How many days to fill a proper skimmer cup?

[RSnodgrass]

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

Right, hopefully you answered the survey assuming you weren't using a supplemental storage.

 

[Pico bam]

I do some dry skimming Ryan usually a week+ id love to add a neck cleaner and a 5 gallon bucket reservoir, it would be smooth sailing.

 

[RSnodgrass]

I do some dry skimming Ryan usually a week+ id love to add a neck cleaner and a 5 gallon bucket reservoir, it would be smooth sailing.

Dude you have to get one! They are so nice... they do collect crud so you'd probably need to clean prior to the 5 gal being full.

 

[Pico bam]

Dude you have to get one! They are so nice... they do collect crud so you'd probably need to clean prior to the 5 gal being full.

looking for one for my RO 5000sss right now.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

This is like asking how much waste your family produces every week. Lol.
How much milk you drink a week.
Your gonna get varying answers and yes it i agree it depends on the doc and tank.
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I think I'm going about every week or week and half.
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

My skimmer cup doesn't have a volume measure on the side and I don't measure when I dump so I couldn't tell u exact #s. Lol
D

 

[workhz]

Those that use external containers (in addition to the cup), how do you keep the external container from overflowing? At least when a cup overflows it goes into the tank.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Float switches i think. Just like ato's
D

 

[RSnodgrass]

Those that use external containers (in addition to the cup), how do you keep the external container from overflowing? At least when a cup overflows it goes into the tank.

You don't typically use a float like monkey is suggesting because they require much more maintenance when better solutions exist.

Look up the Avast pressure switch. Zero maintenance and continuously reliable. It can be incorporated into your controller or as a stand alone to kill power to your skimmer.

 

[RSnodgrass]

My skimmer cup doesn't have a volume measure on the side and I don't measure when I dump so I couldn't tell u exact #s. Lol
D

That's why it's a sampling to generate an approximate range to start from. People will be able to quickly tell if they are an outlier or within a general range. If your kid hasn't pooped in 4 days you know you got problems (o;

 

[reefah]

I empty my rsk-600 about once every three - four weeks. If your skimmer cup is getting full and it’s “watery and not so dark” you need to reduce the amount of flow to it. The skimmer needs to produce really dark “guck” to be effective. But yeah it really just depends on bio load and tank size etc

 

[Brucealmighty]

I would have voted 1 week, as most of the votes are leaning, but since adding a bubble magus roller fleece it's now 2 weeks or a little more, I have a 725 litre tank with a curve 5 skimmer rated for 500 litres it has been running for 6+ years with 9 fish now (was 10} and cuc, I have always leaned towards dryer than wet skimming and have got a 500 litre rated skimmer because after rock work etc I believe I am around 500 litres of water or 132 US gallons for those of us who don't speak in litres so I guess it's proving what everyone says in this thread less load = less skimming but as other people have also said in a roundabout way how long is a piece of string?

 

[rhostam]

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.

This made something click today! Thanks.

I’ve been tuning my skimmer for a dry skim. Not really to reduce water, but because I thought it would maximize concentration of waste. Conveniently, this also means I only need to clean collection cup about once every three to four weeks.

But since doing so I’ve noticed that my phosphates have started to climb with no other system change (including feeding and refugium lighting regimen).

Sadly, the cause had eluded me even as I tried different measures to lower them.

 

[Dan_P]

This made something click today! Thanks.

I’ve been tuning my skimmer for a dry skim. Not really to reduce water, but because I thought it would maximize concentration of waste. Conveniently, this also means I only need to clean collection cup about once every three to four weeks.

But since doing so I’ve noticed that my phosphates have started to climb with no other system change (including feeding and refugium lighting regimen).

Sadly, the cause had eluded me even as I tried different measures to lower them.

I doubt if skimming has much effect on PO4 concentration but it certainly does on organic matter.

I wet skim my system, removing 1-4 liters of foam per day. This could be a problem for an aquarium with an automatic top off system though, causing the salinity to decline, unless the system is controlled by salinity rather than water height.

 

[RSnodgrass]

I doubt if skimming has much effect on PO4 concentration but it certainly does on organic matter.

I wet skim my system, removing 1-4 liters of foam per day. This could be a problem for an aquarium with an automatic top off system though, causing the salinity to decline, unless the system is controlled by salinity rather than water height.

I've always heard organics break down into phosphates, nitrates, & ammonia. Curious on your perspective as to why you say that then.

 

[RSnodgrass]

I would have voted 1 week, as most of the votes are leaning, but since adding a bubble magus roller fleece it's now 2 weeks or a little more, I have a 725 litre tank with a curve 5 skimmer rated for 500 litres it has been running for 6+ years with 9 fish now (was 10} and cuc, I have always leaned towards dryer than wet skimming and have got a 500 litre rated skimmer because after rock work etc I believe I am around 500 litres of water or 132 US gallons for those of us who don't speak in litres so I guess it's proving what everyone says in this thread less load = less skimming but as other people have also said in a roundabout way how long is a piece of string?

I had the same thing except using the ClariSea which I've found (visually) to remove far more waste. As such my skimmer rarely works anymore. This was on my system 1 week apart BUT both were on the ClariSea chassis so that could be a factor.

For those reading. I would not say that ClariSea is better simple because it removes more. I bypass mine with half the water volume to keep from over filtering.

 

[Coralsdaily]

I think it really varies from person to person, there is no right answer here. I have ran my skimmer very dry before where I dont need to touch it for a month, at the same time I have skimmer on another tank I’d empty out at least once a week. If you run your skimmer in the wetter side you will have to check your salinity often. And if you run it on the dry side you’d have to pull the entire collection head to clean the inside build up on top of draining the cup

 

[Sean Clark]

Those that use external containers (in addition to the cup), how do you keep the external container from overflowing? At least when a cup overflows it goes into the tank.

Simple switch to shut down the skimmer and turn an alarm on. Float, optical, pressure, lots of ways to accomplish this and keep it safe and clean.

 

[workhz]

Simple switch to shut down the skimmer and turn an alarm on. Float, optical, pressure, lots of ways to accomplish this and keep it safe and clean.

Thanks. I suppose I should look into it. Emptying the cup allows me to get a feel for the rate and type of skimmate it’s pulling. I just wonder if I had a 5 gallon container to fill on auto whether I’d notice something wrong like if the skimmer goes crazy and pulls 5 gallons of water out in a day which by ato will just replenish and screw my salinity.

Anyone make any cheap flow meters? I suppose multiple level sensors would do the trick too.