How to tell if you're overskimming?

[Madreefer]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

I don't believe Myka is grouping the Vertex IN and the Vertex Alpha Cones together.

Yeah I know. I was just razzin her. I really don't know anything about the Vertex in

[Slick Fork]

Originally Posted by Myka

...
One thing many people don't consider when choosing a skimmer is the volume the manufacturer suggests for the skimmer is usually anything from a bit to a lot optimistic. .......

In the end, it is all relative, but that's beyond the focus of your question (I think?), and in relation to the question I really don't think you have anything to worry about.

On the other hand, in my experience, I have found that most LPS and softies do better with an under-performing skimmer or even skimmer-less setup.

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+1 On Slick,
There is still a large amount of research to be done on the relationship between coral feeding and coral photosynthesis (And how it pertains to coral growth/ homeostasis). As skimmers remove both bad and good substances from our water to over skim could result in removing to much of that good stuff.

If your looking for a good read on the composition of skimmate here you go:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/2/aafeature

This is turning into a great discussion with some really good links!!

I agree 100% that manufaturers overrate their skimmers, as they do with everything else they can slap a rating on, but you're right... it's beyond the scope that I want this discussion to follow, there's lots of threads out there discussing the ins and outs of every possible skimmer.

You noted as well, and I would take it to be commonly accepted wisdom that LPS, Softies, Clams, etc. will thrive on "dirty" water that is under skimmed, while SPS prefers "cleaner" water. Yet they can all live together in the ocean.

So the question becomes, why does an LPS wither in an environment created by super efficient skimmers? Certainly clean water can't hurt it, so I would suggest after skimming (pardon the pun) the article ZoaElite posted that skimmers are probably NOT efficient at removing the nasty stuff out of water, and in order to pull enough out to create a "nutrient poor" environment without additives they essentially strip the water column of most of the beneficial microlife that LPS and other filter feeders require. I think to an extent that this is why zeovit, prodibio, and any of these other bacteria based system work so well at allowing all types of coral to thrive... the bacteria is what's efficient at removing nutrients and the skimmer is efficient at removing micro-life. Does that make sense or am I up too late without coffee again?

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

You noted as well, and I would take it to be commonly accepted wisdom that LPS, Softies, Clams, etc. will thrive on "dirty" water that is under skimmed, while SPS prefers "cleaner" water. Yet they can all live together in the ocean.

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.

[reefwars]

humm all this is very interesting, i run three tanks but only my 110g has a skimmer(vertex in-180) but its also the lps/softie tank of the house i may start callng it my "dirty girl"


so who would need to worry about overskimming if not someone with a 55g total and a good sized skimmer rated 3x that??? thanks

is overskimming more of a concern for sps than lps/softies ???

[gobytron]

In all my years of reefing and reading about reefing, I cannot recall a single case of overskimming to the detriment of tank....

anyone else?

[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.