from skimmerless to skimmed.

[stickx911]

I just bought a skimmer for my 30g mixed reef and I am wondering if I should ease the schedule, like a couple hours a day at first, or if I should just jump right into 24hr skimming?

Should I start by skimming wet, or pretty dry?

I've not run a skimmer before so I'm kinda clueless. Any help is grand. Thanks.

Oh, its a bakpak.

 

[drnecropolis]

Skim skim skim.. get that stuff out of there..
I tend to skim kinda wet..but not like just wasting water.. a nice balance..

 

[william1]

Yup start skimming 24/7 I like to break in a new skimmer and adjust it slowly by starting it out with the gate valve wide open and slowly adjusting it closed from there, until you get a nice frothy foam bubbling up the neck of the skimmer. I skim alot wetter now that I have a BB but just a nice consistant collection.

 

[stickx911]

cool. I didn't know if the corals would be in shock of have truly clean water...lol

 

[coolsurf]

Skim away! Give the skimmer a 3-4 day break in period before seeing some real skimate. Once it starts, it'll be alot easier to adjust.

 

[dakota9]

With those HOB skimmers, the best way I have fouind to skim is to just skim as wet as you can, depending on how often you can empty the cup.
For instance, I only want to have to empty my skimmer cup once a day, therefore, I adjust the skimmer to where it fills the skimmer cup once in 24 hours.

Most every night, round 8 pm, I have a cup of very light colored greenish/brown skimmate. Not a great skimmer, but atleast I know I'm pulling everything out I can....

 

[ralph atl]

ares;314715 wrote: they dont work miracles, it will take some time even at 24 hours a day.

:up:

 

[stickx911]

ares;314715 wrote: they dont work miracles, it will take some time even at 24 hours a day.

well, should I have said, remotely clean water? lol

 

[wbrown]

Dakota9;314708 wrote: With those HOB skimmers, the best way I have fouind to skim is to just skim as wet as you can, depending on how often you can empty the cup.
For instance, I only want to have to empty my skimmer cup once a day, therefore, I adjust the skimmer to where it fills the skimmer cup once in 24 hours.

Most every night, round 8 pm, I have a cup of very light colored greenish/brown skimmate. Not a great skimmer, but atleast I know I'm pulling everything out I can....

thats what I do on my 16 G tank, wet as possible! Even then it takes awhile depending on bioload and your feeding habits.

 

[mojo]

stickx911;314679 wrote: cool. I didn't know if the corals would be in shock of have truly clean water...lol

The best analogy I've heard is this - think about sitting in a closed garage with a car running. The best thing you could do is get outside immediately, as opposed to open the garage door up a little at a time.

It's one thing to adapt to light, temperature, etc, but it's quite another to move to a similar, but cleaner environment.

 

[drnecropolis]

mojo;314811 wrote: The best analogy I've heard is this - think about sitting in a closed garage with a car running. The best thing you could do is get outside immediately, as opposed to open the garage door up a little at a time.

It's one thing to adapt to light, temperature, etc, but it's quite another to move to a similar, but cleaner environment.

With the exception of running a ton of GFO at one time..

 

[mojo]

Well, yes, except for that.