Is skimmer good for reef?

[NanoCube-boy]

i see. yea i think skimmer do best for any tank than without one. I'm planning to get a fussion skimmer for my cube soon.

[Mini_GBR]

I have set up many aquariums, and the current one I have set up is the only one I have not used a skimmer on. This tank is by far my healthiest, fastest growing, clearest, and self sustaining I have ever had. Is there a coincidence, maybe, maybe not, but I am not worried about it at all, my nitrates stay below 5, and everything looks really good. I suppose if I was running a larger sysyem with a huge bioload, I might use a skimmer, but still, in my 24nc I have four fish and a whole lot of different coral types from hungry spot fed LPS to monti several kinds of Monti's (I haven't tried any truely picky SPS, partly on purpose and partly since I filled this tank up a bit too quickly, but will I might try a few frags to see what might happen). Just my two cents.

[SeeDemTails]

Avoid blanket statements.....

 

 

AGREED!

 

I have had skimmer on all my tanks and have yet to EVER see ANY negative effects from them, other than those crappy skimmers that put micro bubbles in your tank!

 

IMO skimmers remove things that filters simply cannot.....plus skimmers never leache nitrates, phosphates and other crap back into your water.

[Mizer67]

Interesting topic. Here is a specific question along these lines. 29g BC. I don't want to drill the tank or hack up the top. I'm planning mostly LPS (bubble, hammer, others TBD) and 2 or 3 fish (yellow watchman, clown of some type, maybe one more small one). Would I be better served by turning the center compartment into a fuge with rock rubble and macro or sticking a tunze or saphirre (if they work out) nano-skimmer in the center compartment. Sorry for the semi-hijack, but I think this question actually fits well here, as one theme that seems to keep popping up is it depends on type of tank (fo / fowlr / mixed reef / SPS), stocking level and tank size. Thanks for the input.

[Mr. Fosi]

This is a really old thread...

 

Glad it is still of some use.

[NanoCube-boy]

this thread is old and done.........

[Snazzy]

this thread is old and done.........

 

Heres my tank: lps and softys in a 15gal tank w/ a refugium. I dose iodine, mg, Ca, trace elements, and strontium and add in dt's phyto plankton every so often. I have 3 fish also. The result im looking for is more coral growth.

 

should I get a rio nano skimmer?

-thanks snazzy

 

~edited for english~

[Gwoardnog]

In english perhaps?

 

otherwise.. cool, glad it worked out for you.

[Æonic]

Heres my tank: lps and softys in a 15gal tank w/ a refugium. I dose iodine, mg, Ca, trace elements, and strontium and add in dt's phyto plankton every so often. I have 3 fish also. The result im looking for is more coral growth.

 

should I get a rio nano skimmer?

-thanks snazzy

 

~edited for english~

 

In my non professional opinion ... Are you testing for what you dose? How often are you doing water changes? How much growth are you getting already? What kind of lighting do you have? What's your photoperiod and temperature range? What kind of flow do you have in there? Are your corals positioned optimally?

 

I think these questions will probably have more bearing on growth than adding a skimmer, assuming they currently appear healthy.

 

I noticed a good bit of new growth on my sps when I moved to a MH setup. I skim 24/7 in both my tanks (40g, 8g). The 8g has the rio nano. It does ok for a cheap skimmer, but I haven't yet been able to get dark skimmate from it. But that's ok, I don't expect a ton of waste in an 8g anyway. I like having a skimmer on as much to oxygenate the water as to skim. When I started, I was skimmerless. When I added a skimmer to my 20L (a big one for that size tank) I didn't notice that much difference in the health of the stuff in my tank. But I had just softies then.

 

Another thought, you have 3 fish in a 15, so you may have more wastes (I've got 1), so a skimmer may benefit you more than it did me. If you start feeding, you'll have more on top of that, so add a little more benefit from a skimmer.

 

Finally DT's says on the bottle that "occasional" feeding doesn't help much. But a lot of corals don't even "eat" phyto anyway I think. So, hell if I know, but you may look into a more thorough (and possibly better targeted) feeding regimen if you want optimal growth.

 

As for your question "should I get a rio nano skimmer?", I'd say sure, they're pretty cheap and it couldn't hurt. Maybe the better question is should you get a beefier skimmer. Trial and error may be your only real choice.

 

G/l

[shiveley]

IMO, if your skimmate is constantly dry, thick, and dark in color then it is impossible for you to over-skim your tank. It is only when you have a consistently wet skimmate that you have a problem with mineral and vitamin depletion.

 

and the whole concept of protein skimmers filtering out a tank's pod population is completely nonsense as well. Most "pods" are either bottom dwelling, or mid-water creatures (which, in theory, would limit the number of them being drawn into the skimmer in the first place), so a protein skimmers would have minimal impact upon them at best.

[GrizzleBee's]

Im surprised no ones metioned the removal of plankton yet....

[crrichey]

Not sure if it true or not but here is some info for u

 

In the ocean when waves crash aggainst the shore it mixes air/water and make the foam as if it were a skimmer. So you can say the the waves are the oceans skimmer, so in some way a skimmer is a natural filteration.

 

 

Although this may be "true" it is a poor example. It would similar to using a fusion skimmer on [insert public aquarium here].

[Nanoreef1]

Skimmers, yes... good.... in moderation. I would personally run

mine on my tank once a week prior to water change.

Run it for about 12 hours or so. The bigger the bioload the more

you need it...and the longer it needs to run.

Removal of organic protiens...waste. Here is a photo of nature

at work. You can see the film on the surface of the bubble.

And nope it isn't oil..... well not in the Exxon sense.

New to the forums...long time reefer. Looking to go temperate.

Now that I am 2 blocks from the beach. FREE LIVESTOCK...!!!

[wildernesstank]

whats a good skimmer for a 12 and thats under 75 bucks

[crrichey]

For a tank that small skip the skimmer and spend the money on water and salt for WC.

[musho3210]

just skim and do water changes, like whats better an electric car or a gas car, get a hybrid!

 

im getting a 20 gallon reef, i will be skimming with a tunze nano DOC and doing weekly 2 gallon water changes, thats weekly 10% changes with skimming, what could go wrong

[wildernesstank]

whats the best hang on skimmer

[HecticDialectics]

whats the best hang on skimmer

 

 

Deltec

[ReefApprentice]

Although this may be "true" it is a poor example. It would similar to using a fusion skimmer on [insert public aquarium here].

 

Nope, this is the main reason we have skimmers. It mimics the effects of the waves. Mr. Fosi, what do you think about this?

Alex

[DudE31]

i skim 24/7 and it has had no negative affects on livestock because i do weekly water changes to replenish what is supposedly good that is taken out of my system but i don't think brown mushy crap could be good to have in my tank lol

[wildernesstank]

deltek is that alot becouse im looking for cheap how about a prizm or seaclone

[nickubus19]

How about running your skimmer on fridays and saturdays and adding trace/iodine/stron/calc on saturday night with a new water change so that the corals use those for the whole week then you repeat!

[juin21]

Go for it and let us know

[Sea Slug]

weekly water changes are so benificial. and be done regardless

+1...........Everyone has there own formula for maintaining there piece of the ocean , but weekly water changes and dosing nothing has worked for me and for many years . I've had local people over the years come to my house to buy frags and corals . Many have asked how I keep my tanks and corals looking so good , what's your secret they ask . I tell them simply , there is no secret & I dose nothing ever , instead of doing large water changes once a month ( and be honest sometimes you forget or get busy and put it off for another week or longer ) , divide that water change buy four and do them once a week . Pick a day or evening when you know you will always be there , even if it is late at night . Test , test , test , and you will soon come up with the ideal amount to change out , while keeping all params in check and nitrates down . For one example the picture below is a 54 gal. courner reef . It has about 55 lbs of live rock in it , and holds roughly 40 gallons of water . I change out three gallons of water every Sunday evening , this has been going on for close to seven years now and the tank has never had a water quality or param issue . This small and quick water change takes about 15 min. tops . And yes I run a skimmer on all my tanks except the 12 gallon nano cube . All that being said , a dominated SPS tank will need dosing or a calcium reactor even with weekly water changes , buT I'm guessing were mainly talking about 75 gallons or less .

 

 

 

Opps , Forgot picture .

[wildernesstank]

very nice ^