Wet Skim/dry Skim

G'Day to all,

Just a question for thoes of you in the know.
Whats the reason for WET SKIM and how do we change it to DRY SKIM.

PS this is not a product based question rater a way to understand the fundermentals or this area of my aquarium. I guess ???

 

wet skim is just pulling more water out, dry skim is less water more waste.

 

thanks Geekdafied,

But I was hoping for a answer like more bubbles = dry skim , some info on bubble to waterflow ratios .(NOT) super tech stuff
just in laymens terms but so I can get my head around the reason for wet or dry bubbles

 

Dry skimming will produce a dense foam layer which is dark in color with concetrated waste material (less volume).
Wet skimmimg will produce a thin bubble layer which is light in color with diluted waste material (more volume).
Dry is the best IMO.
To get a dry skim I turn back my skimmer so only the foam overflows into the collector cup.

 

wastemanagement...
I don't see how Geek's explanation could be any more simple...

 

Hey clownfish,
Geeks answer was fine but was not what I was asking about. My question was more aimed at and I qoute ( the reason for WET SKIM and how do we change it to DRY SKIM.) No offence but I would say that Bulltrader answer was more directed to the actual question. Thanks Bull

 

Changing it to dry skim all depends on what kind of skimmer you have. Some have adjustable skim cups which you raise or lower, some dont, some you can mod by adding more bubbles then what it normally produces to get a dryer skimmate. Nobody can answer your question properly without know which product you plan on using. I answered it in a generally because it all depends on which skimmer you are using.

 

hey Geekdafied,
Thanks for clearing that up. I think that you just answered pritty much what I was asking -(adding more bubbles then what it normally produces to get a dryer skimmate. ) It might be a genaralization but its pritty much what I was looking for

 

There is different kinds of skimmers, so its hard to answer your question properly. I can honestly say unless you have a high bioload, you dont need a skimmer. Im not the only person who thinks this way. Until the other day, I havent used a skimmer in over 6 years. The only reason I am using one now is I am cycling a tank thats had a bunch of dead stuff in it, and instead of cleaning it out, Im just going to cycle it that way, the skimmer will take care of the rest for me.(Im being really lazy, not to mention its a 110g tank)

This thread gave me a whole new respect for Eric Borneman. Its a good thread about going skimmerless.

 

geekdafied,
Wow, that thread has really good info.
I have to admit that I could probably go skimmerless as my skimmer is small for my tank and doesn't produce much gunk.