freakaccident Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 So last evening I decided to dose DTs phyto. The bottle's best used by date has just expired so I decided to double dose. Well I forgot one minor detail. I forgot to turn the skimmer off. An hour or so later my tank doesn't sound quite right. I turn on the lights and "Oh sh**!". The auto top off is running non stop and the pump side of the sump is nearly dry. The auto top off can barely keep up. After investigation I find that the skimmer is the culprit. So now I have my two liter skimmer bottle full of skimmate the same color as DT's and another gallon or so on the floor. To make matters worse my SG is down to 1.020. I do a super fast WC mix with HIGH SG water and amazingly I gauged it perfectly and I am right on at 1.0235. Not one single coral closed up and all was well this morning. Ahhhh! Lesson learned: Turn skimmer off when feeding. Solution #1: Get a timer for the skimmer and set it "off" for 6 hours after I feed. Solution #2: Get a smaller skimmer. Link to comment
SaltyinNJ Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Sorry to hear about the mess, but It could always be worse. One question, is there a recommended amount of time after feeding that you keep your skimmer off? I know that people recommend turning skimmer off to feed, but never heard or read any specific time frames. Anyone have insight to offer? Link to comment
freakaccident Posted March 18, 2003 Author Share Posted March 18, 2003 I am going to try six hours. My skimmer works so well I would rather be safe than sorry. Good for the caulerpa in the fuge anyway. Link to comment
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