Algae Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Just wondering how people skim and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Dry skimming all the way. Wet skimming makes no sense to me. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellowithgills Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I'm still dialing in my new skimmer so it's a little lighter than I want it to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 on the wetish side of dry, easier to clean. clean the head every sunday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I'm still dialing in my new skimmer so it's a little lighter than I want it to be. +1 on that. I just dialed mine a little too high, I checked on it a couple hours later to find the two litter a little less than half full (scary) The skim mate still looked dirty though, and I had just dumped it out when I dialed it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonH Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I voted Oolong (funny, btw). I figure if it's darker than my tank water, than my tank water is cleaner without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I skim on the wetter side...I feel like I pull a lot more waist out of the water when its on the wetter side. This is a weeks worth. I empty it every Sunday. If I go slightly wetter, it will fill up in a couple days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I'm about where Ryan is. Mine is wet, but is absolutely the nastiest smelling swill I've ever smelled. Any drier, and the area below the removable cup starts getting caked up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Seems that wet skimming removes more organic material if you see it as total amount removed. Dry skimming is more efficient in terms of organics removed compared to the water volume. This because the first kind of skimming will remove a lot of stuff, included some that are not supposed to be removed. Mainly calcium, which is like 90% of a wet skimming cup if I remember well. The dry skimming does have the downfall to have some organic compounds "draining" down the column and go back into the tank before the bubbles can pop. I think that the best is something in between. But it also depends on the design of your skimmer. Cone skimmers allow you do skim a little bit on the dry side without having a lot of organic compounds falling down, or draining back into the water column. So the scenario is always evolving with the technology. The problem is that there aren't recent empirical researches about this, so it is just what we suppose and what the good sense suggests. Does not mean that it is true For me it depends on how the tank is doing. I usually skim between dry and wet, but I set it for wet skimming when I see some issues. It seems to work well for my setup. It also depends on how efficient and powerful is your skimmer compared to your tank, and the design of the skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Kinda go sludge-like. Al Dente, if you will. What can I do with it? Appetizers, anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Just to have an idea: when I mean skimming wet I mean about 5 gallons of skimmate per week, which for me is about a little bit less than 0.5% of my water volume. When I skim dry I do about a gallon per week. This is for all the foam lovers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Kinda go sludge-like. Al Dente, if you will. What can I do with it? Appetizers, anyone? AWESOME! (nutty) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelhead77 Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 on the wetish side of dry' date=' easier to clean. clean the head every sunday[/quote'] +1. Exactly what I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Michael, sludge is what I'm pulling. Those crackers look delicious. I dumped out 4 days worth of skimmate yesterday...in a hurry i dumped it in my kitchen sink. My house stunk like $#!% for 3 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Mine looks really similar to what Franklin is getting. Just alittle darker lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigjohnwoody Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Thank you Franklin for posting this up. I have been struggling with my skimmer trying to figure out the best way to skim. It has been very wet thus far. I am in the tea department so far but trying to get a little darker. Why you ask? I have no idea, just seems like the pictures I see are nice dark sludge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayTheSavageFraser Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I have two big skimmers dry skimming at all times! I also once a month use carbon, I also use a 100 gallon refugium. Clay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I know that Algae and Clay enjoy skimmer crackers when they meet. I saw them with my own eyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricsNano Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I'm a very wet skimmer. Probably because if I don't, my cheapy skimmer pulls nothing out. It's a piece, but the wetter it goes, the better it does. I only have a 10 gallon, and I don't mind topping off the cup of water it skims off per day, and I hardly feed, so that's probably why it's more like a tea than anything else. And I, too, agree that if it's darker than tank water, it's still a success! Also, I was worried about the Calcium in the wet, so I started dosing more after testing that theory out. With no skimming/very dry skimming, I kept my Ca levels up a lot higher. Now since I go the moist route, I have to dose a lot more. A LOT more, in comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I'm a very wet skimmer. Probably because if I don't, my cheapy skimmer pulls nothing out. It's a piece, but the wetter it goes, the better it does. I only have a 10 gallon, and I don't mind topping off the cup of water it skims off per day, and I hardly feed, so that's probably why it's more like a tea than anything else. And I, too, agree that if it's darker than tank water, it's still a success! Also, I was worried about the Calcium in the wet, so I started dosing more after testing that theory out. With no skimming/very dry skimming, I kept my Ca levels up a lot higher. Now since I go the moist route, I have to dose a lot more. A LOT more, in comparison. This is a good point. Skimming wet means you are removing a lot of calcium, so find a way to put it back in the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Thank you Franklin for posting this up. I have been struggling with my skimmer trying to figure out the best way to skim. It has been very wet thus far. I am in the tea department so far but trying to get a little darker. Why you ask? I have no idea' date=' just seems like the pictures I see are nice dark sludge.[/quote'] I am asking cause I am always wondering if I am leaving a little on the table, John. This skimmer is my ER 135 and it doesn't pull a lot of air (around 14), but it pumps a lot of water volume. I don't even try to collect into the cup very much. I concentrate on the sludge build-up. My Vertex 180 conversely, pulls a lot of air but the water volume is way down. My huge ER and my AquaC 240 also pump large amounts of water and, I believe are more suitable to dry skimming. I know that Algae and Clay enjoy skimmer crackers when they meet. I saw them with my own eyes You seemed to enjoy them and even asked for seconds at Clay's house, Alex! In fact, you pulled them out of your boxer's mouth an inhaled 4 of them,(hungry)(hungry)(hungry)(hungry) if I remember correctly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold B Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I skim dark but not sludge I don't recommend wet skimming unless you take in to consideration that an ATO will likely be droping your salinity. Thanks Harold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 My skimmer looks like my fish poop strait into it.So make me feel like im getting all of it.woooohoooo.I mean pyeeeewwwww. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peddy10181 Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Wet, all the way. 10 to 20 gallons a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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