How many days to fill a proper skimmer cup?

[RSnodgrass]

How long does everyone think it should take to fill a proper skimmer cup?

I think it would be a good gage of a skimmers proper sizing & tuning. What's everyone's opinion on this? Why?

 

[G Santana]

It depends on bio load and feeding schedule.

I have 5 fish in a 130 gallon fed once a day, my skimmer cup has to be emptied twice a week, sometimes 3X

 

[RSnodgrass]

It seems like mine is humming at around 4-5 days. That's when it consistently producing a similar amount daily.

Longer periods seem to be less consistent at forming a head for me. Particularly if longer than a week the skimmate production is inconsistent day over day even if feeding isn't.

 

[vetteguy53081]

the volume of tank, amount of feeding, amount of livestock and inorganic waste buildup will best determine that

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Yup, too many variables to hammer down a accurate schedule. My case is an 120g with HEAVY stocking and a slightly undersized skimmer prolly every 3 days (I use a external skimmer container) and a 180g with moderate stocking and just a skimmer cup, 5-7 days.

 

[RSnodgrass]

Lots of great points.

I somewhat wonder if the only real varient is not in what you feed or bioload but in the skimmer relative to that bioload.

A skimmer may be rated for 150-300gal (heavy stocked to light stocked) but at some point it hits a wall on both ends.

Either it produces really fast and can't settle down because it's undersized, or it produces in spurts because it's waiting on enough waste to build up for a temporary stable head.

This of course assumes it's tuned correctly.

 

[Lavey29]

I dry skim so mine takes a week or more.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I was playing around and I put my Octopus 200 DC skimmer on my 120 gallon tank, I got 1 finger wide of skim mate in a week, so after a couple of weeks, I put my Simplicity 240 DC and I was dumping the cup every 9 hours. I do not believe in over sizing a skimmer.

 

[shakacuz]

I dry skim so mine takes a week or more.

same here. might start wet skimming to lower Ph..

 

[Sean Clark]

My idea of proper size skimmer cup is a 5 gallon remote reservoir, but I think I read the question wrong. I think you are asking about a skimmer that is sized properly.

 

[Auquanut]

I try to target my skimmer to produce a darkish tea colored skimmate. I guess not a wet or dry skim, but a medium. Right now, I'm cleaning the cup at about half full every three days. Kinda got it tuned in to clean when I change my filter socks. You do have to pull the skimmer and give it a good cleaning every few months, cause performance will degrade over time.

 

[WVNed]

4 gallons every 3-4 days

 

[Reeferjunkie]

3 to 5 days maybe a week sometimes

 

[Lavey29]

same here. might start wet skimming to lower Ph..

I think if you over wet skim to it can lower salinity.

 

[90's reefer]

My 120 with 30g remote fuge for 150g's toatal water volume.
I run a Tunze 9430dc rated at
900g's or 270g's full sps.
My system is over 2.5 years old now and it produces 300ml of skim a day.
I practice heavy in/out with 17 fish total including the remote 30g fuge.
I never let it get full. The cup has the neck attatched and is super easy to clean.

 

[RSnodgrass]

My idea of proper size skimmer cup is a 5 gallon remote reservoir, but I think I read the question wrong. I think you are asking about a skimmer that is sized properly.

Agreed, love having a large reservoir.

 

[RSnodgrass]

My 120 with 30g remote fuge for 150g's toatal water volume.
I run a Tunze 9430dc rated at
900g's or 270g's full sps.
My system is over 2.5 years old now and it produces 300ml of skim a day.
I practice heavy in/out with 17 fish total including the remote 30g fuge.
I never let it get full. The cup has the neck attatched and is super easy to clean.
View attachment 2557302

Appreciate the added details, helps alot for context.

 

[malfist]

Get a Davey Jones locker from avast and it can be months

 

[Dan_P]

How long does everyone think it should take to fill a proper skimmer cup?

I think it would be a good gage of a skimmers proper sizing & tuning. What's everyone's opinion on this? Why?

Skimmers collect foam at a rate that depends on how they are adjusted. If you need to remove organics and particulates quickly, the skimmer is set to wet skim. If water conservation is important, the skimmer is set so as to minimize water in the foam, that is, dry skim, but this reduces the rate organic matter removal. The amount and type of organic material in the water can effect the wetness of the foam. sizing a skimmer is related to the amount of water per hour the system passes through the skimmer. Larger systems need more water treated than smaller ones and tend to have larger devices.

There is a science behind foam fractionation which seems to be ignored by most hobbyists.

 

[RSnodgrass]

Skimmers collect foam at a rate that depends on how they are adjusted. If you need to remove organics and particulates quickly, the skimmer is set to wet skim. If water conservation is important, the skimmer is set so as to minimize water in the foam, that is, dry skim, but this reduces the rate organic matter removal. The amount and type of organic material in the water can effect the wetness of the foam. sizing a skimmer is related to the amount of water per hour the system passes through the skimmer. Larger systems need more water treated than smaller ones and tend to have larger devices.

There is a science behind foam fractionation which seems to be ignored by most hobbyists.

100% agree, that is an extremely intelligent way to articulate what I'm hoping to garner from this survey.

Ideally it gives people the ability to say 'I'm in the ballpark for the correct size skimmer based on how long it takes to fill a standard container, if I'm not then I need to attempt to tune again, if I'm still not I may have the wrong skimmer.'