Skim Wet or Skim Dry - and tell us why!

[NexDog]

I'm currently experimenting with my Deltec 902 on skimmate production. Have been running pretty dry up to now with good results but feeling I should be producing more skimmate. From today I've opened the air valves up a bit which produces a wetter skimmate - results are disappointing so far.

Anyhow, wet or dry - and please state why!

 

[HotHotHot]

I voted dry, because I don't see much point in pulling out a lot of saltwater and affecting salinity.

Ed

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If the adjustment to alter the wetness simply impacts how much the foam has drained before removal, and if the primary goal is to export as much organic as possible, then wet skimming must win, since draining will remove some water and some organics, and so the less of it the better.

 

[TekCat]

Re: Skim Wet or Skim Dry - and tell us why!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6564989#post6564989 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
From today I've opened the air valves up a bit which produces a wetter skimmate - results are disappointing so far.

How are the results disappointing?
Wet skimmate removes more gunk (granted, you loose some water too). Just top off sometimes with saltwater so you don't loose SG. Think of it this way: you get more gunk out and at the same time you're doing pico-waterchange

My vote - WET!

 

[NexDog]

I just seem to be getting less skimmate. And I don't want to adjust anything else because the skimmer was perfectly dialled in. How wet do you skim though? So you get a gallon of brown water per day?

 

[Carman34L]

Skim wetter than a dry muck, think of a melted milk shake, thats about how you want the texture of your skimate. not liquid enough to be like water, but thick enough to have a strong surface tension.

 

[sean48183]

It may be that your tank has leveled off and that other bacterias, sponges, algae etc. are using up organics before they get skimmed out. Wet is definately better for organic removal if that is what your trying to achieve.

 

[boxfishpooalot]

with the bb tank, wet skimming allows you to "blast" the dirt out before it breaks down. The water flows back down the drier the skimmate, so as a result your getting nitrates leaking back down with gravity. The nitrate concentration would dependd on the dryness of the foam.

On my old skimmer I could produce really dry "Cheesie puff" foam.

 

[aurorafish]

I had this same dilema in my head, I now run 2 skimmers one wet and one dry, now I sleep better!