is there any disadvantages to having your skimmer at full blast?

[timdam]

I got a tunze 9005 skimmer. u can adjust the bubbles by turning a screw. Seems to me like one would want to get as many bubbles as they can, and keep it at full blast. are there any disadvantages to this? or a reason why one would choose not to keep it at full blast (lotsa bubbles)?

[Sisterlimonpot]

I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't want as many bubbles as possible. The only reason I can think one would cut back on the bubbles is because of a setup that doesn't do a good job keeping themicro bubbles out of the main tank. Only then would you cut the bubbles back.

[r33fbuilder]

not familiar with that skimmer, but are you talking about the bubbles that rise up into the collection cup? Or are you referring to how some pumps have the screw on the venturi to adjust the amount of air let in?

If you're talking about the bubbles rising into the cup, then its a yes and no answer... once the skimmer is broken in and actually working, the "wetter" you have the bubbles coming out, the more water your'e pullin out. If you're running it a bit "drier" or whatever you wanna call it, it will look more like foam. Not as much will come out (volume wise) but what does come out is generally a lot nastier looking since its not as diluted.

Personally, i dont think it really matters as long as its not filling up with water so fast that i have to empty it every day, but yes, you do want a lot of bubbles, otherwise it usually doesnt pull out anything from the water

[needmore-reef]

I like dry foam. less water taken out. if you adjust, do it after the skimmer has kicked in, and adjust according to the foam being produced.

[toash]

I am working this out on a new skimmer too swc 160 cone....it has a very fine adjustment....either a ton of tiny bubbles or larger frothy bubbles cant decide which is best....????????

[KafudaFish]

There are advantages of skimming wet as well as skimming dry.

Some people prefer one over the other.

The wetter you skim the more water is being pulled out obviously and one has to deal with that through top offs etc.


Some say the drier the more concentrated the organics being pulled out.


SO it should make more sense to have a foam cannon right?

Not really. It would be no different than putting a huge pump on a small body.

It is more about balance than anything if that makes any sense and in the last few years we have come to realize bigger is not always better.

Though there are some that will say you cannot overskim a system etc.

[timdam]

i thought that u adjust the venturi outlet, and that controls the bubbles. no?

[timdam]

FWIW, i have it on full blast. and yes, it's more water than dark stuff. but the cup is not filling up ultra fast or anything.

[Uncle Salty 05]

The less air your skimmer is drawing the more water it processes.
If your air inlet is wide open you will probably need to raise the outlet to get the right level in your chamber.
You can usually cut back on the air intake and increase the gph the skimmer processes by lowering your outlet.
The way I dial mine in is to play with the air intake until I get the best "foam head" in my reaction chamber and then adjust the height of the outlet to put the level about 1/4" below the bottom of the collection cup.
This gives me nice dark stinky skimmate and processes more gph than if the air intake were wide open. HTH

[Sk8r]

You can definitely overskim an lps or softie tank. They prefer 'rich' water. SPS are the opposite.