Stock skimmer vs. Remora vs. no skimmer

[Carriegiesler]

I have read till my eyes hurt and now I am thoroughly questioning what to do..... the dilemma: I currently own a 9 gallon nano with a built in Skimmer (came stock with tank) however after 2.5 months of tinkering with it I get a VERY light tea colored watery liquid, not the color I see everyone else getting. I have already placed an order for a nano remora however I was just notified it is on back order. So I see this as an opportunity to make sure this is a wise purchase. I have read several posting that state a tank this small does not need a skimmer due to frequent water changes, which I have been doing about 1.5 gallons a week. But I am concerned since I am have a pretty heavy stock of corals plus I would eventfully like to acquire some SPS when I have honed my skills in this hobby. The type of lighting I currently have is a 70 w MH even though I don’t think that is pertinent to the skimmer performance but I could be wrong. I would appreciate any thoughts, advice or insight anyone may have regarding my skimmer question.

 

In tank:

small percula clown

Fire fish

5 crabs

2 Narsissus snails

2 frags hammer coral

2 red mushrooms

2 rics

1 candycane- tiny (pencil eraser)

2 types of xenia

One skunk shrimp

5-7 small frags of zoa’s

[doncb]

Sometimes, using a skimmer is a personal preference. I ran a 24g DX for years w/ no skimmer. When I did, some of the corals didn't care for it. One option is to run the skimmer only part of the time. Overall, using a skimmer is a good idea for a heavily stocked tank.

[ubigbobby]

Using a skimmer will allow you to push your stocking a bit. It also allows you to make more infrequent water changes.

 

It's not really necessary on a tank as small as yours. I wouldn't consider a skimmer a real must until you get to 55G or more IMO, and that just becuase doing 5G water changes each week would be a pita. With a tank as small as yours, it's completely personal preference. Personally, I'd save my skimmer money for something else.

[Zombo]

I'm not using the skimmer on my 9 -- just waiting to score some "cheato" and will use the skimmer chamber for polyfilter/floss (if needed).

[cmgreenone]

skimmer on a 9 gallon? that's a bit much IMO

[Zombo]

Well, not if you're one of those overstocking types of people -- having fish adds to the bioload to a point where I'd consider skimming a bonus. I'm a strictly invert guy, so I feel WC's and fuge is sufficient for my needs.

[cmgreenone]

how many fish do you really plan to put in a nine gallon? maybe you need to get a bigger tank.

[scokill]

I have nano remora on my ap12 and I don't know if there is any real return on investment. Everything was fine before and fine now. Plus it's kinda loud and isn't really an eyesore, but certainly draws your eye toward it.

[Zombo]

how many fish do you really plan to put in a nine gallon? maybe you need to get a bigger tank.

 

I'm not putting any. Others might put a pair of small ones. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that while a skimmer might not be *necessary* on such a small system, it certainly doesn't hurt if you do have/use one.

[Carriegiesler]

I'm not putting any. Others might put a pair of small ones. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that while a skimmer might not be *necessary* on such a small system, it certainly doesn't hurt if you do have/use one.

 

 

Stock is listed at the top of thread, do not plan on adding anything else for a while.

[DrCooper]

AQUAPOD 24 GALLON and curious if i will need a skimmer and if so what are the options?

please message me anyone with help

thanks