Do you skim wet or dry?

if you want "heavier foam" injecting more air wont really be helpful unless the injected air is getting chopped up into tiny bubbles... So the smaller the bubbles the "heavier" the foam. If you have a recirculating skimmer you can achieve this by mesh modding the pump, but injecting more air wont really help achieve what you are thinking.

 

I was skimming wet, but changed to dry skimming. I think too many nutrients and trace elements were getting depleted from my system. I started skimming dryer, but still not "lift the lid off the collection cup dry." I think it has been beneficial to my tank, but everyone's setup is different.

 

Good thread...Since I did a gate valve mod and can adjust easier, I skim medium to wet. I did dry for awhile but I feel that a little wetter is better for me. It isn't green tea color. I would say it is like iced tee color now

 

My aquac is set as dry as it could go. the forest green sludge i pull out of my tank stinks but i only have to do it every 10 days.

Also the Aquac manual says dry over wet there is no difference.... so who knows. both carry the organic crap up slow or fast.... doesnt matter which i guess.

 

Here is an article from Reef Keeping mag.

What is Skimming? by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com




Foam Formation and Draining
Once a skimmer contains a large number of bubbles coated with organics, it is necessary to somehow remove the bubble surfaces, but not the majority of the water nearby. This is most easily accomplished by allowing the bubbles to form a foam. Foam formation takes place when bubbles accumulate and interact. The froth of bubbles begins to drain under gravity, removing much of the water between the bubbles. Some of the bubbles merge into larger bubbles. As long as the bubbles do not pop before significant draining occurs, then the organics will be left behind in the foam, along with some residual water. Eventually, the concentration of organics on the top of the foam becomes great enough that they exceed the solubility limit, and small particulates of organics form. These particulates are generally what a skimmer collects, along with some water and organics that remain present in solution or at the air/water interface.

Wet vs. Dry Skimming
Foam draining is a critical stage for most skimmers. One problem with drainage is that some organics are washed away with the draining water. There is always an equilibrium between organics in solution, and those actually attached to the interface. As water continues to drain, some of the organics are lost. Further, as some bubbles pop and their organics are redistributed into the nearby water, the local concentration of organics in the water between the bubbles in the foam can rise to concentrations far higher than are present in the aquarium. For this reason, the most effective skimming, in terms of total organic removal, comes from removing somewhat wet foam, rather than waiting for this same wet foam to drain prior to removal. The primary difference between wet foam, and drained dry foam, is that additional water and some organics have drained away. A dry form is more efficient in terms of the amount of organic removed in relation to the water volume, and all skimmers and their potential adjustments strike some balance between removing more water and slightly more organics, or less water and slightly fewer organics. Perhaps a careful analysis of different types of skimming will, in the future, show this expected result experimentally.

 

semi foam and dry is how I take my skimate

 

haha i take mine black with extra sugar

 

wet skim but barely I'd rather clean the skimmer once a week than change the water

 

I'm running into this problem kinda. It seems like I'm draining this thing almost daily. But it could be because I have lots to skim out since I haven't done it in years.

I'm slowly coming to the "skimmers are a MUST" side. I used to be adamant about how I could take it or leave it. Hrmmmm....

 

Tea colored, wet for now....