Skimmer Crud

[rangermonroe]

Is there any practical use for the gook that a skimmer removes from the water. I would think that , except for the presence of salt, it would make a dynamite plant food. Does anyone use it for something other than a kithcen sink air freshener ?

 

[fishman830]

nope, i just chuck it

 

[jpawson]

a friend of mine mixes "the crud" with water and uses it on his house plants. His plants look great! I have not tried it.

 

[zafirablanca]

I strongly urge those who use it for their houseplants to reconsider. The salt content will eventually kill the plant. Depending on the plant, this will either happen relatively quickly, or without question over a period of time. Salt build up in soil is a tremendously difficult problem to remedy and few plants can tolerate it. Salty soil is pretty much toxic to plants and unusable.
Just for the record, my degree is in Agricultural Science with a Horticulture Emphasis. I have worked for The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, The University of Minnesota Plant Pathology Department, and a private Biotech company specializing in biocontrol agents of natural plant pests. (Just so it doesn't seem like I am jumping up on a soapbox with no real source of info/ experience as sometimes 'appears' to happen here.)
Unfortunately, I dont believe that there is an effective way to remove the salt from the skimate. If there was, it would be great for plants! For now, I use mine for 'kitchen sink freshener' as well.

-Christine

 

[dburr]

Take a picture and post it on this board and ask people that dont run skimmers, dont do water changes, etc how they remove that waste from their tanks.... and dare them not to say with plants!!
Hmmm.... This is what I don't get. Use a skimmer, take out potential food for corals and pods. Add food back in with DT's, phyto plankton, ect... Waste money on food and electricity.
OK, really, I don't use a skimmer. I am under stocked as far as fish. Lots on LS and LR, refuge, 3 types of macro's. Lots of SPS, LPS and softies.
I turned on my skimmer last week for 5 days and got maybe a 1/4 cup. I turned it off again, prolly toss it. How do I remove waste? Corals, macro's and water changes.
I don't recomend this for newbies.

 

[i like fish]

Christine, how do you know the skimmer is taking out salt?
If it did, the salinity levels in our tanks would drop.

 

[zafirablanca]

Im not exactly saying that a skimmer removes salt from the water exactly. But the skimmate will contain salt for sure. It is not so efficient or technologically advanced bit of eqipment that it could remove ONLY waste from the water. It also removes water, in this case saltwater (as a 'carrier' of the waste). If it didn't we would be removing solids from our skmmer cup, not pouring out a liqiud.
This does very gradually deplete salt from our tanks, considering we top off with freshwater to compensate for evaporation. The same as if we use tank water to acclimate new fish or mix with food. Eventually we will need to adjust the salinity of the tank water, maybe even just slightly. Most likely at water change/ water testing time.
Unfortunately, saltwater is bad for us land dwellers that rely on a specific osmotic pressure to keep things 'right' in our bodies. Like when you hear you should drink your own tears and urine before you drink any saltwater if you are ever stranded at sea. Drinking saltwater will dehydrate you. (And its kind of yucky at that). Plants can't really handle it either.
Was that helpful or just confusing?
Helpful I hope!
-Christine

 

[i like fish]

Sounds good to me. I just wondered if maybe you had tested it. Actually my salinity seems to rise over time for some reason so I have to mix my water change water a little on the weak side.