"Pissed!" Thread made me thing... lol

[jdeb101]

People are saying you can go days without a skimmer w/o harm, so I was thinking... Most (if not all) of us with skimmers have them running 24x7. Why not put our skimmers on a timer? Perhaps like half the day, or half the week? I'm just thinking the plus is it could cut down electric costs, but would there be any harm?

 

[22engine]

Good question. Be interesting to hear the responses.

 

[HuuTa]

People are saying you can go days without a skimmer w/o harm, so I was thinking... Most (if not all) of us with skimmers have them running 24x7. Why not put our skimmers on a timer? Perhaps like half the day, or half the week? I'm just thinking the plus is it could cut down electric costs, but would there be any harm?

i had my skimmer on during the day and off at night for 7 months without any harm.Got tired of walking up and down 4 flight of stairs with 5g buckets after a few years so broke that tank down

 

[jdeb101]

i had my skimmer on during the day and off at night for 7 months without any harm.Got tired of walking up and down 4 flight of stairs with 5g buckets after a few years so broke that tank down

4 flights!! That must've sucked. lol It was such a pita making trips to NH every two weeks before I had my own RO/DI unit.

 

[stingythingy45]

I would never put a skimmer on a timer.
Don't know how most people skimmer pumps work.But every Sedra I've had sometimes needs a bump to get going again.
Just can't take the chance of the pump not starting again.I already have one that froze solid.

 

[jdeb101]

I would never put a skimmer on a timer.
Don't know how most people skimmer pumps work.But every Sedra I've had sometimes needs a bump to get going again.
Just can't take the chance of the pump not starting again.I already have one that froze solid.

Same holds true for the Mag running on my skimmer. Thought it was maybe just issue with Mag drives and didn't think that issue affected other brands. Good point though!

 

[HuuTa]

funny cause i had a sendra on that skimmer and never fail to restart.Now the sendra on my current skimmer would start but will not pull any air once in awhile when i stop it to feed and has to blow into the airline to get it going again

 

[mnavick]

I think of the goop I pull out of my collection cup every few days, without skimming all that decay just builds up....................

 

[Greg Hiller]

I also suggest against a skimmer on a timer for the reason mentioned above....pumps don't always restart. If you do decide to try this make SURE the skimmer is ON during the dark cycle of the tank.

 

[Ellabug]

I also suggest against a skimmer on a timer for the reason mentioned above....pumps don't always restart. If you do decide to try this make SURE the skimmer is ON during the dark cycle of the tank.

Do you make this recommendation because pH would drop too quickly with both lights and skimmer off during the dark cycle?

 

[P-Nut]

People are saying you can go days without a skimmer w/o harm, so I was thinking... Most (if not all) of us with skimmers have them running 24x7. Why not put our skimmers on a timer? Perhaps like half the day, or half the week? I'm just thinking the plus is it could cut down electric costs, but would there be any harm?

My skimmer is on a timer. But I have a skimmer that can run a 200 gallon tank on a 40 breeder. On at night off during the day.

And my skimmer starts every time.

 

[panayiote73]

Sounds risky. Skimmers don't give me the greatest confidence. I've had them overflow too many times to trust them. Turning them on and off just introduces another variable.
The least of your worries is the pump not turning on. I'd be much more worried a spike sends the thing into overdrive and I got 20gal everywhere except where it belongs....in the DT!