Protein skimmer problems

[Ebtbmom]

I have the aquatop Recife 40 and had been running the included skimmer, after putting epoxy in my tank I seem to have destroyed the skimmer and all it will do now is pump put microbubbles and run constantly. I’ve had it turned off for 2 weeks and my tank seems the same so I’m wondering if I can have a healthy tank without a skimmer. We hated how loud it was anyway. Does anyone skip the skimmer? I’m totally fine with doing wc every week not to have micro bubbles and noise. 

[seabass]

Welcome to Nano-Reef.com.

 

You can certainly run a reef tank without a protein skimmer.  Most larger tanks use them to help improve water quality and save money on saltwater.

 

You can accomplish something (reduce dissolved organics) similar with activated carbon.  However, even that isn't necessary.

 

And changing water, just to change water might not be needed either.  Usually, you can get by with just replacing to water removed during maintenance (siphoning out detritus).  Then if you still need to export additional nutrients, you can change out more water.

 

That said, if you leave your skimmer running, I'd think it would eventually start working normally again.  It might need cleaned out, and the air intake might be getting clogged.

[mcarroll]

On 10/2/2022 at 2:45 AM, seabass said:

It might need cleaned out, and the air intake might be getting clogged

Check this for sure.  👍

On 10/1/2022 at 10:52 PM, Ebtbmom said:

Does anyone skip the skimmer?

Sure.  A skimmer has some specific benefits vs other alternatives though.  Not least of which is that there are NO consumables (eg filter pads, carbon, etc) with a skimmer.  This makes them very economical to run.

 

If you stock the tank lightly with fish and relatively heavy with corals and make sure there is strong water flow that prevents detritus from settling, you can probably get by without filtration.

 

I recommend keeping the skimmer if possible, though.