How to tell if you're overskimming?

[Slick Fork]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

That's true obviously, but the fact is that LPS/softies tend to come from different biotopes within the ocean than SPS do. SPS generally exist at the reef crest - constant high flow back and forth with the currents. There's no time for any nutrients to hang around so the understanding is SPS would prefer "cleaner" water. In contrast, most LPS/softies come from calmer (some would even say relatively stagnant) waters such as lagoon environments. Such environments are far more nutrient rich, therefore, so the theory goes, such corals like "dirtier" water.

Ok, I understand that part but... Do LPS eat the nutrients therefore thriving in nutrient rich lagoons, etc. OR do they eat the microlife that digests the nutrients and have adapted to tolerate the dirty water that the microlife thrives on? The article Zoa posted made the argument that the composition of skimmate was mostly composed of bits of microlife, way more so then actual DOC's.

If that's the case, that would explain the success of bacteria driven additives in mixed reefs where the hobbiest doesn't have a massive skimmer ripping the bacteria out of the water column. Pure SPS tanks with a massive high-end skimmer seem to notice a much smaller difference when going with these systems. The additives cause a bacteria explosion, and even a modest skimmer is quite good at removing the bacteria. At the same time you're providing food for the filter feeders.

I agree that it would be hard to overskim IF you were running a dedicated SPS tank. SPS eat their photosynthetic algae and that's about it. But, if LPS and other filter feeders eat the microlife instead of just obsorbing nutrients directly and skimmers are very efficient at removing that life from the water column... then for a mixed reef it would seem counter-intuitive to claim that it's impossible to overskim.