Does temperature effect skimming?

[SeanT]

Hi Randy - Merry Christmas,

My sump and Skimmer are in my uninsulated/unheated garage.
We are having a cold spell right now (temp in the 20's at night and between 30-40 during the day).

I have noticed a SEVERE decline in skimmer production during this time.

My skimmer still foams but the height of the foam in the riser tube has lowered.
I make adjustments to the output and close it some to raise the height of the foam and in a few hours it is lower again.

Does/can ambient air temperature effect skimming so much?



And a side question if you please.
My tank's temp is pretty much the same now as it always is.
The only difference is that now I have about 1,500 watts of heaters in my tank to keep it there.

I have noticed a serious increase in the amount of top off water needed.
Can the usage of heaters, even though the water's temp is not higher, cause a significant increase in evaporation?

Thanks,
Sean

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I wouldn't expect the ambient air temperature to impact it much, and if anything, I'd guess lower temperature to skim better as most organics are less soluble in water at lower temperature. It may be more complicated than I'm thinking, however.

The dryness of the air in the winter will greatly increase evaporation. That is especially evident to folks like myself using limewater, where the delivery, and the pH, rise in winter.

[tsadik]

IME my skimmer pull out more waste over night whem my temp. is 77F.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

IME my skimmer pull out more waste over night whem my temp. is 77F.

More than when it is higher than that, or lower than that, or both?

Bear in mind that as tank temperatures change, the biological processes in the tank change, usually going faster at higher temperature. So a change in skimmate generation with temperature may reflect the availability of organics as much as the actual skimming efficiency.

[Habib]

Here is an older thread.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=136164&highlight=temperature

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks for remembering that one, Habib. :thumbsup:

[SeanT]

Thanks for all the responses.
Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
The dryness of the air in the winter will greatly increase evaporation. That is especially evident to folks like myself using limewater, where the delivery, and the pH, rise in winter.
I have gone from evaporating about 3 gallons a day to over 7.
Is that normal?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It doesn't especially surprise me. :)

How big is the tank?

[SeanT]

180 gallon main tank, 125 gallon growout tank, and 100 sump (only half full of course) all plumbed together.

With rock and everything I estimate approx 300 total gallons.

So I am currently evaporating over 2% of my total water volume a day.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That's within the norm. :)