How do you use your Protien Skimmer

[Aquadude1]

I feed my 90 mixed reef heavily to provide food and nutrients like nitrogen and carbon for the corals and other organisms in the system. This includes phosphate. While some is needed, I found that without a skimmer, the phosphate tended to rise too quickly. I use a Reef Octo 150 Ext with a 500 gph supply pump and set it to a dark wet output. This keeps the phosphate level stable but results in low nitrates. I dose ammonia to keep it above 0.

Thats kind of what im getting at. Skimming to add something back either nitrate or phosphate seems counterintuitive to me.
Ive been trying to think of the best way around that.

 

[Aquadude1]

I don't touch it as long as it is producing normally. However, I do use it to wet skim when I change water. You hook up your ATO to your new saltwater jug and the overflow line of your skimmer to a bucket or a junk jug. Wet skim flows a lot more than junk but it seems to help cut high phosphates which I battled a long time. Mind you the water change takes quite a while and you do need to monitor salinity but when done, you tend to pull a lot more junk. Also, during the process, I frequently stir up the tank but a turkey baster to make sure the junk is in the water column and gets into the skimmer chamber.

Thats interesting. I had not thought about skimming wet enough to be equivalent to a water change before.

 

[X-37B]

I don't touch it as long as it is producing normally. However, I do use it to wet skim when I change water. You hook up your ATO to your new saltwater jug and the overflow line of your skimmer to a bucket or a junk jug. Wet skim flows a lot more than junk but it seems to help cut high phosphates which I battled a long time. Mind you the water change takes quite a while and you do need to monitor salinity but when done, you tend to pull a lot more junk. Also, during the process, I frequently stir up the tank but a turkey baster to make sure the junk is in the water column and gets into the skimmer chamber.

One thing nice about the LifeReef skimmer is the drain.
If I want to fill that 1g jug up with wet skim I can just turn up the pump.
Works just like what you do and I can do it anytime.

 

[Aquadude1]

I don't touch it as long as it is producing normally. However, I do use it to wet skim when I change water. You hook up your ATO to your new saltwater jug and the overflow line of your skimmer to a bucket or a junk jug. Wet skim flows a lot more than junk but it seems to help cut high phosphates which I battled a long time. Mind you the water change takes quite a while and you do need to monitor salinity but when done, you tend to pull a lot more junk. Also, during the process, I frequently stir up the tank but a turkey baster to make sure the junk is in the water column and gets into the skimmer chamber.

One thing nice about the LifeReef skimmer is the drain.
If I want to fill that 1g jug up with wet skim I can just turn up the pump.
Works just like what you do and I can do it anytime.

I have asked you about your reduced water changes before. Would you say your skimmer and salt in the ato is a big part of why you do that?

 

[X-37B]

Thats kind of what im getting at. Skimming to add something back either nitrate or phosphate seems counterintuitive to me.
Ive been trying to think of the best way around that.

Skimmers provide oxygen to the system too. I run live rock on all systems and have never had an issue or worry about what it's removing.
Most no3 and po4 issues that people relate to skimmers are on systems that have little life and or dead rock starts.
I run no skimmer on my 15g.
Not needed on a nano.
Again live rock start.

 

[Aquadude1]

Thats kind of what im getting at. Skimming to add something back either nitrate or phosphate seems counterintuitive to me.
Ive been trying to think of the best way around that.

Skimmers provide oxygen to the system too. I run live rock on all systems and have never had an issue or worry about what it's removing.
Most no3 and po4 issues that people relate to skimmers are on systems that have little life and or dead rock starts.
I run no skimmer on my 15g.
Not needed on a nano.
Again live rock start.

I agree live rock start seems to make most aspects of the hobby much easier

 

[X-37B]

I have asked you about your reduced water changes before. Would you say your skimmer and salt in the ato is a big part of why you do that?

No. The salt added is just needed to keep sg stable.
After 30+ I see no need for larger WC's.
I did weekly forever.
Note: on my 15g I do 20% 2× a month and the water is always yellowish. On my 150 after 1 month the WC water is still clear.
Also I run ozone in the 9430.

 

[X-37B]

I agree live rock start seems to make most aspects of the hobby much easier

Yea I will be using it on my ext 112 as soon as GLR get it harvested.

 

[Aquadude1]

No. The salt added is just needed to keep sg stable.
After 30+ I see no need for larger WC's.
I did weekly forever.
Note: on my 15g I do 20% 2× a month and the water is always yellowish. On my 150 after 1 month the WC water is still clear.
Also I run ozone in the 9430.

Got it. I was more asking do you think the wet skimming is kind of a water change in of its self?

 

[Aquadude1]

Yea I will be using it on my ext 112 as soon as GLR get it harvested.

Thats actually the tank I was thinking of getting.

 

[skey44]

I love my skimmers. The tunze 9004 is adjusted by water level and I run the air wide open. It just chugs along. I’m always tweaking my Ultra Reef. I recently maintained it and did a few weeks of wet skimming and it obviously benefited my tank. Benefits include Clearer water, new coral growth, better colors, and nutrient numbers better controlled.

Apparently the bubble plate and skimmer functioned as a baby trochus snail sanctuary!

Don’t forget the skimmer sensor there lol skimmer sensor is my favorite accessory keeping the skimmer from accidentally overflowing!
All clean!

 

[X-37B]

Got it. I was more asking do you think the wet skimming is kind of a water change in of its self?

Yes good point. Any time you remove water from the system water needs to be added. I would estimate around 2g's a month on my 150. Water is being replaced by the ato so I need to add salt for sg.

 

[Aquadude1]

I am thinking all the problems I attributed mainly to skimmers in new tanks was actually mainly caused by dead starts and skimming just exaggerated the problem

 

[X-37B]

I love my skimmers. The tunze 9004 is adjusted by water level and I run the air wide open. It just chugs along. I’m always tweaking my Ultra Reef. I recently maintained it and did a few weeks of wet skimming and it obviously benefited my tank. Benefits include Clearer water, new coral growth, better colors, and nutrient numbers better controlled.

Apparently the bubble plate and skimmer functioned as a baby trochus snail sanctuary!

Don’t forget the skimmer sensor there lol skimmer sensor is my favorite accessory keeping the skimmer from accidentally overflowing!

Cool! Tunze dc skimmers have anti overflow.
I replaced a 9430dc in my 150 with the LifeReef. It was running since day one with no cleaning except for the cup.

 

[Aquadude1]

The tunze skimmer has move way up my list because of this conversation. I was leaning nyos or bubble magus, but ill have to give more thought to tunze.

 

[X-37B]

Thats actually the tank I was thinking of getting.

The Tunze 9430dc just fits in the 112. It's on a 3" stand and sits in 5" of water for maximum performance.
It's on with nothing in the system, lol. It skims all the stuff out of the system before I add the rock.

 

[Aquadude1]

Thats actually the tank I was thinking of getting.

The Tunze 9430dc just fits in the 112. It's on a 3" stand and sits in 5" of water for maximum performance.
It's on with nothing in the system, lol. It skims all the stuff out of the system before I add the rock.

How do like the sump of the 112? If you could do it again would you get the package without the sump and buy another or do you like the im one

 

[Aquadude1]

I love my skimmers. The tunze 9004 is adjusted by water level and I run the air wide open. It just chugs along. I’m always tweaking my Ultra Reef. I recently maintained it and did a few weeks of wet skimming and it obviously benefited my tank. Benefits include Clearer water, new coral growth, better colors, and nutrient numbers better controlled.

Apparently the bubble plate and skimmer functioned as a baby trochus snail sanctuary!

Don’t forget the skimmer sensor there lol skimmer sensor is my favorite accessory keeping the skimmer from accidentally overflowing!
All clean!

Whatever you are doing must be working! Tank looks great!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I would use a skimmer for aeration even if that’s all it did, but I also want to heavily remove dissolved organics. I see no reason to limit that effect.

 

[skey44]

The Tunze 9430dc just fits in the 112. It's on a 3" stand and sits in 5" of water for maximum performance.
It's on with nothing in the system, lol. It skims all the stuff out of the system before I add the rock.

That’s an awesome feature. Tunze makes solid products! My little Tunze only overflows if the water level rises above the cup. It’s in a sump for my frag system so I’m admittedly not using it as designed. The ultra reef is like a temperamental Ferrari. When it’s running it is a beast and a beautiful thing, but it takes some work and safe guards to keep it from overflowing or underperforming. It has overflowed twice due to salt particle buildup in the silencer. Now that I know I do preventive maintenance on it. That skimmer sensor has definitely added peace of mind with it being somewhat sensitive to overflows.