Lighting up a skimmer

A little tipsy here, it friday and work sucked today, but i thought i'd share/ask a thought here.

if algae are protien feeders, and require light to grow then perhaps where protien is most concintrated. do you think that maybe lighting up the skimmer would increase the groweth of algae in that area, obvously the point is that the algae gets forced to the collection cup.

any takers?

 

If you're skimming wet enough, algal spores are already being physically pushed into the skimmer.

IMO, the only algae that I would want in my skimmer riser tube would be cyanobacteria. The slimy biofilm it would create would not hamper bubble rise and dwell time. However, other algaes like filamentous algaes, macroalgaes, etc would cause bubbles to pop....therefore making the skimmer less efficient.

 

Basically I'd agree with what In wall said But I find my skimmer's to skim much better when clean.. I mean for a bit right after a good flushing of the chamber it takes them a day to slime over again but they then skim like mad for a few months I try to rinse my skimmers every 4 months or so.. As like In wall said less resistance in the chamber makes for more and drier foam.

 

That is why you want to put Macroalgae in your refugium, because it competes with the microalgae for the same nutrients. The less you have of nuisance microalgae the better!

 

why not add a small tank

HI,
I ve seen some good prices on siphon overflows localy if you add a small 30L gal tank tank then you could have a small dsb and algae refuge and this would be a great place for a light it may fit under your stand out of site .
And let your skimmer do its job as it was designed to. I also use the sump for the heater and the sump is a great way to keep your water level in the tank, and dosen't easily over flow be sure to have an air break on the return line to prevent problems. I drilled a hole in the return at the water line of the tank when the pumps are off I here it whistle as air runs back into the line.

Doug
here's one that I made out of a used 20 gal tall it has 6 in of sand over PVC pieces and has a few hermits a bunch of those snails and PODs are in the cheto in a shoe box the shoe box has water flowing over the top about 4 inches so they aren't sucked up by the pumps unless they venture out..
It aint pretty but it works great. and its behind a small fresh water tank in a corner I didn't use.

 

I think that if you added light to your skimmer you might also end up growing problem algae in your sump. And if you end up growing algae in the chamber of the protein skimmer it will drastically reduce the flow.

 

LOL I come up with too many DOY ideas when under the influence too. Bad idea, it will clog up, is a pain to clean and will reduce the performance of the skimmer. Still you deserve some karma for the effort. ;D