Skimmer on a timer

[zoanutty]

I'm currently running a 240 with an 80 gal fuge and a fairly large reef octo skimmer which I just got. My tank is 50% zoas, 40% lps & 10% sps (mainly montis & chalices, no sticks). Because of this, I was thinking of putting the skimmer on a timer since 1) the skimmer is so big (rated for 300 gal) and 2) zoas and lps do not require a pristine tank. But I am wondering if in doing so I stand to mess with my tank chemistry, particularly ph & alk. I dose cal & alk via doser 3 x day 20 ml each time. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[bertoni]

The pH might show more extremes, but alkalinity will not be affected. I would keep the skimmer running, in case of emergencies, but lots of tanks run without skimmers at all.

 

[ReefsandGeeks]

I'd run the skimmer constant myself. That way you don't have to deal with pH swings or the skimmer not priming or whatever. If you want slightly dirtier water, just run the skimmer dryer untill you get the balance you want. It'll also give you the added benefit of emptying the skimmer less often.

 

[nuxx]

Never a bad thing to leave the skimmer on all the time.

Let it skim drier if you think it's overkill...

 

[zoanutty]

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[tmz]

I run it 24/7 fwiw. If I need to shut the skimming off for a period of time for supplements or medications ,I disconnect the airline and let the water keep flowing to limit the risk of stagnation in any still water in the skimmer.

 

[karimwassef]

I run 18 hrs on / 6 hrs off. The purpose is to give plankton life in the water column an opportunity to survive.

I think it works great.

 

[nuxx]

I run 18 hrs on / 6 hrs off. The purpose is to give plankton life in the water column an opportunity to survive.

I think it works great.

Wouldn't you think a lot of "life" misses the skimmer? I mean it only gets what goes through the pump.

 

[karimwassef]

It depends on how much you pass through your skimmer. My skimmer inlet pump is running 2000gph. If it's enough to filter the water, then it's catching a lot of the life in the water column too.

 

[nuxx]

It depends on how much you pass through your skimmer. My skimmer inlet pump is running 2000gph. If it's enough to filter the water, then it's catching a lot of the life in the water column too.

Gotcha

Ours is only running around 600.

 

[davocean]

24/7 really is best and it's actually easier on most pumps to just run rather than start up all the time from my reading.
FWIW we all pretty much run skimmers oversize to our tanks more than what manufacturers call out for.
A skimmer rated for 300g on a 240g is nothing, some people almost double that, especially depending on what your bioload is.

 

[tmz]

I think the water volume moving trough the skimmer and the amount of bubble surface area matter a lot in terms of total export and gas exchange.

24/7 is my preference with two ASM 4xx skimmers on a 650 gallon system . Each has a needle wheel wheel ,which produces copious fine bubbles via a sedra 15000 pump rated at 1500gph per hour ,for a total water movement of 3000 gph , which turns over the 650 water volume nearly 5xs per hour. Each is rated for up to 500gallon systems.

There is still always plenty of plankton in the water . Much of it has life cycles with phases that are benthic.

IMO turning of the skimmer pump for significant periods of time with stagnant water in the skimmer column is an unnecessary risk. Not much if any plankton is going to propagate in 6 hours anyway. The loss of aeration for significant periods of time will also cause a lack of constancy in gas exchange and potentially lead to hypoxic conditions in areas of the tank.

If I were inclined to stop skimming for a period of time, I'd just close off the air flow ,stopping the bubble formation, and let the water pump keep going. Even then the loss of aeration is a concern.

 

[karimwassef]

There was a you tube experiment run over 6 identical tanks to look at coral health. The ones with the skimmer off at night did best.

It's a function of your feeding, etc... But I can see the impact on living plankton in my tank of being off at night.

Try it and compare your coral growth rates ... Data speaks best.

 

[tmz]

I seriously doubt there is any real any data to show shutting down the skimmer particualrly at at night when CO2 levels are high and oxygen is lower encourages growth given the fact that photosynthesis stops at night is best. My corals grow just fine and it makes no sense to me to cut down aeration given the potential for nightime hypoxia. We disagree.

 

[karimwassef]

We do. I have no issues with pH or oxygenation. I have a large surface area and dose kalk that keeps my pH at 8.3 day or night.

 

[davocean]

I seriously doubt there is any real any data to show shutting down the skimmer particualrly at at night when CO2 levels are high and oxygen is lower encourages growth given the fact that photosynthesis stops at night is best. My corals grow just fine and it makes no sense to me to cut down aeration given the potential for nightime hypoxia. We disagree.

Totally agree, if anything at night you will benefit from leaving it on.

 

[tmz]

Folks can make up their own minds;you obviously have no data.

I'd suggest they take a look at some of the posts you've made.The only thing I see is a tank wrought with one tragedy after another;no data or insight , and some advice I think is really bad and harmful in a number of areas. Going back just a couple of weeks I found these gems :

velvet treated with uv;fish died but it helped so it must be good for dinoflagellates.
infesting the tank.

Favia bleaching but I got the tentacles to come out.

Ideal temp for coral growth. I'd like it as hot as I can 90 F would be good. At 84F fish breathing heavy.

Or this one showing your tank just 2 weeks ago:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23727724#post23727724 lot's of corals bleaching.

There are plenty of other examples going back a bit further.

It makes me sad that you are having so much difficulty . But if you don't wan't to listen so be it. I do hope folks take a critical look at your advice or just ignore lest they get similar results. Personally, I won't make the effort to offer you advice or answer any questions from you any longer but will challenge bad advice and information when you post it.

 

[karimwassef]

Rescue corals from a local reef keeper getting divorced but thanks for the personal attack.
Lack of quarantine causes marine velvet. Surprise.

I only post failures to look for help, there's no point in posting successes.

My tank is actually in great shape. Shame that you think you know someone from reading posts looking for answers in absence of context.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/BCFE8C4A-3D37-48D4-B138-3601FFE61E29_zpshfjel3x5.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/BCFE8C4A-3D37-48D4-B138-3601FFE61E29_zpshfjel3x5.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo BCFE8C4A-3D37-48D4-B138-3601FFE61E29_zpshfjel3x5.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/B64EB535-D962-4C1C-9C06-733078F1CBEE_zpsadgb6bbh.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/B64EB535-D962-4C1C-9C06-733078F1CBEE_zpsadgb6bbh.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo B64EB535-D962-4C1C-9C06-733078F1CBEE_zpsadgb6bbh.jpg"/></a>

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[karimwassef]

And here is the favia before I had it in my tank long

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/DBD2E747-AFD9-4846-BBAA-A47F7357CE68_zpsq08zw6pq.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/DBD2E747-AFD9-4846-BBAA-A47F7357CE68_zpsq08zw6pq.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DBD2E747-AFD9-4846-BBAA-A47F7357CE68_zpsq08zw6pq.jpg"/></a>

 

[karimwassef]

Here it is AFTER

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/55E2435B-344C-4B72-94F6-C05AC61D4307_zpsqrzfzcqx.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/55E2435B-344C-4B72-94F6-C05AC61D4307_zpsqrzfzcqx.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 55E2435B-344C-4B72-94F6-C05AC61D4307_zpsqrzfzcqx.jpg"/></a>