How do you skim? Wet vs. Dry

benihana · #1 09/01/2007, 02:31 PM

I just got my skimmer up and running (CSS NW 125) on my 75 gallon and was wondering the pros and cons of skimmimg wet vs. dry.

Let me know how you skim and why.

Thanks
Ben

LobsterOfJustice · #2 09/01/2007, 03:02 PM

Wet all the way.

Basically, wet pulls out more stuff. Bad stuff and stuff that doesnt matter. And some people believe good stuff too, but personally I dont. Skimming dry pulls out less, but it is more concentrated.

I personally dont see any drawbacks to skimming wet, and I am trying to pull out all the gunk I can, so I skim wet.

sherm71tank · #3 09/01/2007, 03:06 PM

Also skim wet. If it wants out I want to make it as easy as possible.

barjam · #4 09/01/2007, 03:09 PM

Wet here. More crap in the cup, less stuck to the side.

luv951 · #5 09/01/2007, 04:15 PM

One more for wet.....less cleaning of the skimmer as the gunk does not build up as bad.

With my PM Bullet 2, I have also learned that if I have a good foam head built up in the riser and it is gunky above it, I can throw the air valve open and get a sudden rush into the collection cup. It cleans the riser and pushes a ton of gunk out of the skimmer, but its wet. I then put it back to normal operation. Works great.

JOZEFEK · #6 09/01/2007, 05:24 PM

WET

Sarcophyton874 · #7 09/02/2007, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LobsterOfJustice
Wet all the way.

Basically, wet pulls out more stuff. Bad stuff and stuff that doesnt matter. And some people believe good stuff too, but personally I dont. Skimming dry pulls out less, but it is more concentrated.

I personally dont see any drawbacks to skimming wet, and I am trying to pull out all the gunk I can, so I skim wet.

My exact thought process on the issue.

rcypert · #8 09/02/2007, 12:34 AM

There are drawbacks to wet skim. one is pulling out more stuff that doesnt need to be pulled. Your tank can consume and does need organics to survive so if you feed lightly and have a light load you might not want to over skim your tank. the second is that your skimmer needs more maintenance and for me that means my skimmer cup is full and being ignored more then it should. The third is that it can remove salt and elements that need to be replenished and personally I dont like water changes and dont want to pull those elements out of my tank. This is the lazy mans perspective notice no one who dry skims posted because they are probably as lazy as me = ). No but seriously if your tank has a fuge and a light load and you dont like water changes dont skim too wet or you can run into long term problems.

Dejavu · #9 09/02/2007, 05:46 AM

Skim wet with weekly water changes.

virginiadiver69 · #10 09/02/2007, 08:48 AM

Skim wet. Mine looks like tea rather than mud.

GuySmilie · #11 09/02/2007, 09:55 AM

Wow, I'm really surprised that this is almost unanimous for wet skimming.
I would have thought the response would be just the opposite.

Personally, I am still on the fence post on this one. I've seen perspectives that make sense for both practices, but have never come across any authoritative data to support one or the other. Interesting topic for sure.

tboneman · #12 09/03/2007, 06:35 PM

I skim wet . I feel like I get more of the bad stuff out that way.

samsfishnchips · #13 09/03/2007, 06:39 PM

wet,

net stays cleaner

sam

benihana · #14 09/04/2007, 07:32 AM

So, currently I have the cup draining into a 2 liter bottle (in my stand, beneath my tank) All of my skimate is coming up almost like green tea. It has not even come close to the nasty brown liquid I see in others pics and at the LFS.

Any thoughts on why this is? I was thinking the skimmer is still in its break in period (only about 72 hours old), or possibly that my bio load isn't as high as others (5 fish in 75 gallon), or is it that I have not calibrated the skimmer correctly, or something else....?

Any insight would be wonderful

Thanks

LobsterOfJustice · #15 09/04/2007, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by benihana
So, currently I have the cup draining into a 2 liter bottle (in my stand, beneath my tank) All of my skimate is coming up almost like green tea. It has not even come close to the nasty brown liquid I see in others pics and at the LFS.

Any thoughts on why this is? I was thinking the skimmer is still in its break in period (only about 72 hours old), or possibly that my bio load isn't as high as others (5 fish in 75 gallon), or is it that I have not calibrated the skimmer correctly, or something else....?

Any insight would be wonderful

Thanks

Nothing is wrong, you are skimming wet

Welcome to the club. The one thing I would change is find some way to suspend the 2 liter bottle above the sump in the case of an overflow.

That said, if you want to change it, you could cut the air back a bit. It would help to know what kind of skimmer you have as well.

benihana · #16 09/04/2007, 08:42 AM

At this point I do not have a sump, but that is something that I am looking into in the future and will DEFINATELY keep your suggestion in mind.

As far as the skimmer goes, it is the Coralife Super Skimmer 125 Needle Wheel. It seems good so far, and I really have noticed how much cleaner and clearer my tank is.

jimwat · #17 09/04/2007, 08:50 AM

Wet. I look at it like doing a continual small water change at the same time.

revenant · #18 09/04/2007, 10:11 AM

Yeah, I skimmed wet all the time with my ER RS-80 but it was struggling to handle my bio-load.. I am skimming set on the BM160 for now, but might adjust it to more dry... maybe, so far the collection cut takes a lot longer to fill even skimming wet.. which is awesome!

RichConley · #19 09/04/2007, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rcypert
There are drawbacks to wet skim. one is pulling out more stuff that doesnt need to be pulled. Your tank can consume and does need organics to survive so if you feed lightly and have a light load you might not want to over skim your tank. the second is that your skimmer needs more maintenance and for me that means my skimmer cup is full and being ignored more then it should. The third is that it can remove salt and elements that need to be replenished and personally I dont like water changes and dont want to pull those elements out of my tank. This is the lazy mans perspective notice no one who dry skims posted because they are probably as lazy as me = ). No but seriously if your tank has a fuge and a light load and you dont like water changes dont skim too wet or you can run into long term problems.

Dry skimming does all these things too....

your skimmer just doesnt work nearly as well after day two while dry skimming(neck is dirty). On day 2 in wet skimming, I just dump the cup.

rickytikki · #20 09/04/2007, 10:55 AM

I skim mine a little darker than green tea but not so dry that it's dark dark, ie., it's still wet. Really the only downside to skimming wet is that it will cost you money for more water/salt.

rcypert · #21 09/04/2007, 11:09 AM

"Dry skimming does all these things too...."
It just doesnt do it as fast. While you guys are dumping your cups and changing your water I clean my cup once a week get a nice dark cup of organics instead of tank water and I keep more of my elements longer. And as for that crude around the neck that is pure fish crap when I take a tablespoon of that crap out I'm like sweet! go skimmer. Hey to each his own.

thor32766 · #22 09/04/2007, 11:28 AM

wet here.

balmiesgirl · #23 09/04/2007, 11:56 AM

Dry here.....seems like my corals do better when I go dry. Dry IS GROSS to clean out though.....that tube gets dark and slimy.

Fish Filet · #24 09/04/2007, 12:03 PM

I skim wet on Tuesdays. I am skimming wet today.