Pros and Cons to a Protein Skimmer

[AWD]

I want to hear it all. Mine is going to the trash(it's super old and recently broke). I don't know if I want to replace it. It seems to me that the corals will have to compete with it. I'm not so sure that the pros out way the cons. I do however like the clarity of the water.
Let me hear your comments.

Thanks

 

[Super Len]

Pros:
1. removes nitrogenous compounds before they're oxidized to nitrate.
2. serves as a fast-reacting safeguard against nutrient "spikes" (something biological nitrogen export mechanisms like macroagle can't assure)
3. keeps water at full oxygen saturation 24/7.
4. provides water stability through greater gas exchange between water and air (you'd be surpised how big an effect this can have).

Cons:
1. maintanence (although it's not much: maybe 20 minutes a week)
2. requires moving parts (eg pump)
3. removes plankton from the water column
4. exports not only bad products, but also some good/necessary elements and compounds, like iodine and NaCl.

All said, my opinion is in favor of skimmers. I don't endorse "super powerful" skimming, but my experiences and casual observations have suggested skimmed tanks, on average, are much healthier (ie look healthier) then unskimmed tanks. Personally, I have yet to see an unskimmed tank rival that of a skimmed tank, given similiar hobbyist education, care, and use of associated equipment.

 

[scooterr]

not already mentioned things
pros-
1 No need to replace filter media like other filters
2 insurance

cons-
1 $
2 loud or noisy sometimes

I run lots of small tanks and a few large tanks. If i don't have a skimmer(some of the small tanks) I have a dsb and 1+ lbs LR per gal. They systems all seem to run fine but I have so much invested in the bigger tanks that it is very worth it to me. Water changes are a big part ,however, of my skimmerless tanks. Not as much with the skimmed tanks. keep a close eye on your params. If they go down get a good skimmer.
What are the specs of your tank?
HTH

 

[sawcjack00]

What they said.

Another con in my case is that using a skimmer requires electricity. I use a powerful skimmer (36" double beckett injected) that uses 2 pumps mag24 and mag18. I don't mind the extra cost. I skim heavily and feed heavily and still do regular water changes. I have excellent SPS growth and my params are great. I think skimmerless is a great idea too, but I like the margin of error and the ability to direct feed very heavily.

 

[SteveP]

Leonard,

Skimmers remove salt (NaCl) from the water????

Steve
8{I

 

[Super Len]

Yes. The water extracted into the collection cup contains saltwater and all the components thereof.

 

[SteveP]

Well, yeah, of course. Your post made it sound like skimmers remove more than the normal concentration in the tank water. That's all.

Steve
8{I

 

[2poor2reef]

Actually, it's not so obvious to most people that skimmers remove some salt from the water. Since some people associate skimmer bubbles with evaporation they tend to think that it's only fresh water that's in the collection cup, along with the grunge. Since many of us maintain our sumps at a constant level with fresh evap replacement water, skimmer effluent and salt creep will actually result in a gradual drop in salinity over time. It's a good point and one that came up on a thread just recently.

 

[Bubafat]

It should also be noted that plancton may not be removed by protein skimmers, this is still a debatable issue.

Buba

 

[mariner]

Keep a skimmer on your setup. Imagine all that crap in your collection cup just sitting in the tank water. I know I would not want to live in my own %$it and pis*

 

[suckair]

>> regarding the plankton thing <<

I have not noticed any color change in my bubbles when I feed phytoplnakton. I do feed nannochloris the very small phyto.. DT's is made up of that phyto. I grow my own and some times dump in a 2 liter bottle at once..

I would say the skimmer does nothing to it.. I run a MTC beckett skimmer with a 1200 gph pump!

That was then..

This is now..

I don't even run the skimmer anymore.. What a waste of power! My 105 system at the shop has been skimmerless for about 3 months now! No refugium just a deep sand bed, lots of circulation.. I feed up to 6 cubes/day of food and the system is doing great!

My home system is also skimmerless and but have had problems with it in the past few months.. I have been having a cyano war off and on. I have experimented with skimmer on and skimmer off for a month at a time and no change in the tank's condition can be noticed.

And to think all that research on the best type of skimmer, bekett, downdraft, needle wheel. bla bla. I will use a skimmer on every new system for a few weeks-month and will also keep one handy incase of problems.. but run one all the time.. NO.


Randall

 

[stilmas]

alot of people go skimmerless, but you will have to be careful about overfeeding and do more frequent water changes. The pros that strike me the best are: Overfeeding protection (not a biggie), keeps phosphates and nitrates at lower concentrations for your live rock, live sand, macroalgae to break down, good continuous gas exchange and oxygenation, filters particles from water. The Cons that get me are: Cleaning the venturi valve, pump, collection cup very often, and have to shut it down when feeding corals for a while (no biggie). IMO, the pros outweigh the cons.

 

[stilmas]

All this stuff about skimmer removing things is true, but not a problem. Do water changes to keep everything in check. For those who are trying to make a self maintaining system,IMO, are just looking for a way to reduce maintenance time. Every closed system needs to have water changed, doesn't matter if you have the biggest skimmer in the world, the deepest "live" sand bed, or the hugest amount of live rock. You still have to do water changes in a closed system! Maybe not as often as a system that doesn't have all the "extras", but the system is still closed and needs to have nutrients exported.

 

[mweber]

I've been skimmerless for about 3 months now. My nitrates are falling, due (I think) to better carbon available to my plenum. Everything looks better; SPS, anenomes, mushrooms, ect.

The only problem is that my phosphates are raising. Now at .24 and I am starting to get some hair.

 

[Laurie]

I am running 2 skimmerless tanks. They have been unofficially "skimmerless" for a while since neither skimmer pulled out anything for several months before I actually removed them. Both tanks are doing great. Tons of sandbed life. I feed heavily and do 10% WCs twice a month. I have a SPS in one of the tanks - a purple Monti D. I know it is one of the tougher types of SPS but it is doing great.

My reasons for going skimmerless are noise, convenience, and energy conservation. I know that the energy thing might sound a bit hokey when we are talking about energy hog reef tanks but, hey, every little bit helps.

I am trying to get my 3 month old 200 gal. tank to the skimmerless point. It's not quite ready yet. I started it skimmerless but with no refugium I was having a tough time keeping the nuisance algae at a bearable level. So I have been running a Berlin HOT on it and though it is skimmed, it is definitely being underskimmed. My detrivores are increasing by the day with a new population explosion of bristle worms and Strombus snails and I hope to be able to remove the skimmer in the next couple of months. I had gotten it down to 10 hours/day but my CBB stopped eating recently and with trying to coax her back to health again I have been feeding way more heavily than I normally do. The system wasn't ready for that overload of food and the cyano spread a little where it had been decreasing and I see an area that looks a little too much like dinoflagellates. I am now running the skimmer 24/7 for a few days to get this back in line.

I figure if I occasionally get a little hair algae or a little cyano, so be it. Lots of people who run very powerful skimmers get them, too. I'll always keep my skimmers, just in case I need them from time to time. And, like Eric Borneman, I'll run them when I go out of town - I'm not stoopid!

 

[Super Len]

Rob Toonen did an analysis of skimmate, and concluded it did remove live phytoplankton from the system.

 

[BCReefer]

I just purchase a skimmer on my tank and was amazed at the noise. Now I only run it during the day and I turn it off at night. Someone informed me that you only need the skimmer on during the day when the fish are active!