Running my skimmer only at night?

[Owen386]

Hey fellow reefers,

Was thinking about throwing my skimmer on a timer opposite my light to try to quiet down tank noise during the day. Anyone else do this? Anything wrong with doing this. Just so much quieter with one less pump and wouldn't mind saving the electricity.

Thanks

-Owen

 

[firstimer]

i would run it all day... your fish and corals poop all day... if the noise is really bothering you you should upgrade to a better/quieter skimmer.

 

[Mr.Rodrigo502]

Plus 1 on what first timer says.... I have reeflow orca 4 ft tall skimmer with 2 pumps (1 feeder and 1 recirculating) and one thing I can tell u is a lot quieter than my vortechs... Lol so maybe u can upgrade the pump or a whole new skimmer... I see u have a coralife skimmer.... They are kinda loud... I would swap it out with an octopus skimmer with a bubble blaster pump... Runs quiet and skimms crazy! Just my experience.

 

[jango]

I think it's worth a shot as long as you don't have nutrient issue. You might have to do more frequent water changes.

 

[RadReefer]

I wouldn't do it, skimmers work most efficiently if they are on constantly. It takes a little bit to build up nice thick foam and you will be constantly disrupting that. Plus, skimmers really help oxygenate the tank.

 

[jango]

Owen the only way this hobby grows is by people trying new things. We all know skimmerless tanks can be done and skimmed tanks also work. If you could get your skimmer set so it doesn't need adjustment upon start up I doubt you would see any ill effects.

 

[Ford625]

I think this topic could go both ways. If you only skim at night, you're not going to be pulling out as many nutrients as you should. Personally, I would keep it on all of the time.

 

[jimrawr]

Depends on your tank. If you run a ULNS then running it 12/12 on/off can be beneficial. If your tank is high in nutrients and has algae problems, I would leave it 24/7

 

[Flame Angel]

There seems to be a lot of opinions, plus and minus here. My only advice is keep things constant as that seems to be the consistent advice in the hobby with corals. I would think skimming and then not skimming during certain parts of the day would cause fluctuation. But who am I to say, as turning the lights on and off, water changes and dosing would all play a part in fluctuation I would think.

What do you have to lose? Give it a shot and if things look like they are turning south. Go right back to what you were doing before quickly.

I would just proceed with caution, make a lot of observations and check on levels regularly.

I do sort of agree with leaving the skimmer on as I have heard of others having issues regulating and tuning in their skimmers.

Good Luck! Lets us know what you decide and how you make out.

 

[stingythingy45]

Better hope that skimmer motor starts reliably.
Or you're going to have a smoked motor.I know first hand that a lot of skimmer motors are not that good at stopping and starting all the time.

 

[AnthonyP]

It could go both ways. Depending on the animals that you have. I think any system within reason can adapt to water quality but I would keep an eye on skimmer efficiency removing DOC's and the DOC level getting higher when skimmer off and lower when on.

 

[Ford625]

Better hope that skimmer motor starts reliably.
Or you're going to have a smoked motor.I know first hand that a lot of skimmer motors are not that good at stopping and starting all the time.

Good point.

 

[jango]

You could also pm huuta, as they are already running a system in this fashion.

 

[stingythingy45]

Good point.

I had a Sedra 3500 that needed a knock once in a while after shutting it down or cleaning it to get it started.

 

[Ford625]

I had a Sedra 3500 that needed a knock once in a while after shutting it down or cleaning it to get it started.

I believe it! I don't think they're meant to come on and off like that. Doesn't it create dead spots in the motor?

 

[HuuTa]

u were over my house the other day.the tank i have upstair at night the skimmer shut off at 10 and turn back on at 10 in the a.m.the parameter is all in check and my coral seems happy and growing.the difference is mine is a in sump.if u have a sump then put it in the sump.iirc u have a coralife skimmer and i did the same when i had that exact skimmer

 

[inverted]

It really depends on your bioload and other methods of filtration. Running extra GAC and changing it regularly, or doing more frequent/larger water changes can do much of the same thing. So, it certainly may be fine to turn it off for a while. I think a bigger issue may be pumps restarting, as turning skimmer pumps on and off may cause problems with some pumps. Also, the simmer overflowing, if too much gunk builds up while it's off, could be an issue.