mr . salty
Active Member
What are the signs that your skimmer is not big enough for the tank? STEVE
SKIMMER BIG ENOUGH OR NOT
- Thread starter mr . salty
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mr . salty
Active Member
I don't have that problem because I have a spray bar(home made) across the length of the back wall with every other hole pointing across the surface.Plus two big hagan powerheads also aggitating the surface.Anything else??STEVE
mr . salty
Active Member
Mine fills a the two liter pop bottle I've got hooked up to drain it automaticaly every week. Two liters a week,Out of a 125,give or take a cup or two.What do you think??
[This message has been edited by MR . SALTY (edited 10-14-2000).]
[This message has been edited by MR . SALTY (edited 10-14-2000).]
mr . salty
Active Member
It's the only thing I have skimped on,thats why I m wondering. It's24" tall,2 1/2"dia. It uses a wood block bubbler.And it is a counter current style. I keep it clean and it produces a dark greenish/brown liquid.STEVE
broomer5
Active Member
Steve,
I'm no expert on skimmers by any means, but I will offer this.
Don Carner has written a 3 part protein skimmer discussion, easy to understand, and has some good overall information. There are some other good discussions as well on the topic at:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/pets/s...um/?once=true&
I'm not aware of any affordable test kits that would allow us to "measure" the amount of organic wastes in our systems, that would be a big help. I run my skimmer 12 hours at night, and timer shuts it off during the day. Some folks run them 24/7 and I suppose there are other personal opinions as well. All depends on whether you have a FO - FOWLR - or full blown REEF with few if any fish, and the number of waste producers in your tank, that will determine the amount of wastes produced. Also some people have the opinion that it is possible to "overskim" and others feel that is not an issue. Lots of things here ... type of mechancial and bio filtering, type of substrate, running carbon, phosphate sponges, nitrate removal via devices and water changes, protein skimming, chemical additives ... they all play a part on our water quality.
Two liters a week seems excessive, but you do have a much larger tank and larger fish than mine. My skimmer produces about a half cup per 12 hours of run time on a 55 gallon with sump, which may very well be undersized .. not sure. Excellent question though ... I'm interested in hearing other opinions on this topic !
Broomer
I'm no expert on skimmers by any means, but I will offer this.
Don Carner has written a 3 part protein skimmer discussion, easy to understand, and has some good overall information. There are some other good discussions as well on the topic at:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/pets/s...um/?once=true&
I'm not aware of any affordable test kits that would allow us to "measure" the amount of organic wastes in our systems, that would be a big help. I run my skimmer 12 hours at night, and timer shuts it off during the day. Some folks run them 24/7 and I suppose there are other personal opinions as well. All depends on whether you have a FO - FOWLR - or full blown REEF with few if any fish, and the number of waste producers in your tank, that will determine the amount of wastes produced. Also some people have the opinion that it is possible to "overskim" and others feel that is not an issue. Lots of things here ... type of mechancial and bio filtering, type of substrate, running carbon, phosphate sponges, nitrate removal via devices and water changes, protein skimming, chemical additives ... they all play a part on our water quality.
Two liters a week seems excessive, but you do have a much larger tank and larger fish than mine. My skimmer produces about a half cup per 12 hours of run time on a 55 gallon with sump, which may very well be undersized .. not sure. Excellent question though ... I'm interested in hearing other opinions on this topic !
Broomer
mr . salty
Active Member
Broomer, I am aware that every tank is differant as to the waste produced and the bio load. That is why I stated the question in such a general way. Just wondering if there was a definitive sign? I also have gotten into a deep discussion with my LFS guy about overskimming.That is why I undersized mine. Right now I'm thinking it's doing an OK job. It's running 24/7 and definatly NOT overskimming,and water readings are good. No cloudiness,and fish are happy.STEVE
mr . salty
Active Member
Yea Sammy,thats kinda how i'm thinking. Just thought that someone out there had some magical secret formula or something.STEVE
broomer5
Active Member
Okay ...
Then aside from taking a water sample to a biochem lab and having them measure the amount of disolved organic compounds, I would say a definitive sign would be your tank water starts to look and smell bad, and the fish/inverts are doing poorly. None of these seem to be the case, so you are probably okay.
I was simply expressing my viewpoint.
Then aside from taking a water sample to a biochem lab and having them measure the amount of disolved organic compounds, I would say a definitive sign would be your tank water starts to look and smell bad, and the fish/inverts are doing poorly. None of these seem to be the case, so you are probably okay.
I was simply expressing my viewpoint.
mr . salty
Active Member
Seahorse,and Clownfan. read SAMMY'S post,it will tell you what it removes. Do you need one???If you have fish,you need one. Depending on how many fish will determine how long to run it. Seahorse,you dont need one till your cycle is done and you add fish. Clownfan, the cyclone is an alright skimmer for the money,but it has problems. Modifications can be made to improve it's skimming.STEVE