How do you skim? Wet vs. Dry

benihana · 09/01/2007, 01:31 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 · 09/01/2007, 02:02 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 · 09/01/2007, 02:06 PM

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

barjam · 09/01/2007, 02:09 PM

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

luv951 · 09/01/2007, 03:15 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 · 09/01/2007, 04:24 PM

WET

Sarcophyton874 · 09/01/2007, 11:13 PM

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 · 09/01/2007, 11:34 PM

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 · 09/02/2007, 04:46 AM

Skim wet with weekly water changes.

virginiadiver69 · 09/02/2007, 07:48 AM

Skim wet. Mine looks like tea rather than mud.

GuySmilie · 09/02/2007, 08:55 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 · 09/03/2007, 05:35 PM

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

samsfishnchips · 09/03/2007, 05:39 PM

wet,

net stays cleaner

sam

benihana · 09/04/2007, 06:32 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 · 09/04/2007, 07:33 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 · 09/04/2007, 07:42 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 · 09/04/2007, 07:50 AM

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

revenant · 09/04/2007, 09:11 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 · 09/04/2007, 09:16 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 · 09/04/2007, 09:55 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 · 09/04/2007, 10:09 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 · 09/04/2007, 10:28 AM

wet here.

balmiesgirl · 09/04/2007, 10:56 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 · 09/04/2007, 11:03 AM

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

09/01/2007, 01:31 PM	#1
benihana Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Prior Lake, Minnesota Posts: 1,230	How do you skim? Wet vs. Dry 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 __________________ Currently tankless, but have a few things in the works

09/01/2007, 02:02 PM	#2
LobsterOfJustice Recovering Detritophobe Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 7,443	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. __________________ If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I remember when zoanthids were called things like "green" and "orange" and not "reverse gorilla nipple." Current Tank Info: 180g reef with all the bells and whistles

09/01/2007, 03:15 PM	#5
luv951 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washougal, WA Posts: 841	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. __________________ "Ummm, you do realize that you just took a picture of a cup of poo, right?" -my wife

09/02/2007, 07:48 AM	#10
virginiadiver69 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Va. Posts: 4,400	Skim wet. Mine looks like tea rather than mud. __________________ Semi-aggressive mixed reef w/ shallow sand bed 96x30x27 310gal custom acrylic w/ ext. "fail safe" overflow 125gal sump/cryptic fuge w/ 6" DSB 3 400w Plus Rite 20k MH in Lumembrights 2 250w Plus Rite 20k MH in spider reflectors VHO actinic supplementation 2 Tunze wave boxes 2 Tunze 6060 in Tunze Rocks 2 Tunze 6125 Reeflo 250 skimmer Hammerhead return on OM 4 way Aqua controller lll Leviton power panel Deltec Eco-Cooler Randy's Two part 6.5 kw generator

09/02/2007, 08:55 AM	#11
GuySmilie Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Land of Lincoln Posts: 943	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. __________________ Guy Smilie

09/01/2007, 02:06 PM	#3
sherm71tank Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 3,670	Also skim wet. If it wants out I want to make it as easy as possible.

09/01/2007, 02:09 PM	#4
barjam Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,695	Wet here. More crap in the cup, less stuck to the side.

09/01/2007, 04:24 PM	#6
JOZEFEK Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Newport TN USA Posts: 110	WET

09/01/2007, 11:34 PM	#8
rcypert Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Miami Posts: 435	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.

09/02/2007, 04:46 AM	#9
Dejavu ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,423	Skim wet with weekly water changes.

09/03/2007, 05:35 PM	#12
tboneman Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Verona N.J. Posts: 152	I skim wet . I feel like I get more of the bad stuff out that way.

09/03/2007, 05:39 PM	#13
samsfishnchips Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,328	wet, net stays cleaner sam __________________ Every moment is a chance for happiness. Current Tank Info: 90G 99% SPS

09/04/2007, 06:32 AM	#14
benihana Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Prior Lake, Minnesota Posts: 1,230	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 __________________ Currently tankless, but have a few things in the works

09/04/2007, 07:42 AM	#16
benihana Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Prior Lake, Minnesota Posts: 1,230	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. __________________ Currently tankless, but have a few things in the works

09/04/2007, 07:50 AM	#17
jimwat Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: South Florida Posts: 1,270	Wet. I look at it like doing a continual small water change at the same time. __________________ "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day and drink beer." Current Tank Info: 65 gal with 192w PC 10k, 192w VHO actinic, Blue-Moon LED, Tunze 6060 on WavySea, AquaController 3. 20gal sump, Natureef CDECX-1, Phosban Reactor, Remora, Kalk Drip, Ozone.

09/04/2007, 09:11 AM	#18
revenant Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 200	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!

09/04/2007, 09:55 AM	#20
rickytikki Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 126	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.

09/04/2007, 10:09 AM	#21
rcypert Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Miami Posts: 435	"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.

09/04/2007, 10:28 AM	#22
thor32766 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chuluota, FL Posts: 6,072	wet here. __________________ "Live your life so no one has to lie about who you were at your funeral" click on my red house to see my tang compound! Current Tank Info: 29 gallon in Wall!

09/04/2007, 10:56 AM	#23
balmiesgirl Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: southern Utah Posts: 183	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. __________________ It's not a hobby....IT's an ADDICTION!!!! Current Tank Info: 12 g nano and 120 tall reef set up w/ 20 g refugium , pair of clowns, 3 chromis, radiant wrasse, arc eye hawk and a coral beauty angel.4139 gph flow. Big BIO load so WEEKLY 20 gal. + water changes

09/04/2007, 11:03 AM	#24
Fish Filet Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 282	I skim wet on Tuesdays. I am skimming wet today.