Is it possible to "over-skim"?

[ibizman]

Hey all,

I have a 20g with no sump. I just bought a Red-Sea Prizm skimmer to hang on the back for now.

My question is... Is is possible to skim too much, I mean, should I be limiting the amount of time that I run the skimmer to prevent taking too much out of the water???

[Spanky]

Originally posted by ibizman
My question is... Is is possible to skim too much, I mean, should I be limiting the amount of time that I run the skimmer to prevent taking too much out of the water???

The short answer is no, it's not possible to skim too much. The long answer might be a little too long though but here's the nuts and bolts of it.

Depends on what animals, critters, corals, etc you're keeping. What other methods you have in place to control algae fertilizer in the tank. Some critters will actually help you reduce nutrient levels and a tank full of them will test low for solubles. Water changes will reduce levels. How crowded the tank is. Feeding. Lighting.

Keep in mind, no matter what you do to reduce nutrient levels in a closed system, they will always be much higher than found in a similar environment in nature.

[dermp]

I agree with spanky, I have my skimmer running 24/7 and I don't have any problems. Everything seems to be growing pretty good so far!

[Geoff]

as long as your skimmate is brown and dry, then go with the Spankster. if your skimmate is clear or white and really wet then you are skimming to much, and the skimmer needs to be adjusted. you should get the dry brown skimmate, this is a sign of a properly adjusted skimmer.

hth,

G~

[Spanky]

but Geoff, I run mine wet and take out about a 1/2 gal of dark tea colored skimmate every day.
but you're right, white, wet and clear is a skimmer adjustment problem.

[cyberchef]

I'm just going to bite my tongue and not say anything...

BTW what does skimmate look and smell like???

[Spanky]

Euuuuuuuuu! I usually know without having to open the cabinet and look.

[dermp]

I know what mine takes out which is not a whole lot, but I can tell you its very very dark greenish brownish black. Thick too..I smelled it and it had a almost spicy smell to it??

Mine doesn't take out much skimmate am I running it to dry, its always making bubbles but it takes awhile to get it to come out to the cup??

[Spanky]

dermp, I have never used that skimmer. Is there a way to adjust the amount of air going into it? You might have it too high or too low. Too high will give you too big bubbles and too low will not give you enough bubbles.
How about water level? You might need to raise your water level in the skimmer too.
Can the amount of water flowing into the skimmer be adjusted? You might need to up the flow too. OR slow it down so the skimmer has time to pull more out.

[dermp]

Yep it can be ajusted and I think I might need to clean it, that might help a little. It takes out some very thick stuff though. The thickest I think I have ever scene. I should take a pic and post it for you to take a look at for me. I might do that when I get home from work later today.

[mnreefgeek]

ibizman - I used to run the Prism on my 20H. Even with a relatively high bio load, I didn't feel that I was getting the skimmer to skim enough. I wound up upgrading to a remora. Now, I'd like a ReefMania. In short, I don't think you'll have any problems with overskimming with the Red Sea.

[Todd]

Just jumping back into the hobby here after a few year hiatus but just inserting a point into the discussion. I understood that certain elements that were beneficial would be removed by the skimmer as well. Particularly iodine and potentially other elements.

Wouldn't skimming 24/7 be like leaving in carbon 24/7 particularly on a small tank like a 20 gallon with a decent skimmer like the Remora skimmers?

[mnreefgeek]

Todd - no tests to back this up, but I think that all of my trace elements are kept in check with my water changes.

[Spanky]

Todd, you absolutely right. The iodine complex is easily removed by skimming, either directly or indirectly through removing organisms that have incorporated it. However, it's also heavily found in the foods we feed especially if you're feeding fresh seafoods. So it ends up being a "tit for tat", even though skimming is removing it, it's readily replaced by feeding or just supplementing if you're so inclined.
Keep in mind, even without skimming, it's rapidly incorporated in the marine environment anyway.

Also, there's a built in flaw. A lot, if not most, skimmers are not that efficient, they are not that over sized, and a lot of the time they are not operated that efficiently.