Skimmers

[tragikmagik]

I have posted this in the end of the "moving over to a bigger tank" but got no replies so i am reposting here, hope thats alright.

I run a Red Sea Prizm and find it does exactly what I want it to - underskim.

If funds are limited and its a choice between no skimmer or a Prizm get the Prizm.

My question is what is underskim? I also use a Prism, is there sucha thing as overskim?
I also have another question about skimmers...Should a skimmer constantly be able to produce foam into the overflow cup, cause mine can..If I turn it up too much it will overflow the cup in a matter of minutes so i just set it to make a dry foam but still all i get is white foam...Where should this be set? Should there not be anything in my water to skim? my tank is only a 20 gallon wtih a skimmer rated for up to 110 gal i think... I know its overkill...here very soon its all moving over to a 55 gal. but have to wait for funds. Anyones input on skimmer settings would be helpful.


Here is another post of mine that go to reply, anyone have any input?
I am kinda curous on how bad bubbles can be.....I dont have an air pump or anything but my skimmer throws ALOT of microbubbles into my tank, is this bad?.....I have so much air in my water my powerhead will somtimes blow out plumes of bubbles, no idea where it get them so it must be pullin them outta the water right?

 

[Zero_System]

I've got the exact same questions about the skimmers on my two FOWLR set-ups.

 

[crazyelece]

underskim is skimming with a skimmer that is rated for less than your tank volume. What it does is it removes the protiens and crap, just not all of it.

The micro bubbles aren't really bad for anything other than asthetics and how the tank looks. If it looks fine with the bubbles to you than that is your prefference. Most people think it looks tacky and don't like it, thus they strive to keep out the bubbles.

As far as the powerhead it can pull air out of the tank if it is full of micro bubbles or it can suck air from the top of the tank if it is too high.

 

[Aquascaper]

As crazyelece says, underskimming is partial removal of the waste rather than total removal. The reason I prefer this is that a lot of my corals didn't like it when I ran a big skimmer and paled into comparison with the way they look now with the smaller skimmer.

If you have a Red Sea Prizm the easiest way of preventing microbubbles entering the tank is to wedge some filter sponge in the outlet of the skimmer. This traps all the bubbles but lets the water through

 

[tragikmagik]

Thanks for the input...but let me get this strait, Is it better to uderskim (use a skimmer rated under your tank size) than to overskim (use a skimmer rated over your tank size)....So do things really like it better without total removal of all waste? Heres another question, Is it possiable to skim out all the good stuff by overskiming?

 

[andywg]

Under/overskim all depends on what the content of the tank is.

If you have a reef with other forms of nutrient export (such as growing corals and macroalgae) then it is probably better to underskim.

If you are going FOWLR then you will be much better off with a larger skimmer to help deal with the waste from (generally) larger, messier fish.

 

[tragikmagik]

sounds good.....so do the nutriens get replaced with water changes (salt) ?