Skimmer on 24/7, or not???

rlabriola · #1 01/10/2008, 12:34 PM

I was hoping to get some advise.... I Have a 75 Gallon SPS dominated tank that is in my bedroom. i use a AquaC ev-240 skimmer which is oversized for my tank. i am currently running a Little giant pump. this whole setup is rather noisy when i am trying to sleep.. Is it Ok to turn the skimmer off for 2-3 hours a night while i go to sleep, and then have it turn back on via timer?? does the skimmer have to run continously to crate the foam tower, and will it over skim when it turns back on? Please advise

Ryan

luke33 · #2 01/10/2008, 12:43 PM

No, it will be fine as long as your parameters stay in check. There are some people that run on 12hrs off 12hrs with success. 2-3hrs is not a big deal.

dsn112 · #3 01/10/2008, 01:01 PM

Many people run no skimmer and are fine, so yours off a few hours a day will be ok. The skimmer should still run fine. I turn my aqua c off for an hour to clean it every now and then, and its fine.

sw1tched · #4 01/10/2008, 01:35 PM

1st. you should sleep for more than 2-3 hours...
2nd. As long as the skimmer isnt having a hard time keeping up, you shoudlnt notice any ill effects.

-Joe

kdblove_99 · #5 01/10/2008, 05:30 PM

AGree with above. I run mine 24/7 though

m2434 · #6 01/10/2008, 06:37 PM

I agree, you should sleep more than 2-3 hours

rishma · #7 01/10/2008, 07:22 PM

You may notice a drop in pH since the lights will be off. 2-3 hour is probably okay, just be aware.

m2434 · #8 01/10/2008, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rishma
You may notice a drop in pH since the lights will be off. 2-3 hour is probably okay, just be aware.

Why? The pH is effected by CO2 and has no relationship to O2.

rlabriola · #9 01/11/2008, 12:40 AM

thanks for the advice....if i put in more than 2-3 hours, i wouldn't have time for work and my reef.

roxy · #10 01/11/2008, 12:48 AM

I had a beautiful tank years ago that that only ran a skimmer for 8 hours every other day. I think you'll be fine.

hahnmeister · #11 01/11/2008, 01:14 AM

It CAN work, dont get me wrong... I tried it. I realized it wasnt what I expected though. I figured that I could get a skimmer 2x as large as what I need, and then only run it 1/2 the time to keep the living room quiet during the day... not so.

See, proteins and other surfactants in the water break down pretty quickly, so when the skimmer is off, those materials will end up as part of the nitrogen cycle, rather than waiting around for the skimmer to turn on. Every hour that the skimmer is off, you are missing the opportunity to remove organics from the system, without a way to make up for it. As a consequence, my water was yellower, and I had more detritus.

Also, a skimmer effects other things in the tank... like pH, ORP, etc. Not running the skimmer can mean your pH drops, ORP drops, etc.

So dont get me wrong, you can run a tank with the skimmer being part time (you can run one skimmerless all together), but its not nearly as effective, even if you make up for it with a 2x larger skimmer. It just doesnt work like that. Depending on how the tank is set up, it could have consequences (like, say, if you want to run a low nutrient system, zeovit, ethanol dosing, etc). I can promise you the tank will run differently than if the skimmer was on 24/7, thats for sure.