Skimmers and Filter Socks in Reef Tanks

[foodshape]

Just a couple questions about using these...

When adding anything to the water (phytoplankton, vitamins + amino-acids, etc.) should filter socks be removed and skimmers turned off for a few hours so the corals have a change to get those goodies? Just wondering if either of these devices has a counterproductive effect at times. Eg: I would think some of the phytoplankton would tend to get trapped in the sock or skimmed out, wouldn't it?

 

[bang guy]

For some reason live phytoplankton is able to avoid being trapped by the skimmer bubbles. Unfortunately most of us feed dead phyto which will get skimmed out. Filter socks are not fine enough to trap phytoplankton, dead or alive.

 

[foodshape]

Ok thanks bang guy, sounds like shutting off the skimmer for awhile after adding phyto is in order... The stuff I'm currently adding is refrigerated, and supposedly 'live' (read dormant?) when added, but gets stunned (or killed?) by suddenly dumping it into warm water. I suppose the logic there is that there is more nutritional value to stunned or just killed phyto than long dead stuff... Make sense? or am I being sold BS by the lfs?

 

[bang guy]

That sounds right. I doubt the phyto is killed instantly though.