If you want more…
So regulating the skimmer in this way we’ll obtain almost the best, but we can improve again. In fact we can notice that often the air in entrance has big oscillations in its values.
You can avoid this with a flow measurement like that one in the picture, regulate the air and obtain a fixed level. Normally it’s enough to close a little bit the air.
Dry and wet skimming
The balancing of air and water in entrance let us change the density of the liquid in the glass. When the level in the skimmer is higher and the content of the glass is very liquid and that’s the case of a wet skimming. Otherwise, it’s called dry skimming with a lower level and a denser content.
I prefer keeping a wet skimming. In this way there are more surfactants extracted by the water and the quality of the water is superior. Obviously you have to be very careful because it’s easy to risk the impoverishment.
The dry skimming is important in a aquarium lacking of nourishments. In this way there are less surfactants removed.
In summary: if the skimmer is overdimensioned choose a dry skimming, if it’s underdimensioned a wet skimming.
Skimmers with regulable pumps
Lately the market hosts skimmers equipped with regulable pumps. These pumps work with low voltages and so maybe they’re safer, but I think they don’t bring any advantages. In fact the skimmer has to be chosen depending on the aquarium in which it has to be placed
Change the range of the pump would unbalance the air and the water in the skimmer, while water and air ranges in themselves are rather fixed once given the geometry of the skimmer. So I prefer not to choose one of these types for not having to regulate even the range of the pump.
The risk is to lack in efficiency. Sometimes it could be useful anyway. You just have to know that reduce the range get the return of the skimmer worse.
If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments. And remember that clean often the glass it’s the better thing you can do!
