Skimmate question

[Afsal]

I have a skimmer ,Am biostar flotor, my mate has the same skimmer , exact same tank except that I have more lighting , and more corals , same fish load ... his skimmate is definately more than mines and definately smells mote than mine.water changes are done the same time !!!

1) I have a dsb , he has none
2) I have chaeto , he has none

my question is what factors determine the amount of skimmate one gets !!!
also if im not getting as much skimmate as he gets , cud it be possible that i have less "crap" in my system then he does ???

 

[Mekaeel]

probably the skimmer isnt setup correctly?

 

[Afsal]

u think ??? but i set both skimmers up !!!!

 

[Mekaeel]

not really the pro with skimmers.lets see what alan or ridwaan gotta say

 

[AndreT]

Afsal,

One thing you didn't specify... your feeding regime. Do you guys feed the same food and the same amount?

 

[Alan]

Many things affect skimming as Gali has said feeding being one, SG, DKH, where placed in the system etc. Just make sure your airline and venturi are clean and the pump is working proprly. No matter how hard you try you will never get 2 systems that are identical they will always react differently.

 

[Afsal]

oops sorry , i definately feed more !!!! a lot of frozen food !!! with him mainly pellets !!!

 

[Mekaeel]

doesnt temperature also play a role regarding skimmer performance?the warmer the better

 

[AndreT]

O yes SG, that's an important one.

 

[Alan]

I wouldn't worry too much, just watch your system and determine if you have sufficient skimming.

 

[Afsal]

i hope i do , no algae issues ... corals doing well , sps a bit brown but i need to change my tubes as they are old , great polyp extention and showing signs of growth ....

 

[SIMS]

i hope i do , no algae issues ... corals doing well , sps a bit brown but i need to change my tubes as they are old , great polyp extention and showing signs of growth ....

So why worry then - if all is good sit back and enjoy!

 

[Mekaeel]

agree with sims.your system sounds healthy.so just leave it alone

 

[viper357]

How does the SG affect skimmate? Higher SG = more skimmate???

 

[Mekaeel]

good question dean

 

[DragonReef]

How does the SG affect skimmate? Higher SG = more skimmate???

Yip, Higher SG = Denser water = better bubble production. Pretty much why skimmers don't work in fresh water setups.

 

[viper357]

Yip, Higher SG = Denser water = better bubble production. Pretty much why skimmers don't work in fresh water setups.

Thanks, so theoretically, if you want optimum skimmate production then you will run at say 1.026 salinity and also a higher temp of maybe 27-28?

 

[AndreT]

Yup, ever tried a skimmer on FW? Bubbles are huge (compared to SW).

 

[Mekaeel]

thanks anthony!