Mr.anemone Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 hi i'm sure ya'll heard about me...so i juzt wanna know ..if my coral tank [15G] needs a skimmer....[no fish]...just coral Link to comment
Mr.anemone Posted May 24, 2006 Author Share Posted May 24, 2006 i'm sorry bout da title its'' no fishes just corals'' Link to comment
PotysGSXR Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 I've been running my 5g coral tank for about 7 months now with no skimmer and its doing fine. I have 1 fish and 2 shrimps in there. Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 One of the great debates - to skim or not skim. I would say if your doing water changes 10% min per week your should be fine with out a skimmer. Link to comment
bigbabich Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 My aquapod 24 has ~25lbs LR, -12lbs sand. Corals Multiheaded Branching Hammer coral Huge and growing red starburst coral tons of shrooms, many types yellow non photosynthetic gorgonian big pack of 5 different zoas fish/inverts 1 yellowtail damsel 1 3 stripe damsel 6 hermits various snails: 1 nasarius, 3 turbos and Tons of weird stomatella's that breed and hide 1 Skunk cleaner shrimp (he's the tank boss) 1 5" brittle star I rarely see. I had a fission skimmer, hated it. I just do 4 gallon water changes once a week. Had a small cyano outbreak 3 months ago that is fixed. Clear water. To skim or not to skim. no idea. I also have a 29 that I'm more worried about skimming in. I bought a prizm but it leaked and was too loud. Drove me nuts. I returned it. I might buy a skimmer for the sump I'm building but that's in the future. Water changes are your friend. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 I recommend a skimmer, but they are not required. Link to comment
seabass Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 The answer is no, you don’t ever ‘need’ a skimmer (even with fish) if you perform adequate water changes. In general, I would say that a fishless tank doesn’t need one; however, there are still some other considerations when making this decision. If your tank is stocked with photosynthetic corals that get most of their energy from light, you should not have to feed very much or very often (so there would be less of a ‘need’ for a skimmer). However, some photosynthetic corals require supplemental feedings (which will result in dissolved organics that can be reduced by a skimmer). Non-photosynthetic corals require feeding (some quite substantial). In some cases aquarists have been known to move corals into another tank for feeding (so as not to pollute the display). Properly feeding some of these corals in the display would require a skimmer to help maintain water quality. While certain corals don’t mind relatively nutrient rich water, others are not as tolerant. So if you feed your corals, but still need to maintain pristine water quality, get a skimmer. In addition to water quality, a skimmer will increase oxygen levels (and help maintain pH). Link to comment
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