Can you tell if your system is good or bad from looking at the skimmer
 

I got a new skimmer just about a week ago and it skims so well. When I look at the skimmer, I am wondering how can it skim so much goo in just 4 hours. I get 1/3 of dry skimmate in a cup everyday, I have to clean it EVERYDAY. I know people clean their skimmer cup 3 or 4 times a week. I feed my 11 small fishes a 1/3 cube of mysis, a 1/3 cube of brine shrimp and a pinch of dry food 2 times a day. Is it a sign of overfeeding, or is my tank having a heavy bioload system from fish and corals ? Or maybe from something else that I don't know.

both combined with a good skimmer.....perfectly normal.you can run the drain into a larger bucket for less cleaning and maintanance:)

let it skim dude. This is what a good skimmer suppose to do.

The skimmer is trying to catch up:wink:

BTW, you never stated how big your tank is.

The total volume of water is 100 gallons.

That's a good idea, I never thought of that. I kept worrying it would overflow if I am not home.

whatever you run it into make sure it has a lid to keep the stinky out:p

OK reefwars, yah I don't want to smell it in my bedroom.

i still say new skimmer rule must taste the skimmate from the first cup lol...ok i just made myself sick.

getting ready to clean skimmer blah

+1.

Or you might smell like Denny... I mean his skimmer.

That happened on my reef when I first put the SWC on it. I had a small SWC on it for a few months as an emergency skimmer before I got around to ordering the bigger one. The new, bigger SWC pulled gunk out of the tank big time. I had to empty the cup everyday or it would overflow. Now I clean it every 2-3 days because if the neck gets dirty it impedes the ability of the skimmer. I only get about 1/2" in the cup in 2-3 days now.

Thanks Myka, does that mean my system isn't overloaded ? I need somebody on my side to prove to my husband that I am not overfeeding my fish to make the skimmer react like that :wink:

overfeeding is all on the tank if theres no algae problems and your tests are what you would like them to be around and the tank looks good then id say you are ok.


thats def alot more than i feed and i have 12 small fish in a 90g so about the same but like above its all on what works well for you, im very particular on my feeding as i feed alot of coral food as well and im all about keeping my corals happy lol :)

I only have sps corals and I don't feed them, I care for the fish only. I don't have algae in my tank, knocking on wood. I think the algae have been taken care from my angelfish nipping all day.

then i def wouldnt worry about it the fish are happy and theres no ill effects on your tank:) the old saying goes if it aint broke dont fix it:)

you can also set your skimmer to get a drier skim it takes awhile for the tuning to set but it wont fill as fast:)