Skimmer - plug outlet or not?

[rschneid]

So I am slowly standing up a new 75 gallon tank. I am new at this so please bear with me. I have looked at videos and searched the web, but for my RO 1000 Int its not clear to me if I am or am not supposed to plug the drain hole on the cup.

It seems like some people allow it to drain to a separate skim overflow reservoir. Seems like other people may be plugging it and watching the level in the skim cup.

What I am doing now (first weeks of tanks life and cycle) is just running it 24/7 and plumbing the drain hole from the cup back into the sump. I am not getting any brown skim yet as the tank is to new and possibly probably the skimmer is not broken in yet.

I do have an ATO so the level in the sump is relatively constant. I think that at some point in the future I will be able to adjust the skimmer so that it just spits out scum.

Opinions?

[d2mini]

Yes, you either plug it and empty the cup when it fills, or run a drain line to a larger collection container. I would say most people just empty the cup every few days, once a week, whatever it needs. And when you remove the cup you can wipe it down to keep it skimming at peak performance. If the neck gets too much gunk on the walls it will impede skimming.

[rocsec1]

I have mine draining into a larger container. It is easier for me to use the container instead of shutting the skimmer down to empty it. Every time I **** the skimmer down I have to make adjustment to the skimmer to make it work correctly

[d2mini]

My LifeReef has a valve on the cup. I open the valve and drain into a 2qt container.
I clean the cup every few weeks, but I'm draining it every few days usually.