How often do you empty your protein skimmer cup?

Getting suspicious of my protein skimmer

 

Depends on a lot of things. DO you have the skimmer water level max, low, somewhere in between? Skimming wet or dry? Running Carbon? Filter Sock? Low nutrients? Where's the moon? When was your last sacrifice to the reef gods?

Lots of factors

Me? With socks, skimming relatively wet, I might take 2 weeks to fill up. Without socks, same setting would be a week or less. Skimming dry, maybe a month.

Skimming dry with no sock and no carbon, a week. Skimming wet with no sock, no carbon, max skimmer water level -- 2-3 days.

If this doesn't make you question every option for skimming, as well as the reaction to an action, I've failed to make my point.

 

Ok cool 2 weeks to fill up for me too lol, just wanted to make sure. Nitrates been creeping up just wanted to make sure it wasnt my skimmer

 

Mine empties into a one gallon container. So once a month.

 

Whenever I do a water change since I have it draining into a gallon jug. Works like a charm.

 

Every other day. The cleaner I keep the neck the more nasty gunk I collect.

 

Oh man... I loathe the nutrient conversation so here ya go: Nutrients aren't bad. Whoever told you that lied to you. Most every "master" suggests elevated nitrates and phosphates -- Not a single one says ULNS is ideal. Not a single one suggests below 5 no3.

Here's two links
---> Tank Parameters of some Masters <---

Richard Ross -- Whats up with Phosphates

 

^ You forget that newer reef tanks can't run higher phosphates and nitrates without running into algae issues since the biology of the tank is not there to handle higher nutrient loads. The speaker admits he has algae issues but has a cuc to compensate and corals to outcompete the algae. I call crap on that speaker.


A mature 5+ yr old system may be able to handle higher nutrients. A newer system. No way.

 

If I let it fill up around two weeks, but I usually empty it at the halfway point.

 

I empty mine about once a month. I have a gallon jug to catch the waste. I get lots of nasty stuff from it. I change water and clean the sump at the same time. I wish I could go as long on the ATO tank filling.

 

Mine can go two days but its very full. Wet in the cup but nearly black in color, like mud in the neck 1\8" thick

 

I have a skimz sk181 on my 72 bowfront so the skimmer is way oversized compared to te tank especially since I only have 2 clownfish, clown goby, melanarus wrasse, and a purple tang. The tank is only a few months old but I last emptied the cup on November 20th and right now it still is only 1/3 full.

 

I don't wait for the cup to fill. I empty it and clean the neck of the skimmer every week.

 

I have a overhead sump so I can see my skimmer. I clean it out every second day. It doesn't get more than about an inch full.

 

What are you suspicious about?

 

I have a feeling its under performing, but then again I guess bioload is low still

 

Either when I see it needs it or more importantly when I smell it, lol

 

I forgot nothing -- I disagree. High nutrients since day 1. We've argued about this before on RC -- So no need to respond because we will not see eye to eye. There's more than one way to do things. Dealing in absolutes is the only way you can do it wrong.

 

Here’s
the real question. Reply one sums up quantity of skimmate. Emptying the cup up to individual.
My question is how often do hobbiests pull the skimmer out to clean up a quarter inch of accumulated slime from the neck end upper collecting chamber???