skimmate

[nano_angel]

it really gets me on here that some brag about getting so much skimmate. like " i get 1.5 cups of skimmate in 24 hrs. very dark". well to me that tells me that ur water is bad. if u r getting that much skimmate then u have to many docs. slow down feeding and stuff. i personally dont get a cup a month so i dont know why u would brag and say u get so much, just telling me u have lousy water quality. i know u all think u r bragging on ur skimmers production but its really not that its BAD water. jmo

[Alaskan Reefer]

This seems a little argumentative. :)

1.5 cups of very dark in 24 hours on a heavily stocked 400 might be normal, and definitely doesn't mean lousy water quality -- could mean that the water is kept perfectly by skimming so much.

Similarly, your cup per month on the same system could signify that you have the lousiest skimmer of all time and FOUL water.

I do agree that skimmate pictures are kind of silly -- they only mean anything in relative terms while skimming the same tank.

[Roughhawk]

I get THIS

http://www.roughhawk.de/BubbleKing/BK-voll.jpg

in 30 Hours...

http://www.roughhawk.de/BubbleKing/BK-absorbat.jpg

about 5 cups or so within 24 Hours...

and i LOVE my BK!!

[Blown 346]

I agree, the amount or cups that get filled all depend on if that person wet skims or dry skims.
Wet skimming you will get more in the collection cup as if you were to dry skim.
I dry skim and I have to empty my collection cup once every two days.

[deansreef]

My asm g4 gets about a cup every few days...

[stingers81]

doesnt it all just depend on how much bioload you have?
more bioload = more skimmate

[TitansFan]

nano_angel: I think it is all relative to the size of your tank. If you told me you pulled out a cup a day of skimmate from your 12 gallon nano then yes I would think there to be a problem. Its the same though if someone with a 400 gallon tank said it took them a month to fill one cup. In the later case I would believe it would be time for a new skimmer not necessarily that they have sparkling clean water.

FWIW

[ACBlinky]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6922888#post6922888 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Alaskan Reefer

1.5 cups of very dark in 24 hours on a heavily stocked 400 might be normal, and definitely doesn't mean lousy water quality -- could mean that the water is kept perfectly by skimming so much.

Similarly, your cup per month on the same system could signify that you have the lousiest skimmer of all time and FOUL water.

Very well said. I get about a quarter of a collection cup full of dark, sludgy skimmate from each of my skimmers daily. The skimmer on my 65g has a much larger cup than the one on my 30g, so I figure it's about even and I'm happy with their performance.

I think people compare skimmate to talk about the efficiency of their skimmers and maintaining good water quality, it's not really worth getting upset over.

[XeniaMania]

skimmate envy..:D

[NoSchwag]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6923693#post6923693 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stingers81
doesnt it all just depend on how much bioload you have?
more bioload = more skimmate

Nah.. I wet skim and would get the same amount of "skimmate" regardless of how many fish I had. Only thing that would change is the amount of particles in that skimate.

when you see that dark skimmate, that's all stuff that already broke down in the persons tank.

That's why people with slow flow thru sump see an increase in dark skimmate..

[dascharisma]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6924417#post6924417 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NoSchwag
Nah.. I wet skim and would get the same amount of "skimmate" regardless of how many fish I had. Only thing that would change is the amount of particles in that skimate.

when you see that dark skimmate, that's all stuff that already broke down in the persons tank.

That's why people with slow flow thru sump see an increase in dark skimmate..

Why don't all of the "particles" in your skimmate break down once they are in your collection cup? How long does it take for the "particles" to break down?



Brad

[deansreef]

the more the better, just like everything else

[NoSchwag]

I hear the break down fastest in a high flow area (like a filter sock), also they start to break down very quickly, within a matter of minutes.

They do break down in my cup, but I dont have foam in my collection cup to remove the DOM's. Think about what DOM's really are, I don't give most the crap a chance to dissolve in my tank.

My skimmer is set up to remove particles and harvest phyto.. I only have a few seconds of contact time.

[dascharisma]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6924612#post6924612 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NoSchwag
I hear the break down fastest in a high flow area (like a filter sock), also they start to break down very quickly, within a matter of minutes.

They do break down, but I dont have foam in my collection cup to remove the DOM's. Think about what DOM's really are, I don't give most the crap a chance to dissolve in my tank.

So it is the foam that turns DOM a dark color? If you took your wet skimmate after the organics had a chance to break down, and whipped it up, it would get darker?



Brad

[thereefmaster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6922834#post6922834 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nano_angel
it really gets me on here that some brag about getting so much skimmate. like " i get 1.5 cups of skimmate in 24 hrs. very dark".

LOL you got that from my 55G thread, didn't you... :D:D:D

Here is a 24 hour pic:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f255/firezone42/DSC00213.jpg

My tank is fine:

Params:

0 Nitrate
8.37 pH
14 dkH
380 Calcium
1.025 SG

-Nate :uzi:

[NoSchwag]

I have no idea what turns the foam a darker color. I would assume protiens because longer contact time creates darker foam, no?

I have a lot of particulate matter in my wet skimmate, so I would bet that if we whipped it, it would get much darker.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/91795reflecphlemywtskim.jpg

[dascharisma]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6924842#post6924842 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NoSchwag
I have no idea what turns the foam a darker color, wet skimming foam stays very clean.

I have a lot of particulate matter in my wet skimmate, so I would assume that if we whipped it, it would get darker.



Is there any way to measure the quality of skimmate? It seems to me that a lot of people think that darker skimmate contains more waste. If what you are saying is true, then it is more complicated than just the color of the skimmate. It is a pretty sad state of afairs if we can't tell good skimmate from bad.



Brad

[NoSchwag]

I measure mine by how often I have to clean the glass and how clean my sump is. Since the tank is BB and I don't use any filtersocks/carbon/filter media I am able to see any ditritus buildup, so I know if my skimmer isn't tuned right.

I would imagine it would be real hard to measure skimmate. Maybe we should have a "let's see who can go the longest without cleaning their glass" contest :p.

[Alaskan Reefer]

I concur with schwag. I know how good my skimmer is doing based on film algae on my front glass and my nitrate test. If both are clear, I don't care if I have zero skimmate. But, for argument's sake, here's some relatively dry skimmate from my lightly stocked 125.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e71/aarongray/skimmate1.jpg

I'm skimming wetter now, just for fun. It won't be as dark and there will be more of it. Which is better? I have no idea. As long as the film algae doesnt' grow and the nitrate test is still clear, I don't care.