I run my skimmer all the time but since it is soo loud i started turning it off for a couple hours during tv time.
Q: Does turning it off for a couple hours a big deal or is it designed to run all the time.
:GEEK:
to answer your question no it is fine to run less than 24 /7. but now…give us more information on your skimmer. Is it your pump making it noisy? brand? any photos of set up?
Second what Glen said. One thing to consider when putting it on a timer is if the timer can handle a device with as many watts as your pump uses. I have seen people plug large pumps into small lamp timers by pulling out the ground wire and I would not recommend doing this at all.
Another thing to consider is sump pumps are not designed to be turned on and off frequently and could be damaged by doing so. This is more often an issue though when you are running them in a “wave maker” fashion though with frequently turning them on and off more then twice an hour.
My skimmer is currently programmed to run about 6 hours a night.(Well my skimmer itself is not programmed, but a home automation device it runs off of.) To be honest though I leave it un plugged the majority of the time. That system is used to this though and actually all of my other systems are used to running skimmerless.(but they are not fed as often as a typical reef tank should be)
Skimmers are inherently noisy pieces of equipment. A large pump, sucking air, spilling water back in to standing water, splashing… etc. etc.
Some are noisier then others. To answer your main question - no, there is nothing wroing with turning it off for a few hours a night - it may be even better for the tank in the long run by leaving some organics in the water longer to feed the corals.
To pry in to your set-up a little more: Is it a hang on back filter? In sump? make and model? If sump is it in the stand? How far is the water falling from the skimmer back to the tank/sump water?
Skimmers are inherently noisy pieces of equipment.
+1
To answer your main question - no, there is nothing wroing with turning it off for a few hours a night - it may be even better for the tank in the long run by leaving some organics in the water longer to feed the corals.
+1 I cant vouch for its effectiveness, but i know that a lot of hardcore LPS keepers run skimmers on timers for the very reason Craig said. Personally, i think your leaving yourself more open for potential problems associated with stopping and starting the pump but i dont think it will hurt anything.
One thing to consider when putting it on a timer is if the timer can handle a device with as many watts as your pump uses. I have seen people plug large pumps into small lamp timers by pulling out the ground wire and I would not recommend doing this at all.
HJackjust want to clarify. timers are rated at amps, not watts and there isnt a pump big enough in this hobby that can not be switched with a $5 timer unless you have an 1800 watt pump laying around>LOL< Im assuming by pulling out the ground wire you mean the 3rd prong? The third prong is indeed the earth ground has nothing to do with amp or power ratings. The 3rd prong is used for devices that are not insulated and are simply protection against shock hazard with the device itself. Essentially, if the intenral wiring were to act up on your non-insulated pump the 3rd prong would ideally dissipate the energy via the 3rd prong earth ground. Although i dont recommend removing the 3rd prong, its completely legit to use an 2to3 prong adapter. If you look closely at the adapter there is a little green mounting flange attached to it. If connecting to a wall plate you simply remove the tiny center screw on the wall plate, plug in the adapter, and then re insert the screw through the flange. This will ground your device. In the case of a timer its probably best to spend the extra $5 for a grounded one but you can also simply use a little jumper to connect the flange on the adapter plugged into the timer to the screw on the wallplate like above.
With that said, if you have an older house you are not likely to have an earth ground. And even in modern homes, there is sometimes very little consistency when wiring the ground. All it takes is one outlet before yours to not have the ground connected and you will not be grounded.
As far as timers in general go, its usually a good idea, and sometimes necessary, to use an analog timer for lights instead of a digital timer. When using timers to switch metal halides be sure to get a timer that is rated for halides. Most are not. The ones that arent will likely work anyways but you will definitely have problems down the road and its not worth risking the ballast. The best way to switch most of the stuff we use in the hobby is to use the heavier duty mechanical timers that you see in the grey metal boxes. They are more expensive but with a power strip and relay you can use just one timer to control all of your lighting needs.
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:5, topic:2291”]
When using timers to switch metal halides be sure to get a timer that is rated for halides[/quote]
Are these industry use only timers? I take it we’re not likely to find timers in Lowes that say on the packaging, “Rated for halid lighting systems”.
Actually you can. Most of the timers i own are the intermatic flush mount digital timers designed to fit in a wall outlet. There is a heavy duty version that says right on the packaging what its rated it for inlcluding high power lights like metal halides. I believe it was $10 more than the standard ones.
I guess i should clarify as well. Any standard mechanical timer will switch halides, i was referring to digital timers. I use a $5 mechanical lamp timer to switch my 400 watt halides with no issues.
Learn something new all the time. Thanks Shawn.
im always glad to share the lessons ive learned the hard way ;D
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:7, topic:2291”]
I guess i should clarify as well. Any standard mechanical timer will switch halides, i was referring to digital timers. I use a $5 mechanical lamp timer to switch my 400 watt halides with no issues.[/quote]
I’m with Shawn as well. I use the standard rotating dial timers. I have 1 that turns the atinics on and one that turns all 3 250 watt M.H. lights on. Have used the same style times since I started with no issues. cost less then $10.00 each.
I have an ASM4 plus, the thing is huge (thats what she sd). It is in a 60g fuge and the tank is 120g. I only have a couple fish so my bio load is small. I have mostly LPS and dont have any issues.
I extended the intake hose to reduce that noise but the motor is very loud. I cannot hear the water splash over the other noises. I have always run my skimmer 24/7 and didnt want to disturb the ju/ju in the tank. I planned on running the skimmer for 18 or so hours but with fish tanks u never know what is going to happen-- so i thought i would throw it out there b4 rather than after some weird happens.
???
To be honest I don’t think you will notice any difference at all running it 18 hours. I would actually recommend trying that for a couple of months then consider cutting back even more. As Shawn said many of the corals may appreciate the extra organics.
In time with less skimming you may start to find some interesting animals start to develop in your tank you hadn’t seen before or paid much attention. If the system is balanced and stable and your Nitrates don’t get out of control your take may shift to a more natural form of filtration. In my skimmerless systems at times I have had countless amounts of miniature snails and star fish. At times the bottom of every rock was covered in bright yellow sponge. Currently a small 40g breeder of mine is producing literally pounds of miniature feather dusters a year. Oh yeah and if you pick up any rock that has been in my 75g frag tank it will look like feather duster rocks that some of our vendors sell for $60 plus per 2â€ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂX2†rock.(They have a calcerous pure white tube and a bright red duster)
So to say the least I think a skimming less can be a good thing if you have a balanced system. I don’t recommend it for anyone whose tank is less then 6 months old or who hasn’t been in the hobby for about a year, but I’m happy with the benefits of less skimming.
I would just throw some caution to dropping from running 24/7 to non-skimming, but you said your going to cut it down to 18 hours from 24, which sounds like a logical step. I always like to take it slow.
Well I got curious thinking about my original post on this thread. I didn’t have an extra timer so I decided to just turn my skimmer off for a few days while I went out of town (3 days no skimming).
When I got back yesterday I saw NO IMPACT to my corals ;D Ok so I didn’t really expect to.
But I will say when I turned the skimmer back on it pulled some of the darkest gunk it’s ever pulled - and a lot of it at that.
I think reducing skimming to a few hours a day in a non-SPS will be a huge improvement to the corals (LPS and softies). I wish I had two tanks to run a side by side comparison but I do have a few corals that are very “telling” about how they are feeling which I intend to monitor very closely.
The good news is that 3 days without skimming didn’t kill anything and probably provided some much needed nutrients to the tank.
It sounds like the nutrient difference between tide pool/land runoff area, lagoon and reef top to deep reef slope in terms of nutrient levels. Yeah, i supose the softies will like more gunk and the acros will suffer. so it probably depends on your tank planting.
Are you using a gate valve mod for your ASM or the foam extension that came with the skimmer? If you are using the gate valve mod, I would just extended the return from the skimmer to below the water line in the sump to reduce the splashing noise.
I will try that- any pics ?
In a nut shell you put a 90 degree pvc elbow on the riser tube of the skimmer. Run a short piece of PVC from the 90 to the gate valve (make sure you use a gate valve not a ball valve) run another short piece of pvc to another 90 and then down to the water.
Do not submerge the end of the drain line or you’ll end up with too much back pressure which will make the skimmer too inefficient. Stop the drain line just above the water level in the sump - there will still be some splashing but it should be reduced significantly.
Got it- Thanks, I will give it a try.
that’s good to know, Craig. I’m thinking of getting an ASM200 from DPA for my future 120RR. SO that’s how to fine tune it. Great. Thanks, Man!