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September 16th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| No Protein Skimmer?
I just purchased some lighting and powerhead at the local fish store and did some price shopping with their skimmers. The guy at the fish store, (local) told me he has 4 saltwater aquariums himself and doesn't have one skimmer. He says he just uses live rock and circulation. His biggest tank is 70gal.
Uhh, I thought a skimmer was STRONGLY reccomended for a marine aquarium. Doesn't it oxygenate the water as well? Any thoughts on taking his advice and just using live rock and water changes?
Thanks | 
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September 16th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| I've seen the amount of protein that can be pulled out of an "average" tank in one week's time. It was about a cup of black gunk that would have broken down into ammonia.
Not necessary, per se, but I think that the above fact makes it a pretty good idea. | |
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September 16th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by sirdarksol  I've seen the amount of protein that can be pulled out of an "average" tank in one week's time. It was about a cup of black gunk that would have broken down into ammonia.
Not necessary, per se, but I think that the above fact makes it a pretty good idea. | I agree, once you see what gets taken out by the skimmer... you will never go without one lol. You may not need one right away if the tank is new though, it takes a while for the tank to build up high enough waste levels to actually take anything out with the skimmer... usually after the tank is fully cycled for a week or two. | |
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September 16th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Skimmerless system can work just aswell as a system with a skimmer ,
some people dont like skimmers because they remove nutrient from the water that are benefical ,, natural filtering is become more popular as people test more things like live rock and macroalgaes that just use the bad nutrients.
i personally use both but some preffer natural which in the long run has got to better for the livestock , | |
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September 16th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| I would not do a reef setup without one. If you are planning on fish only, then doing without is more feasible, IMHO. | |
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September 18th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| About the only way I'd run a tank without a skimmer is if it had some sort of continuous water changing system in place. Skimmers help remove compounds before they get a chance to breakdown and add to the bioload of the system (algae headaches, problems with coral growth, etc.) | |
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October 13th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Yes, I think you will need a skimmer. I know I will get one when I set up my 55 gallon tank. I wouldn't take the risk, because you know what they say: "Better to be safe than sorry" | |
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October 14th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| To skim or not to skim......
Our earth is covered by 2/3 water, it is a massive ecosystem.
What we are trying to do with our tanks is create a ecosystem so we can have some of the wonders of nature in our homes.
The problem we have is that we are limited to the volume of water that can be held in our systems. To run a system without a skimmer you would need a masive sump/fuge/DSD to "clean" the water, or as Mike said, constant water change system.
When you have seen how much gunk a skimmer pulls out of the tank water you would never run a tank without one.
If you look at all the big reef tanks you will always find a big skimmer in the sump.
As well as removing gunk from the water, the skimmer is one of the best ways to get O2 into the water.
anything that removes a cup full of gunk from the water in a week must be good. | |
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October 15th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterpiper To skim or not to skim......
Our earth is covered by 2/3 water, it is a massive ecosystem.
What we are trying to do with our tanks is create a ecosystem so we can have some of the wonders of nature in our homes.
The problem we have is that we are limited to the volume of water that can be held in our systems. To run a system without a skimmer you would need a masive sump/fuge/DSD to "clean" the water, or as Mike said, constant water change system.
When you have seen how much gunk a skimmer pulls out of the tank water you would never run a tank without one.
If you look at all the big reef tanks you will always find a big skimmer in the sump.
As well as removing gunk from the water, the skimmer is one of the best ways to get O2 into the water.
anything that removes a cup full of gunk from the water in a week must be good. | good point! lol   | |
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October 15th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| i only thing that i have done is get a smaller cheaper skimmer and have a nice big refugium. read up on mangrove plants!! they do wonders for your tank. they are hard to start to grow and get them out of there so called sleep from the shipment. but as soon as they grow. read about them. they act as a skimmer | |
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October 16th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| As a SW newbie one thing I have learned is skimmers are a needed item. I tried to run my tank for 2 weeks w/o one and I got one this past week. I have noticed a huge bunch of crud in the cup every day when I lift the lid so that was a ton of waste that didn't need to be broken down into my water. I am trying to get my tank stabilized for a nano reef btw. I have now gotten my tank cleared up and my ammonia spike, nitrites, nitrates have now fallen and at a consistant -0- where they were all off the charts. | |
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October 16th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterpiper anything that removes a cup full of gunk from the water in a week must be good. | not all the gunk is bad it does remove nutrients that are needed in the sysytem too ,,
since adding chaeto and Caulerpa to my sump i only get a cup a month now where as i was getting a cup full a week,,, so as peter pointed out about eco systems they do work ,,if i had a larger sump with more cheato/Caulerpa
could i do away with my skimmer  and keep the good nutrients in the tank thus saving water changes to put them back in ,, ??  | |
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October 17th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Well, I got a skimmer anyway. Live rock is arriving tomorrow so WISH ME LUCK! | |
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October 17th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by nemo addict not all the gunk is bad it does remove nutrients that are needed in the sysytem too ,,
since adding chaeto and Caulerpa to my sump i only get a cup a month now where as i was getting a cup full a week,,, so as peter pointed out about eco systems they do work ,,if i had a larger sump with more cheato/Caulerpa
could i do away with my skimmer and keep the good nutrients in the tank thus saving water changes to put them back in ,, ?? | Think you have the best of both worlds, the chaeto and caulerpa help to maintain your water as does the skimmer.. the skimmer takes out what the plants dont need and helps with O2 | |
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October 17th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by JakeTeque Well, I got a skimmer anyway. Live rock is arriving tomorrow so WISH ME LUCK! | GOOD LUCK!
Good you got the skimmer!
Now all the fun starts!!  | |
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October 17th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Have Fun!!!!!!!!  | |
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October 17th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Have you guys read this article/demo?
Mega Powerful nitrate and phosphate Remover - DIY! (Multi-page thread 1 2 3)
SantaMonica
It seems to be the alternative to the skimmer. | |
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