever produce any measurable benefits (or not)? I mean, I let it run 24/7 for a month, then I have been taken it off the tank for a month. maybe even this is not enough time for any real difference to be measured
 
Well mine kinda runs 1/2 on and 1/2 off. I use a high speed aireation. and when I feed or add something like my hands or chemicals to the tank it takes a hr. or 2 to kick on again and start skimming. I like it this way becuse when I feed the inverts. Well it gives them time to eat befor the food and additives is sucked out. Over all it seems to work for the good of things.
 
I do this in a way not related.The skimmer is a Das-ex1 and its really sized for a 120 gallon or so, its on a 40 gallon frag setup, its runs about 8 hours a day, since the das series is a inline skimmer the return pump runs all the time and just kicks on the skimmer 8 hours. The reason it was done this way FOR NOW is I plan to expand my frag setups tanks but I wanted to only have a single skimmer and sump area, this setup should allow me for around 200 gallons in a no fish bio load environment, and with low loads I can at this time just run it intermittently.
 
One of the solutions for non-photosynthetic tank could be the disconnectable sump for a time of feeding, skimmer continue work all the time.
But, from all I had seen in experienced NPSC keepers setups, nobody does this - they just add more food, than needed.

Have another problem with frequent feeding of NPS corals - unless it is tubastrea feedings, the skimmer stops skimming (even being on all the time) for 40 min - 1.5 hrs, depending on the food content. 8 daily feedings means -8 hrs of skimming, water quality visibly suffer.

It seems, that only I facing that :D
 
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