Do you sometimes pour some skimmate back in your tank?

[Mike.P]

That's the problem with the world today. Everyone who watches YouTube thinks they can do anything.

Do you seriously mean to tell me that I can't DIY my own hot air balloon out of some old socks, and a tea kettle?! You are a liar, a scoundrel, and a destroyer of dreams.

 

[Goodair]

If your doing this, your better off putting your skimmer on a timer and not run it 24/7.

 

[Sallstrom]

If the nutrients are low but I still want to use the skimmer for gas exchange, I just remove the skimmer cup and let the skimmer run(works best if you have an internal skimmer.. ).

 

[Roid Reefs]

I let my drain line run into my sump continuously. It allows most of the liquid to return to the tank, but there is still a buildup of gunk on the collection cup, take it out and clean it once a month or so. if my nitrates rise above 5-10ppm I will close off the drain line for a week or two and do my water changes. Granted I had a light bioload and did not spot/broadcast feed my corals. If I had algae issues I would not do this. For me its easier than figuring out a schedule of how long to run the skimmer and how long to turn it off. Started this when I went out of town for a few days and was dialing in my skimmer and didn't want it overflowing.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Anyone else put their used toilet paper back on old toilet paper rolls?

 

[Zeal]

I mean.... lot of hate in this thread but I only do it after water changes and it’s not a lot maybe a tablespoon.

 

[Goodair]

Anyone else put their used toilet paper back on old toilet paper rolls?

Pro tip: Bathroom towels can be machine washed!

 

[JasPR]

uuuh, no. Ever smell the contents? The formate from a skimmer is a cocktail of dead rotting algae, massive bacteria counts, urea, peptides, fatty acid chains, deteriorating proteins, sugars, dyes and miscellaneous detritus. WHO things its a great idea to reintroduce THAT back into the water?

 

[Jason mack]

I've only ever done it by mistake when my skimmer has overflowed ..but never intentionally done it ...

 

[ngoodermuth]

Only accidentally because the skimmer has overflowed for whatever reason. I don't do it on purpose though. I'd think just turning the skimmer off for a few days (or better idea from above, removing the cup) would have the same effect as pouring it back in the tank?

 

[Saveafish]

I do. I water it down and pour a little back. I have a real skimmer that's 5' tall. It does pull ammonia, nitrate and phosphate out. When levels get too low I'll put some in.

Ps. You wont pry this skimmer out of my cold dead hands. I'm taking it with me when I go.

 

[Saveafish]

Please understand I'm not putting more than 1-2 table spoons back. A week. Its not a micro machine skimmer.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I haven't actually poured the cup back into my sump, but I've definitely run with the drain line going directly back into the sump for months at a time. Absolutely no harm to my tank inhabitants. I did it due to running things like Fluconazole or ChemiClean. IMO, the primary purpose of a skimmer is not to remove organics, but to oxygenate the water. The skimming of organics is just a bonus. If my tank was running low on Nitrates/Phosphates, I would absolutely run the drain directly back into the sump. I would not however take the skimmer offline, except for a couple hours twice a year to clean.

 

[Dom]

I do... occasionally... to get nitrates up. I was at zero and wanted to get them to the 5-10 range.

 

[Backreefing]

I never drain it back in , because I never use a skimmer at all . Works great for me.

 

[K7BMG]

I have by accident turning off my return pump and forgetting to turn off the skimmer.
Solved that problem with a float switch. I would not do it on purpose though.

 

[Ashley Kekua]

I mean.... lot of hate in this thread but I only do it after water changes and it’s not a lot maybe a tablespoon.

are you going trolling us all again??? why

 

[Curious reefer]

I actually dose brightwell aquatics neo phos &neonitro reason why low nutrient tank and no I would not dump the nasty stuff back in just dirtys up the water clarity it's an expensive hobby and I rather buy the phosphate a d nitrates and control the dosing reason why all that stuff your putting back in will up the nutrients but for some reason also will cause red slime the stuff in the bottle has not done that.its clean and keeps nutrients stable I use a jeboa doser to dose it every other day.

 

[Dan Watson]

this seems uneducated. There’s still no right answer here in this thread just people saying yes or no. We’ve recently learned some nitrates and phos is good for a reef system, so what better way and FREE way to bump them up without spending buku $$ on stuff you dont need. there are some harmfuls in there but if you dont shut the skimmer off theyre just gonna wind up back in the cup... Id say its a “What does your reef require” matter and not “is it good or bad”. With most aspects of reefing either can be good or bad. Ive personally used skimpoo to help speed the cycle of my tanks before and seemingly with good success. There is no dictionary for 100% proper reefing. We’re discovering new things every day. I’d say try 5ml per 20-100g in tanks with extremely low nit/phos. Id be willing to bet it will help propagation and color.
If your gonna try it, Judge how DARK and thick your skimpoop is and adjust with RO accordingly. and also try not to use skimpoo thats weeks/months old as a lot of the good bacteria that was removed may have died.

 

[danreefman]

I throw pennies in my tank. For good luck.