How long do you run your Protein Skimmer

I was wondering how long you all ran your protein skimmer?
do you run it 24/7? only at night? only on weekends? etc...

I was just wondering because I think I am overskimming.
I run my protein skimmer 24/7 and has recently been adding Mg supplement. well I have added it for several days and my Mg has not budges so I was wondering if my protein skimmer was taking the supplement out of the water column too fast.

Also my protein skimmer is rated for 120-250 gallon tank and I only have it on a 55 gallon tank.

 

I run mine 24/7.
How stocked is your tank?

 

Sounds like me, I have a Coralife 65 on a 12g.

 

24/7 for me

Steve

 

24/7 and I have a 125gal rated skimmer on my 55. I don't believe it removes Mg from the water, at least not directly. My Mg has always been pretty stable. Check your other parameters, remember, Ca, Alk and Mg all need to be in balance.

 

24/7, except when my main pump is off and my sump water level is higher. Oh, learning the hard way....

 

I run 24/7 and my skimmer is about as oversized as yours. The principle of running a skimmer for only 1/2 time sounds good, but if you think about how a skimmer really works it's got a huge downside. The bubbles in the chamber bond with proteins as they make their way to the top. As they bond with more and more proteins they go higher and higher in the reaction chamber until they finally have enough to overflow into the cup. Now think about shutting off your skimmer. When you shut it off, even if the bubbles are not overflowing into the cup, they are still building up proteins and preparing to make their way to the top. By shutting it off you allow all those bubbles that were carrying some proteins to drop back into the water column. This is why I run mine 24 hours a day. Even if it's not producing skimmate at least the dissolved organics in the water I being suspending in the bubble chamber.

Your MG very well may be linked to something completely different. How is your calcium level?

 

24/7

 

24/7/365 unless theirs a power outage or routine cleaning...

 

I have 1 hippo tang, 2 clownfish, and 2 mandarin dragonettes in a 55.
i thought the skimmer might be taking the Mg out before it had time to get in the water column.
I use a powder that I mix with RODI water and then add to the tank.

I know they interact, I was told I needed to get my Mg up in order to get my Ca up.
last test results were
pH- 8
nitrates- 5ppm
phosphates 0
Ca 350 ppm
Mag 1170
kh 11