do I need this

[melissa]

hello, I have a 30gallon tank 45lbs live rock, about 13 differnt corals and one cardinal, coral beauty, and gobie. a friend sent me a skimmer but its very big and unattractive, do I really need one of these? could someone explain why? also I am getting alot of green gunk on the sides of the tank, I assume from the light, what can I do to help this, I am cleaning off the sides every two days!

 

[kris walker]

If you are experienced, you don't really need one. But if you are rather new to the hobby, it is probably best to get one. They help a lot, but as said, are not necessary if you have good husbandry practices.
sam

 

[old hermit]

my skimmer helped out with alge alot. i had the same problem. i had my tank going for 3 mo. with no skimmer and when i got it the cup filled up in 1 day with nasty stuff in my tank. <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />

 

[ak_reefer]

They are good to have they help remove a lot of waste out of the water. I use one on my 45 gallon. I have a Seaclone it it works great. What kind did you get. Is it airstone or powerhead driven. IMO Powerhead skimmers work alot better.

 

[broomer5]

melissa
I've got a 30 long mixed reef tank as well.
Although your's sounds a little more stocked with inverts, fish and live rock than mine, still somewhat similar I'm sure. Most everyone experiences some algae growth - trying to figure out the cause can sometimes be tricky ?
I don't want to repeat myself here, but what are your water test readings ?
Specifically your 30 tank's
pH
Nitrate
Phosphate
What is your lighting type and lighting schedule ?
What type of fresh water are you using for top offs and mixing salt ?
Water change schedule and amount ?
Clean up crew ?
A protein skimmer as said above, can sometimes reduce much of the organic wastes that collect in our tanks over time - especially if we tend to overfeed and have large numbers of waste producing creatures.
Personally I like running my skimmers - but again as said above, they are not at all "necessary" to have a sucessful reef

 

[ak_reefer]

Hey Tang,
I run mine off the back of my tank. I have read that alot of people like using them in there sump. But it does not take up much space so I run it off the back. I am looking into getting and Amiracle SL-5. Hangs on the back wet/dry with skimmer but I am not sure.