skimmer on and off ??????

[dclegern]

I leave my skimmer running nonstop, even during feeding time.
am i wasting product?
should I turn it off during the day and only run it at night?

any ideas on this one?

[CoryDude]

Mine only gets turned off when the power goes out.

The only time I avoid skimming is when I feed the tank's inverts and filter feeders at night. Even then, the skimmer stays running, and I just shut off the main pump for a few hours.

[Randy@pollyspets]

I leave mine running all the time, except when I'm cleaning it of course! You could turn it off for a few hours after you feed your corals, but I see no need to turn it off while your feeding your fish.

-Randy

[Europhyllia]

When I feed phyto or similar stuff to the filter feeders I do the following:
I have my return pump on one of those old fashioned timers with the little green and red pieces only that I don't use the red pieces at all (they turn the power off). I only use the green pieces (they turn the power on).
I have the green pieces spaced about 2-3 hours apart.
When I get ready to feed phyto I manually click the timer over to OFF. That shuts down the power to the return pump.
Then I feed and don't worry about the rest: the timer automatically hits the next green piece within a couple of hours and power turns the return pump back on.
If I didn't have it on the timer I'd probably forget to turn it back on half the time...
Like Randy I don't shut it off for fish feeding though.

[sharkboy]

depends on what you're feeding...if feeding phytoplankton or something like cyclopleez then turn it off for a bit but other than that leave it on unless you are cleaning it...

[Salty]

I turn mine off when feeding coral frenzy, other than that it is continuous

[hobogato]

it is fine to turn it off for short periods of time, but if you are talking about several hours, i would not turn off the feed pump. if the water gets stagnant in there it can cause problems. instead, if you want to stop skimming for several hours, close off the air feed but leave the skimmer running, this will prevent stagnation.

[StevenSeas]

it is fine to turn it off for short periods of time, but if you are talking about several hours, i would not turn off the feed pump. if the water gets stagnant in there it can cause problems. instead, if you want to stop skimming for several hours, close off the air feed but leave the skimmer running, this will prevent stagnation.

wow thats a good tip i never had thought bout, thanks ace

[Europhyllia]

another reason why I much prefer the return pump to go offline and leave the skimmer and media reactors in the sump running.

[CoryDude]

another reason why I much prefer the return pump to go offline and leave the skimmer and media reactors in the sump running.

++ on that!

[kkiel02]

This is what I do when I feed cyclopleeze. Other than that its always running.

Oops forgot to quote Karin's quote of "another reason why I much prefer the return pump to go offline and leave the skimmer and media reactors in the sump running."