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View Full Version : Borneman: Preliminary Look at Skimmate


Der_Iron_Chef
11-02-2007, 06:12 AM
Has anyone read this (http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic52254-9-1.aspx) before? It's quite interesting. Long and technical (and at times tedious), but interesting nonetheless.

christyf5
11-02-2007, 02:51 PM
Wow that guy has some spare time :wink:

Interesting to know whats in there. I would imagine all sorts of stuff as its nutrients being skimmed out of the water, plus it usually sits there for at least a week or more, breeding (I'm pretty bad about emptying out my skimmer cup sometimes). Occasionally I find a couple brittle stars in the muck but as they have to rise up with the bubbles they're usually dead as they're out of water for too long. I've always wondered how they make it past the pump impeller.

Der_Iron_Chef
11-02-2007, 03:01 PM
Wow, really? I've never noticed that! I do notice big clumps of what appear to be seaweed (like the kind you'd see on the ocean floor), but I'm assuming the organisms that are skimmed out form a film or something. I don't know! It's interesting, though.

christyf5
11-02-2007, 03:05 PM
Hmm, I've never noticed anything that looks more substantial, mostly I think a biofilm forms and binds some of the particles together to form clumps but other than that I can't really say I've found anything more interesting than that. I would imagine its a pretty gross place to live, lots of nutrients but not a lot of oxygen. Plus after awhile it becomes pretty stagnant.

Ooh I can't wait to check my skimmer cup when I get home :razz: I think I'm goin on about a month of not emptying it now.......peeeyeew!