A Real Basic Question

[microview]

O.K. I am about to demonstrate my 'newbie' side.

How often do you run your PS? All day everyday? PRN? A few hours a day? I seem to be getting varied answers. What do you do?

 

[scubaguy]

If your tank is cycled, every day. Just turn it on and watch the collection cup. You would be surprised how much gunk is in your water.

 

[dawman]

24/7 , the skimmer removes the scum filters can not remove and you will be amazed once you see what it pulls out .

 

[spanko]

I run mine at lights out. So from about 10 pm. until about 11 am. I do this because of heat issues during the summer months, I will probably go back to 24/7 in the winter.

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by Microview
O.K. I am about to demonstrate my 'newbie' side.

How often do you run your PS? All day everyday? PRN? A few hours a day? I seem to be getting varied answers. What do you do?
I run mine 24/7 but some people like to have thier skimmer hooked up to a separate power source and turn it off during feeding.. but thats too much work for me to do every time.

 

[microview]

Sounds like most of you recommend 24/7 or at least overnight. Will do. What is the best setting for the air bubbles in the skimmer. Do you want it foaming just over the top into the collection cup? (That's what mine is doing now.)

 

[yogoshio]

You want it lower. If it's at that level, you'll be losing so much water and having to dump your cup every few hours and it won't be doing much good.

 

[microview]

MiaHeatLvr,
Why do some turn off the PS when feeding? It doesn't affect flow (At least mine doesn't.) What is the reason to do this...?

 

[microview]

Yogoshio,
I dump the cup once a day yet my cup doesn't "runneth over" (with disolved proteins) only the foam. Still, I only want the foam up the neck and not into the actual collection cup?

 

[miaheatlvr]

MiaHeatLvr,
Why do some turn off the PS when feeding? It doesn't affect flow (At least mine doesn't.) What is the reason to do this...?[/QUOTE
It will NOT affect the water flow, becuase the water level does not change, peopl turn off thier skimmer during feedings to not overflow the skimmer with "Raw" uneaten food.

 

[yogoshio]

Right. As the stuff builds up, it'll get pushed up and over, that way the waste is more dry than wet. Also, if the skimmer hasn't been running very long (less than a week or so) then you won't get much gunk anyway. It needs time to break in to the system.

 

[microview]

I guess I am confused. I thought one of the jobs of the PS was to remove any excessive proteins (from overfeeding etc.)? My system must be different than yours as it flows through a mechanical sponge filter first and any excess food would be trapped by this before making it to the PS anyway. So actually, if I wanted to avoid this from happening, I should shut off the PH's?? (If that was what I wanted to avoid.) If I shut off the PS at feeding time (in my system), it would make no difference whatsoever on 'raw' food as the water draw is from the PHs not the PS. Does that make senses or am I demonstrating my complete ignorance?

 

[yogoshio]

The stuff the skimmer will get out is small. Not food chunks, or things like that, but stuff that you wouldn't necessarily see in the water but still hasn't broken down. The sponge filter is to make sure chunky stuff stays out of the skimmer, impeding flow and bubble formation. You want the powerheads on. The reason they turn it off when feeding is to make sure that food doesn't get stuck to the sponge instead of being eaten.

 

[microview]

Gottcha. That makes (obvious) sense.
Yogosio, so what I should be collecting in the cup is dry, not wet if I have my bubbles set correctly?

 

[yogoshio]

More or less. It will be moist still, but when the skimmer is broken in, the bubbles will form to the point, and more and more buildup will occur at the surface of those bubbles, and then that will be what bubbles up and in to your collection cup. That way, there's little water loss, and what is in your collection cup is more gunk that liquid.

 

[dogstar]

I run mine 24/7, even when feeding...I set it for a dryer foam over the top, not wet or water....

 

[microview]

Thanks for your help. I will play with the bubbles and see if I can fine tune it.