Skimmer Time

[SeaBee]

I read all kinds of opinions on this so I thought I would ask. I like to run my skimmer on a timer, not skimming at night. I have it turn off at midnight and turn back on at 7 am. I was told this would be good to let the corals eat at night without skimming off the plankton and stuff. Is this ok?

 

[Rcpilot]

I tried it for awhile. I completely understand the theory behind switching it off and on. It was more trouble than it was worth. Went back to running my skimmer 24/7/365

 

[darren0311]

yea, Dont turn it off, it is just going to cause alot of problems

 

[Bifferwine]

I let mine run 24/7. I haven't heard of too many people that turn their skimmers off at night. If your water quality is staying good, I suppose it's not hurting anything.

 

[Smitty]

With my old skimmer, which produced tons of tiny bubbles, I used a timer to turn it off during the day and turn it on at night. I did that so that I didn't have to look at all the bubbles all day. I had no negative effects from doing so.

 

[SeaBee]

Nitrates 0, Nitrites 0, I don't have an amonia test kit....yet. I've been doing it for over 4 months. I just wanted to see if anyone else turned theirs off. It's noisy at night, so I think it's ok.

 

[cthegame]

24/7 here. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if i knew my skimmer wasnt running.

 

[parrotchute]

The way I see it, a skimmer is pumping most of the time, but only pulling stuff out when the stuff is there. When particles it can pull out are present, it works quickly. If it's off during the day, it will just work harder and pull more stuff at night, so I don't think it will really affect water quality unless something (like possibly a coral spawning event) happens during the day and it can't catch it until later.

I'd be more concerned about the pump turning on and off every day, that will shorten it's lifespan most likely.

 

[yote]

The only time my skimmer gets turned off,is when I'm cleaning it.