Alex & Ben…thanks for the question. I’ll turn mine off to clean the cup since it takes about 2 minutes.
For feeding your fish, working in your tank, etc. leave it on. I see a lot of people who turn their skimmers on/off several times a day which I’m not a fan of.
What about when dosing the tank with things like coralvite or essential elements? I’ve read on some forums that they recommend turning off the skimmer for awhile to allow these supplements time to dissolve in the water column and get taken up by the corals, etc. I don’t turn mine off for this but I’m wondering if I should?
Dan & Manny…I don’t dose anything in my tanks other than Alk/Mg/Ca. I’m not a fan of feeding corals as I’ve found this excess food always leads to algae outbreaks or nitrate issues.
I understand feeding corals if they are non-photosynthetic or clams that need it when they are very, very small, but other than that, don’t dose your tank or feed your corals. I say they aren’t needed. Save your money for fish and corals…or more gear!
Hi Mark,
I seem to have a problem with my skimmer its a asmg1x model. What I mean is when I change out my sump sock or when I sometimes feed my fish stuff like cyclopeeze my skimmer goes crazy what do you suggest in my case. when I change out my socks each week or sometimes twice a week the skimmer will just fill the cup with water and over flow through the cup, when this happens I shut off the skimmer for an hour or so then it settles down. am I doing anything wrong??
joe
I am switching live rock but mostly fish from a 110 tank to 180 tank the 110 tanks filter system is well cycled and will be part of the 180 tanks filter system i started the 180 tanks wet/dry filter weeks ago and is still cycling . just wondering if i switch now what would happen. levels in 180 tank nitrite levels 0.25 mabye slightly higher ammonia 0 .I have two wet/dry filters on the 110tank that are cycled and going to be part of the new system should i just switch them or wait i want to run only one tank currently running both any advice
I just need an advice about what lightning should I get for my 20 gal nano reef.,The one I have is just a coralife 2 bulbs..not anough for Lps and sps so please give me your oipinion Thanks
Hi, Mark i have a truvu 75 gallons fish only thank , I think Im a tank dabbler,,lol i have two questions
1) I have two make waver of 800 gph ,is ok swicht or et them work 24/7 at the same time???
2) How important is to have a skimmer and a UV sterilizer?
Regards / Saludos
Will..zeovit dosing is entirely different as it is a supplement line to manage water parameters. A clean up crew handles the uneaten food and fish poop before it has a chance to fowl your water.
“Fowl your water” eh? I’m picturing this scenario…
Hey Mark, what’s up with that black and white thing floating on the top of your water column there?
Oh, that’s just Bob, my new penguin. I added him to my cleanup crew.
What!?!
Well, you know I had already progressed through having fish then inverts, then my various corals. I decided it was time I added some aves to my tank. He’s a Galapagos penguin so the temperature doesn’t bother him too much. I could have went with a Fairy penguin—they are recommended for up to a 100 gallon tank—but you know how I roll, I +1 ed it up.
So what does he do?
Well you know those problems I had removing certain fish from my tank, like those darn damsels?
Yeah.
Well, I trained him to catch any fish I show him a picture of. Here watch. Here Bob, here Bob! Look. Look at the picture of the six lined wrasse. Go get the wrasse boy! Go get him!
Squawk!
See, he got him, first try! Good Bob! Who’s a good bird! Bob is!
Man that just blows my mind! You are a real reef junkie!
No, I’m a reef enthusiast. The proper bird for a reef junkie would be a pelican.
Mark, thank you for all the time and effort you put into the blog and the videos. There is an awful lot of information here on your site that is really not available anywhere else, especially explaining the small details of how to do things. I’m an experienced freshwater guy, and I have been reading books, magazines, websites and forums on saltwater aquariums for about 6 months—I think I have had more questions answered for me In the last week that I have been going through your site, than I have looking at other resources since I started. Keep up the good work!
What should be done when cleaning out the cup? Turn down flow, clean cup & retune or shut off, clean cup & turn back on?
My question is the same as Alex’s.
“What should be done when cleaning out the cup? Turn down flow, clean cup & retune or shut off, clean cup & turn back on?”
Alex & Ben…thanks for the question. I’ll turn mine off to clean the cup since it takes about 2 minutes.
For feeding your fish, working in your tank, etc. leave it on. I see a lot of people who turn their skimmers on/off several times a day which I’m not a fan of.
Mark,
What about when dosing the tank with things like coralvite or essential elements? I’ve read on some forums that they recommend turning off the skimmer for awhile to allow these supplements time to dissolve in the water column and get taken up by the corals, etc. I don’t turn mine off for this but I’m wondering if I should?
Hi Mark. Same as Dan but I only shut it off for an hour when I dose Phyto. This was recommended by a few places I go to. What do you think?
Dan & Manny…I don’t dose anything in my tanks other than Alk/Mg/Ca. I’m not a fan of feeding corals as I’ve found this excess food always leads to algae outbreaks or nitrate issues.
I understand feeding corals if they are non-photosynthetic or clams that need it when they are very, very small, but other than that, don’t dose your tank or feed your corals. I say they aren’t needed. Save your money for fish and corals…or more gear!
I Love the nemo shirt, where did you get it? Oh and the show is cool to:)
Hi Mark,
I seem to have a problem with my skimmer its a asmg1x model. What I mean is when I change out my sump sock or when I sometimes feed my fish stuff like cyclopeeze my skimmer goes crazy what do you suggest in my case. when I change out my socks each week or sometimes twice a week the skimmer will just fill the cup with water and over flow through the cup, when this happens I shut off the skimmer for an hour or so then it settles down. am I doing anything wrong??
joe
I am switching live rock but mostly fish from a 110 tank to 180 tank the 110 tanks filter system is well cycled and will be part of the 180 tanks filter system i started the 180 tanks wet/dry filter weeks ago and is still cycling . just wondering if i switch now what would happen. levels in 180 tank nitrite levels 0.25 mabye slightly higher ammonia 0 .I have two wet/dry filters on the 110tank that are cycled and going to be part of the new system should i just switch them or wait i want to run only one tank currently running both any advice
I just need an advice about what lightning should I get for my 20 gal nano reef.,The one I have is just a coralife 2 bulbs..not anough for Lps and sps so please give me your oipinion Thanks
I’m willing to spend even 4 to 5 hundred dollars in a lighning fixture but I don’t know if I can have a chiller so……
Alex…what are you wanting to grow in your 20G nano? While $400-$500 is a nice budget, I don’t think you need to spend that much give your tank size.
Hi, Mark i have a truvu 75 gallons fish only thank , I think Im a tank dabbler,,lol i have two questions
1) I have two make waver of 800 gph ,is ok swicht or et them work 24/7 at the same time???
2) How important is to have a skimmer and a UV sterilizer?
Regards / Saludos
What about zeovit dosing ?
Will..zeovit dosing is entirely different as it is a supplement line to manage water parameters. A clean up crew handles the uneaten food and fish poop before it has a chance to fowl your water.
No harm, no foul…
“Fowl your water” eh? I’m picturing this scenario…
Hey Mark, what’s up with that black and white thing floating on the top of your water column there?
Oh, that’s just Bob, my new penguin. I added him to my cleanup crew.
What!?!
Well, you know I had already progressed through having fish then inverts, then my various corals. I decided it was time I added some aves to my tank. He’s a Galapagos penguin so the temperature doesn’t bother him too much. I could have went with a Fairy penguin—they are recommended for up to a 100 gallon tank—but you know how I roll, I +1 ed it up.
So what does he do?
Well you know those problems I had removing certain fish from my tank, like those darn damsels?
Yeah.
Well, I trained him to catch any fish I show him a picture of. Here watch. Here Bob, here Bob! Look. Look at the picture of the six lined wrasse. Go get the wrasse boy! Go get him!
Squawk!
See, he got him, first try! Good Bob! Who’s a good bird! Bob is!
Man that just blows my mind! You are a real reef junkie!
No, I’m a reef enthusiast. The proper bird for a reef junkie would be a pelican.
Mark, thank you for all the time and effort you put into the blog and the videos. There is an awful lot of information here on your site that is really not available anywhere else, especially explaining the small details of how to do things. I’m an experienced freshwater guy, and I have been reading books, magazines, websites and forums on saltwater aquariums for about 6 months—I think I have had more questions answered for me In the last week that I have been going through your site, than I have looking at other resources since I started. Keep up the good work!