Can i turn my skimmer off at night?

I started to run my skimmer less. It was a hang-on-the-back when I had my 55 gallon. I stated to have some algae issues and it was right back to 24/7.

 

It is very difficult to look at a system and then apply a blanket statement to all others. There is simply no way you can take "too much" out of the water.

First, not all corals are the same and some grow in very nutrient rich waters while some need very clean water. So there is no certain "nutrient load" in a tank that is perfect for all.

Second, the whole point of a good skimmer is so you can feed more and not raise nitrates. It isn't that skimmer take out too much, it is that your friend is not feeding enough.

Last... very few skimmers actually skim 24/7. Most over rate their skimmers and they only actually skim a percentage of the time and then they shut down until enough organics build up to skim out. If your skimmer is actually producing skimate 24/7, then you have no way of knowing if it is skimming enough or if it is underrated for your tank.


So to the OP.... you may not be skimming 24/7 to begin with, but you are oxygenating 24/7. As was mentioned, even if you only run your skimmer 12 hours a day, you would want that 12 to be when lights are out to off gas CO2. Although.... there is some research that points out that skimmers actually do very little for gas exchange. I don't really buy it, but it is out there. I have tried to look for the articles but can't find it. I'm pretty sure it is by Eric Bourman.

If your skimmer is overrated then you can easily not skim 24/7 and still keep up.

 

If your skimmer is pulling waste 24/7 then leave it on. If it isn't, however, go ahead and shut it off at night. You will then notice that the skimmer is pulling a lot more when it is turned on. I have skimmers that won't pull anything for days and some that pull all the time. I wouldn't have any problem turning off those skimmers while they aren't producing if they were bothering me at night.

 

+1, it's really a matter of how your tank is and reacts to the change

 

i live in an apartment and cant run my skimmer between 10P-8A. seems to be working ok for me...i am also med fish stock and have mostly softies who i can't seem to kill(door blew open at night tank temp dropped to the 60's and 3 weeks after everything is fine). this is very dependant on your system and may take months b4 you see any real effect. try it and if it works great, if its bad maybe invest in a quiet pump?

 

Another downside to turning your skimmer off is that the slime coat can dry out leaving your skimmer the need to "break in" every time it is started up. With slime around the top of the neck, the foam can easily slide up and into the collection cup, but if this dries out, it may take the skimmer a little while longer to get up to speed every morning.

 

I've never had any issue with the skins coat, and after being off for 6 hours it always produces skimmate within 2 hours

If it becomes a real problem, you can always buy a quiter pump

 

I have my 29g in my bedroom too, and no way I can keep it running 24/7 unfortunately. I turn it on at 6am and off at 11pm. It's not pulling foam all the time, only couple days after I feed my acans. I have 2x evo 750, so I don't have any problem with water aeration at night.

 

I'm not sure if this will help with your skimmer, but it made mine a lot quieter. Run the air intake hose into a closet and stick the silencer into a milk jug.

 

Thanks for all the help. i will give it a shot.