How do you know your skimmer is tuned the best it can be

[g6gang]

Wanted to get some thoughts on how others know if their protein skimmer is skimming the best it can be?

How fast the cup fills up?
How dark/light the skimmate is?
others?

Also how often do you tune it?

I have been running for almost a year now and still feel like I don't have it dialed in the best it can be..I have a lightly stocked tank, feed lightly, run GFO and GAC in reactor and have never really got rid of my cyano. Zero nitrates, zero phosphates.

Takes about two weeks for skim mate to fill cup (it is on darker side)

My Maxspect Gyre 130 comes in this week to replace my MP10 and Jabeo

 

[g6gang]

as a side note, I noticed the area that had the most Cyano, that the substrate had solidified under the top loose layer. I wonder if that contributes to the Cyano growth?

 

[Reefing Madness]

I check and or adjust mine every morning. I use a HOB unit. It will fill a 1g jug in a weeks time frame. Thats my guage. I also corbon dose, so its always working overtime in my estimation.
I use SeaKlear on my tank, I don't use GFO, I have it dialed in to using only one capful a week. The filter and skimmer take care of the bonded phosphates.
Don't really know if a hard top substrate will cause cyano or not, not that Im aware of. Flip the stuff off, stir up that substrate in the hardened area if you think its a bad thing.

 

[Damon]

Hmmnn.. Interesting question. I would say for me, it kind of depends on what I'm trying to do and also, how the tank looks and responds. I don't really go by how fast the cup fills up, because the speed is going to be dictated by how I have it set (wetter fills faster of course). And I really, go by color and smell.. I run pellets on my system, so I try to tune it, so that I have a light brown, semi opaque skim. Not too dark and dry and not too clear like water. As long as it's doing that (and it always has and does), I don't worry about it too much. That is, as long as everything in the system is looking good.

And I don't tune it much. I clean the cup maybe once every week and a half, drain the skim, and unless I'm taking the skimmer apart to clean, or adjust pellet flow through the reactor, or just want to mess with it, I don't touch the adjustment pipe..

It just performs..

 

[g6gang]

I check and or adjust mine every morning. I use a HOB unit. It will fill a 1g jug in a weeks time frame. Thats my guage. I also corbon dose, so its always working overtime in my estimation.
I use SeaKlear on my tank, I don't use GFO, I have it dialed in to using only one capful a week. The filter and skimmer take care of the bonded phosphates.
Don't really know if a hard top substrate will cause cyano or not, not that Im aware of. Flip the stuff off, stir up that substrate in the hardened area if you think its a bad thing.

SeaKlear? Isn't that made for pools? I am not that brave. Thanks for input.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Yup, its made for pools, you buy 32oz of the stuff and it will last you a year or so. Ask Randal Holmes-Farley about it. No reason not to be brave with it, I've been using it for 2 years without incident, with corals.

 

[Rob Top1]

I run two skimmers. A Becket and recirc needle wheel. Becket is wet needle dry. The needle wheel pulls the darkest nastiest stuff reminds me of that first few poops a baby has, simply gross. The becket pulls about a half gallon of coffee looking stuff very couple days. I clean the needle wheel one daily becket weekly

Just googled it. Baby poop is meconium. Dads you know what I am talking about. Sticky and stinky

 

[Cal]

adjust so that it's doing a wet skimming...then back down a little.

 

[johnwick]

I find that mine skims differently from day to day or how clean or dirty the cup is. I've even had periods where it'll run super wet for days at a time for no apparent reason. Through all this I try to avoid messing with the settings and just let it run its course. I would say eventually you'll get a feel for what you prefer wet vs dry and really just want to shoot for an average.

 

[xtlosx]

Something I'm actually curious about. I just upgraded to a Skimz SV223 DC from a Bubble Magus Curve 9, and because of the amount of air the Skimz can accept, even at almost fully open my foam head is a little into the cup neck area... the skimmate itself is about black, tar, meconeum like poop. Having a six week old I can attest to the smelly baby poop, this stuff vs my old skimmer is night and day.

I don't think there's a better way of doing it, just need to figure out what works for you and just leave it alone. I've found like anything in this hobby, constantly messing with it will NOT help. Set it, come back in a week and see how the skimmate is.