Skimmerless?

[jasony816]

To skimmer or not to skimmer, that is the question?

 

[aznt1217]

lol. Depends on what your set up is and how much maintenance you want to do.

 

[Zoous]

Going skimmerless now but it depends on your bioload.

 

[hijinks]

more fish.. probably want a skimmer.. unless you want to do a lot of water changes

 

[Zoous]

Your feeding regiment. Heavy feeding? Do feed or plan to feed alot of frozen food?

Tank size and filtration?

 

[autoponicz]

go with a skimmer.....cant beat the awesome site of foamy dirty bubbles

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Can't go wrong with a skimmer Jason.Is it for the 55?

 

[ClosetFishGeek]

Use a skimmer and spend time enjoying your tank rather than changing water all the time.

 

[hookedonreef17]

Use a skimmer and spend time enjoying your tank rather than changing water all the time.

Agreed!!

 

[reefman]

depends also on what type of corals.

 

[Keith P]

Besides cost, is there any good reason not too?!?

 

[jasony816]

Its for the 55 Nelson, I only have 2 clown fish in there at the moment but will eventually plan to add another fish and corals down the road. I feed them with frozen brine shimp 1 time every other day and do 5 gallon water changes every week.

 

[Killerdrgn]

you should switch to frozen mysis shrimp if possible. They're more nutritious.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

I ran a crappy skimmer for a year, doing 10 gal water changes every week on a 72 bow. I changed skimmers a week ago, and have skiimed over 3 qts. of nasty skimmate. I can already see a change in my corals coloration, and polyp extension.

 

[jasony816]

My clown fishes are about about 2" and 1.5" in size, isn't the frozen mysis alittle to big for them at this stage?

I heard from another member that skimming will remove certain elements required with a reef tank and that I will need to supplement that with dosing. My question is wouldn't that be counter productive because of you are removing things you already have just to add it back, he also mention that his corals seem to grow much faster without a skimmer. I forgot to mention that his setup was just a simple sump with DSB and Mangroves only. My question is would my weekly water changes be enough if I keep to that religiously?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

No skimmer just means larger water changes need to be done more frequently.

 

[Keith P]

I heard from another member that skimming will remove certain elements required with a reef tank and that I will need to supplement that with dosing. My question is wouldn't that be counter productive because of you are removing things you already have just to add it back, he also mention that his corals seem to grow much faster without a skimmer.

Skimmers remove organic proteins via foam fractionation. The person you were talking to may have been referring to it removing phyto and zoo planktons (which filter feeders and corals eat). I don't think a skimmer removes any actual elements.

 

[basiab]

Skimmers do not remove trace elements. Thay remove the stuff that cyano and pest algae feed on. You still need water changes just to replenish the minerals that are used up unless you are dosing the stuff.

 

[Killerdrgn]

Skimmers do not remove trace elements. Thay remove the stuff that cyano and pest algae feed on. You still need water changes just to replenish the minerals that are used up unless you are dosing the stuff.

Well they do actually remove trace elements. However it's in the same class as just taking a cup of water out of the take takes trace elements out of the system.

 

[prattreef]

While running a skimmerless system is absolutely possible ( I run two myself) I would not recommend it to a beginner. The fine line between success and catastrophe is much smaller without a skimmer and until you have perfected your husbandry skills and developed a good intuitive sense of your reef, I would not take the risk. Skimmers are the easiest way to maintain acceptable water quality and that is why the vast majority of reef keepers at all levels use them.

However, I'm not one to go crazy over big $$$ designer skimmers-- there are plenty of moderately priced and completely adequate options on the market. Skimmers remove all kinds of stuff and surprisingly little of other kinds of stuff and the truth is no-one really knows exactly what they remove, but trace element depletion is negligible at worst, so no worries there.