timrandlerv10
New member
is it possible to overskim? right now on my 75 with 2/3rds full 55 sump (tons of rocks in that 2/3rds too...so much less than 35 gallons...) has a octopus needlewheel 150. its pulling some pretty nasty stuff...at least it smells that way! i emptied the cup today (about 2 weeks worth) and the stuff in the neck of the container was a thick solid...like a beach mud...and it (all) smelled HORRIBLE!
i have a 125 coralife superskimmer...i think i can hang that on the back of the sump to add some more skimming power. in a perfect world, i would also put carbon on top of it and run the effluent through the carbon and inject ozone into that skimmer too. still thinking about it.
a) benefits of skimming more? my goal is 0 nitrates.
b) cons of skimming more? am i removing things that are needed for consumption?
for nitrate reduction i've already got two kind of macro with 24/7 light, about 200 lbs of rock (which i think might be more effective if i cleaned it), vacuumed the bottom of the display (some stuff had accumulated in a dead spot), running skimmer very wet, regular water changes (about 5-7 gallons every two weeks, about 15 gallons done in a larger change every six weeks). I've also reduced frequency and size of feedings, as well as turning off all the pumps so the maximum amount gets consumed by fish and nems, with the crabs and corals getting whatever extra they randomly get. we target feed corals once a week (maybe twice).
lastly, i manually harvest hair algae to remove the N and P we've sequestered there...turns out i can grow hair algae faster than chaeto or caluerpa
thoughts?
i have a 125 coralife superskimmer...i think i can hang that on the back of the sump to add some more skimming power. in a perfect world, i would also put carbon on top of it and run the effluent through the carbon and inject ozone into that skimmer too. still thinking about it.
a) benefits of skimming more? my goal is 0 nitrates.
b) cons of skimming more? am i removing things that are needed for consumption?
for nitrate reduction i've already got two kind of macro with 24/7 light, about 200 lbs of rock (which i think might be more effective if i cleaned it), vacuumed the bottom of the display (some stuff had accumulated in a dead spot), running skimmer very wet, regular water changes (about 5-7 gallons every two weeks, about 15 gallons done in a larger change every six weeks). I've also reduced frequency and size of feedings, as well as turning off all the pumps so the maximum amount gets consumed by fish and nems, with the crabs and corals getting whatever extra they randomly get. we target feed corals once a week (maybe twice).
lastly, i manually harvest hair algae to remove the N and P we've sequestered there...turns out i can grow hair algae faster than chaeto or caluerpa
thoughts?
