Why Would You Temporarily Wet Skim?
- Thread starter dakota9
- Start date
- Messages
- 1,283
- Reaction score
- 0
My aqua c femora took me about a week to get skimming right i set it at a super dry setting and every couple days i would adjust it little at a time but it seems to work best when its a little wet there ia liquidin the collection cup but its always a dark dark green color
Trying to prove if wet vs dry skimming is beneficial is probably like deciding which skimmer is the best. Nearly impossible to do.
For me, it comes down to how often do I want to clean the skimmer cup vs draining the skimmer cup. I skim wet because I have one of those AVAST Swabbie skimmer neck cleaners, and AVAST states that Swabbie works best when you skim wet, so that is why I skim wet. That makes sense for the way the unit works.
If you skim dry, then eventually you won't even be able to see the skimmer foam head from the buildup of crud on the inside of the neck and inside of the collection up and have to clean it anyways.
If you system volume is small, then the main thing, IMO, to be on the lookout for with wet skimming is a drop in your SG from the increased saltwater removal that comes with the higher volume of skimmate removal.
For me, it comes down to how often do I want to clean the skimmer cup vs draining the skimmer cup. I skim wet because I have one of those AVAST Swabbie skimmer neck cleaners, and AVAST states that Swabbie works best when you skim wet, so that is why I skim wet. That makes sense for the way the unit works.
If you skim dry, then eventually you won't even be able to see the skimmer foam head from the buildup of crud on the inside of the neck and inside of the collection up and have to clean it anyways.
If you system volume is small, then the main thing, IMO, to be on the lookout for with wet skimming is a drop in your SG from the increased saltwater removal that comes with the higher volume of skimmate removal.
- Messages
- 1,283
- Reaction score
- 0
I was concerned with this as well being my skimmed is hooked to my 24g nano but over the past month of skimming and emtying the 1/4 filled collection cup every couple days i really have not noticed a change in salinity although i will continue to keep a close eye on this
- Messages
- 4,973
- Reaction score
- 389
I run my BKM200 wet 24/7
Speaking of smaller HOB, HOT or "Nano" Skimmers;
Is it reasonable to suggest that they be run as wet as the frequency you would like to empty the collection cup?
Meaning, if someone only wanted to empty their collection cup every other day, they could tune in </em>the skimmer to fill the collection cup by every other day. It seems by this method, you are utilizing your small skimmer in the best manor possible.
I've maintained small tanks for a while now, and there by owned many small skimmer (most of which are low performers). I never minded emptying the collection cup every day, and maintained the skimmer setting to skim just wet enough to fill the cup each day. I figured in this way, I'm getting the most out of the equipment.
I just wondered if this is a sound theory.
Is it reasonable to suggest that they be run as wet as the frequency you would like to empty the collection cup?
Meaning, if someone only wanted to empty their collection cup every other day, they could tune in </em>the skimmer to fill the collection cup by every other day. It seems by this method, you are utilizing your small skimmer in the best manor possible.
I've maintained small tanks for a while now, and there by owned many small skimmer (most of which are low performers). I never minded emptying the collection cup every day, and maintained the skimmer setting to skim just wet enough to fill the cup each day. I figured in this way, I'm getting the most out of the equipment.
I just wondered if this is a sound theory.
- Messages
- 674
- Reaction score
- 66
I think this is a great topic in regards to small tanks/skimmer setups Dakota9, of which I recall having an ordeal with when I was trying to figure out skimming on my older 'nano' setups. I say that and I mean specific to nano skimmers with <u>small chambers/cups</u>.
Now that I look back and having used several underperforming small skimmers and a few high end ones, I can say that they are really difficult to tune in and dry skimming is IMO not efficient due to the small chamber size and lack of sufficient dwell. I had better results skimming wet and emptying the cup daily. With my big skimmers it is a completely different tune and I empty the cup every few days or weekly depending on my adjustment.
Again, many folks are using over-rated, larger HOB skimmers on Nano's now and dry skimming probably is best with these more capable skimmers.....just my 2 cents, I could be way off.
In regards to dry skimming vs. wet skimming topic as a whole, I am not knowledgable enough to say.....
All depends on how you define "wet".
As for "wet" skimming after a heavy feeding? I haven't tried with more than a few skimmers, but feeding in my tank anyhow, affects the surface tension of the water to the point that my skimmer won't skim for a few hours afterward, so that wouldn't really work for me.
Right now though, I'm kinda forced in ridiculous levels of wet skimming and have been for a month. My skimmer is unbelievably sensitive to aquamend and I kinda went overboard on it when I mounted a few pieces and fragged a large colony of corals. Ugh. So I waited and waited.. did a 25% WC... waited.. waited... Right now I'm skimming with a hose into a bucket and topping off most of the day with saltwater since it's pulling so much water off. Hoping that eventually it will settle back down.
Yes, i've tried raising the skimmer up a few inches and it didn't matter..
Since I changed the OEM vertex pump with the tunze hydrofoamer, the skimmer has always been kinda sensitive and skimmed on the wet side which I'm okay with, but this is getting crazy. My skimmer hasn't skimmed right in 6 weeks now.
As for "wet" skimming after a heavy feeding? I haven't tried with more than a few skimmers, but feeding in my tank anyhow, affects the surface tension of the water to the point that my skimmer won't skim for a few hours afterward, so that wouldn't really work for me.
Right now though, I'm kinda forced in ridiculous levels of wet skimming and have been for a month. My skimmer is unbelievably sensitive to aquamend and I kinda went overboard on it when I mounted a few pieces and fragged a large colony of corals. Ugh. So I waited and waited.. did a 25% WC... waited.. waited... Right now I'm skimming with a hose into a bucket and topping off most of the day with saltwater since it's pulling so much water off. Hoping that eventually it will settle back down.
Yes, i've tried raising the skimmer up a few inches and it didn't matter..
Since I changed the OEM vertex pump with the tunze hydrofoamer, the skimmer has always been kinda sensitive and skimmed on the wet side which I'm okay with, but this is getting crazy. My skimmer hasn't skimmed right in 6 weeks now.
I had the same thing a while ago and the only way to "calm it down" was to add an air pump to the air intake of the skimmer. The way it was explained in the manual is that if there's more air in there the water won't get that high. Not sure if this applies to your setup but I thought it's worth mentioning.
Similar threads
