# Who runs their skimmer 24/7 vs part time?



## Mikeylikes (Nov 22, 2013)

As title states curious to know if everyone runs their skimmer full time or part-time.

I'm considering running it part time ... 12 hours vs 24 and overnight.


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## cica (Feb 10, 2013)

It is running 24/7 here.


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

24 / 7 for my tanks 
Not sure why you wouldn't want to


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

24/7 cause I don't ever want to forget to turn it up.


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## 71xlch (Jan 9, 2015)

24/7 as well here.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

24/7
Why would you do that? Curious.


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## Mikeylikes (Nov 22, 2013)

Why I'm asking ?

I came across some articles/threads arguing the following:

- unless you have a heavy bio-load there really is no need to run it full-time and can actually have a negative effect on some corals
- running skimmer full time can remove micro nutrients corals feed on
- energy savings (albeit small given relative size of your set up)


so I was curious what others were doing in general.


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## goobafish (Jan 27, 2015)

23/7, 1 hour off for phyto dosing.

Why would you not run it full time? It's a very effective part of your filtration system with the only downsides being that it may gobble freshly hatched inverts/fish that probably wouldn't survive the rest of your filtration anyways, and that it will hinder phytoplankton populations (which most people want, as this prevents algae growth).

It isn't really comparable to something like a UV filter where some people tend to run it less than 24/7 if they have it, its more comparable to turning off your mechanical filtration for part of the day.



Mikeylikes said:


> Why I'm asking ?
> - unless you have a heavy bio-load there really is no need to run it full-time and can actually have a negative effect on some corals
> - running skimmer full time can remove micro nutrients corals feed on
> - energy savings (albeit small given relative size of your set up)


If you don't have a bioload that would benefit enough from skimming then why buy it? If you are going to buy it you may as well keep it on all the time, the energy bill is really nothing, and those micro nutrients you are removing you actually want to remove. You only want them to be present in an abundance during your feeding/dosing and be able to mop up the remenants.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Also consider that a skimmer ofter takes some time to reach maximum skimming/tuning/ dialing in. Once mine is going I don't want to interrupt it.


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## TankCla (Dec 31, 2010)

In the last 3 1/2 months I am forced to run skimmer 16h/24h, and I can say I saw a boost in my sps. Actually all my corals look better and grow faster. Nothing else changed.
So far I didn't see any decrease in skimmate.
Only downside is the pH swing. In the morning when skimmer turns on, there is a sharp rise of pH due to O2 input, but nothing to harm the inhabitants (0.2)


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## Bayinaung (Feb 24, 2012)

Mikeylikes said:


> Why I'm asking ?
> 
> I came across some articles/threads arguing the following:
> 
> ...


I think some people with big mature systems and low bioload have turned off their skimmer. It's an eco system. and if biological participants are doing their job, and you have adequate natural nutrient export (i.e. macroalgae) I think it should be fine without the skimmer up. Part of the reason for this is that it keeps the plankton in the water column vs. plankton getting skimmed in the skimmer. Plankton is heavily needed for NPS of course, and also beneficial for SPS. This company Dymico has come up with a system that doesn't need a skimmer and thus promote plankton growth in a tank. At the moment it is used in large public aquariums successfully. They are working on scaling it down for home aquaria. That would be a dream for home hobbyists when realized.

one way to keep some nutrients in your system without needing to turn skimmer off and on is by using older more inefficient skimmers on your system. That's what I'm doing on my LPS tank with anemones. I want the water a little dirty for nems zoas and LPS. So that is another idea.


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