Anyone with ATS without Skimmer?

[Andrei Pro]

Hello Everyone,

Does anyone has a system with ATS and no skimmer? Basically can ATS be efficient enough to support a system without skimmer?

[jservedio]

30 minutes ago, Andrei Pro said:

Hello Everyone,

Does anyone has a system with ATS and no skimmer? Basically can ATS be efficient enough to support a system without skimmer?

You can easily support a nano with no filtration at all. Most people start out with nothing more than a HOB filter to run a floss to take larger bits of detritus out of the water column and nothing more. A lot of systems on here, such as my own, run with absolutely no filtration of any sort.

 

If you have a larger system that has a lot of fish in it, the equation changes a bit, but since this is nano-reef.com, I'll assume you are asking about a nano tank.

[mcarroll]

On 9/7/2020 at 12:51 PM, Andrei Pro said:

Hello Everyone,

Does anyone has a system with ATS and no skimmer? Basically can ATS be efficient enough to support a system without skimmer?

It's very hard to generalize in a comparison like that without more details on what you expect and what your actual plans are.

 

A turf scrubber and a protein skimmer aren't all that similar either.  "Apples vs oranges."  

 

What you use should mostly be the answer to the question of what's actually needed.

 

If you're building a new tank and these are your tools to battle against nutrients....I would reconsider the anti-nutrient strategy and reassess what each of the tools actually do and and what your needs actually are.  👍

 

With the vast track record it has, we can say with confidence that all saltwater tanks seem to benefit from a protein skimmer if they're able to support one.  (All but the smallest tanks can.)

 

A protein skimmer provides light-duty filtration and 24/7 aeration...with almost no work or ongoing costs required to keep it running...and nothing to throw away except the skimmate.  

 

What's not to like?

 

Algal Turf Scrubbers are highly effective at growing algae, but they also have some fairly significant caveats.  I'm not sure if every reef tank would benefit from having one, but some might.  I think they're potentially a good fit for fish-only systems.  I still don't see an either/or with the protein skimmer. (apples/oranges)...if anything I'd probably run a slightly larger skimmer if I ran a scrubber.  👍