why is 'dry' dark skimmate considered better than 'wet' light skimmate?

[bergzy]

i have read that it is better to have dark skimmate but...'WHY'?

i havent read a good explanation except that it is desirable over wet...but no one has given a 'scientific' explanation...just opinion and preference so far...

 

[dragonforce]

Well this might not be entirely true because you will have less skimmate with the dark stuff and more with the light stuff so it probably removes slightly different elements from the water.

 

[Hoobahans]

Dark means that you are getting concentrated skimmate. If you skim "wet" then you get a lot more liquid but it isnt as concentrated with the things that you want to remove. Skimming wet gets more pollutants out of the water, but it takes a lot more tank water with it. In that case you need to replace all the water and salt that goes out in the skimmate as well as change it every day. If you skim "dry," then you get a much higher concentration of crud out of the water. As long as your skimmer is rated for your tank you're still getting enough crud out of the water, and you have to do a lot less work replacing water, salt, and emptying the cup.

Also, you feel kind of bad-*** when you get a really thick skimate.

 

[dkh0331]

There are pro's and con's of both wet and dry skimming. I dont think one way is better, just different.

 

[jdieck]

Say if you are comparing two skimmers and they both get the same amount of skimmate one darker and dryer and the other lighter and wetter the one darker will be removing more contaminants but for a given skimmer if you adjust it for a wet foam ususally the volume will be less than skimming wet. At the end of the day they will both will be removing almost the same amout but... with some contaminants like posphates skimming wet will remove more but as mentioned above more water will be removed, if you have a fresh water auto top offf, that additional water may be automatically replaced with fresh whcih could be an issue as your salinity will tend to drop.

 

[Esper]

you can add salt to your topoff water to make up for what is lost from skimming.

skimming wet is supposed to collect particulates before they rot & break down in your tank (as long as you also have to have enough flow to get these to the skimmer). I think this is why some people say that skimming wet and skimming dark actually remove different things--it depends on if the material decomposes or not.