Skimate = reef nutrition???

[Bugcrusher]

What is in skimate....old leftover reef food, nutrient rich "broth", lots of bacteria??? Isn't this what our corals eat....BIG QUESTION...can it be spot fed to corals????

 

[Dapg8gt]

That totally defeats the point of the skimmer. Sure there is some nutrition in it but it's mostly waste that you want to get rid of. It would def work to raise your nitrates LOL.. IMO there are a lot better ways to feed your coral.

 

[Allmost]

think of it as feces of the system.

feces of human, human waste, is nutritional, but we do not eat it up again, we assume when we eat food, our body takes what it can, and gets rid of the waste. recycling the waste will be less efficient.

but you are right in the fact that it has nutritions in it still. it wont be a good food for corals, but it can be good food for algae and .... just like how human feces is good for grass or plants or ....

look up skimmate on advanced aquarist, I think I once read an article there with regards to what exactly is in skimmate. basically dead bacteria, and tank water with higher TOCs.

 

[Bugcrusher]

was asking to see if this had been tried or not, based on facts of what is in the skimate vrs popular opinion. Will check the article mentioned. Anyone else have some real world experience?

 

[Allmost]

I have tried it before, hence why I posted that

Here is the article.

I have tried to feed the skimmate of my SPS reef to my Azoox corals, [none photosynthesis corals] but the nutrition values were very low, and feeding response low as well. it also increased N and Ps really sharply.

 

[Bugcrusher]

Good info, thanks. I will do a microscopic to see whats is alive and maybe some bacterial studies..( I am a microbiologist for the federal govt). Will post results.

 

[Bugcrusher]

Interesting article, maybe some interest...
http://http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/scc.shtml

 

[Sk8r]

It'd probably grow some things right well, which might point to a non-mechanical means of amino acid disposal, which would eliminate skimmers, the way we use live rock to do what filters used to do. I'd be interested in what you learn.

 

[Bugcrusher]

http://http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/scc.shtml

 

[MrClam]

No concrete facts about coral feeding w/ skimmate here, but I am considering trying out using skimmate from the tank as garden fertilizer. Its rich in organic PO4 and Nitrogen and its free. Little concerned about the salt content tho but we will see.

 

[Bugcrusher]

Have some results from gram stain, and chem studies: Wright-Giemsa stain to follow

wet prep[/U
old skimate (1 week after collection) ]protozoa (slow moving), bacteria, lots of debris
new skimate (from last 10 hours) protozoa (fast moving), bacteria, single celled algae

gram stain
old skimate: gram neg rods, few protozoa
new skimate: many gram pos rods, gram neg rods, protozoa, algae strands/chains

Chemistry
old skimate: pH-7.0, protein-neg, nitrate-positive
new skimate: pH-6.5, protein-trace, nitrate-positive

 

[Bugcrusher]

Wright-Giemsa stain shows large amounts of bacteria in both old and new samples. Protozoa numbers in the old sample are 50% of those in the new sample. Mirrors previous results above.

 

[Dapg8gt]

@bugcrusher/So in laymans terms what does your finding mean?good? Bad?

 

[Bugcrusher]

High nitrates, low Ph, lots of bacteria and protozoa/algae debris...not good at all!

 

[GSMguy]

No concrete facts about coral feeding w/ skimmate here, but I am considering trying out using skimmate from the tank as garden fertilizer. Its rich in organic PO4 and Nitrogen and its free. Little concerned about the salt content tho but we will see.

That Is an interesting thought that I've had myself. Most conventional ferts are salts as well (miracle grow, ect) but I don't know about the concentration . With ferts you only use a few tablespoons per gallon and ASW has over 2 cups per gallon. Logic tells me that is should be diluted and fed more frequently.

 

[Freddie83]

Please don't feed it to your corals...

 

[Overgrown]

Went skimmerless for a little while once because my PO4 was too low for my liking and I wanted to test any possible benefits. Observation: corals did look better with the added avail nutrients but there was also a bit of an unsightly yellow tinge to the display. The same benefits can be achieved by simply stepping up to medium/heavy feedings and heavy skimming, with the added bonus of crystal clear water quality/clarity via the skimmer playing catch up 24/7. And microscopic skimmate analysis in the hobby has been done many times.

 

[MrClam]

Chemistry
old skimate: pH-7.0, protein-neg, nitrate-positive
new skimate: pH-6.5, protein-trace, nitrate-positive

Does this suggest that newly harvested skim has only trace amounts of protein in it? And these proteins degrade over a week? I was under the impression that skimmate was largely protein, as the function of a skimmer relies on the charged nature of proteins.