Do I really need a skimmer?

scu ba

scu ba

Member
I had my aquarium running a few years ago with a lion, snowflake, niger trigger, and wolf eel. We lived in the mountains and had a bad winter one year and the power went out when we were not home and there goes all our fish to fish heaven. Now i am set it back up and was wondering if i need a skimmer, which i never used one before. Im looking to get the same fish and also a Har. tusk fish and a proc. puffer. I bought one before and also some type of wrasse (i cant remember which kind) and they both didnt make it, which i always had the water tested and keep it up. Do you think a skimmer would solve the problem in the future? Thanks
 
omgsaltwat

omgsaltwat

Member
What size tank you have? I started mine without a skimmer so I always had stuff floting on top of the water. I have since got one and its works great you should see all the junk its takes out of the water. So I think everyone should have one JMO
 
scu ba

scu ba

Member
55 but within a year going to 125 just getting the wife into it (shh!
) So the 55 is being the bait for now.
 
omgsaltwat

omgsaltwat

Member
Thats so cool that's how I got my wife to let me get the 125 I started with a 10 gal fresh
water then went to a 29 fresh then a 55 then took her to a saltwater only store and now I got 2 125's both saltwater and still have all the others to.
 
seannmelly

seannmelly

Active Member
i would recommend a skimmer. after seeing all the junk that our skimmer pulls out, i would never run a tank w/o one!!
 
blessedyo

blessedyo

Member
Guys,
Right now I have a 60 gallon tank... and I am talking my hubby into getting a 125 or greater tank... you guys are trying to talk the wifie to do the same. LOL

Do you prefer one skimmer (brand) over another? If so, Why?
I was looking into one 150 Gallon JEBO Protein Skimmer Reef Aquarium for a little under $40. Is this ideal?
 
jakebtc

jakebtc

Member
sounds too good to be true
or very overated for the price
:thinking:
I say this because your average "good" skimmer for a pretty good size tank "150 or so maybe less" cost about $200-250
 
saltwater8

saltwater8

Member
JEBO is junk!
Its the copy stuff made in china.
There are NO directions, NO warranty, NO contact information what so ever.
Its just another china rip off product.
 
P

phishface

Guest
without a doubt....get the skimmer. i started my 125 off with 2 fluval 304's. tank was ok for about 5 months, then the pond skum appeared - i came home from work 1 day and thought my lights were dim..........i bought a sump/trickle wet/dry skimmer set up with a pre filter with a pump for the skimmer and return pump with shipping for $305, and by far it was the best purchase ive made yet. my water is crystal clear. i have:
1 picasso trigger
1 niger trigger
1 diana's hawgfish
1 sailfin tang
1 yellow tang
4 yellowtail damsels....breakin fish
i still run the 304's and have 4 additional powerheads
oh and there's about 115 lbs of mixed rock and 240 lbs of sand/aragonite which i started 2 days before thanksgiving 05.....
good luck
 
jakebtc

jakebtc

Member
phish you probably didn't have surface agitation i.e. 10-20$ power head most likely would have solved your problem
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
This is how my system looks, the aquarium is one of the first things you see when you walk into the house and we have a really nice house, there is no way we would ever let something looking like this stay in the house if it didn't work, trust me there was a huge fight over the skimmer sticking out of the side of the stand and I won
(skimmer was too big for the stand, so I made it work, it looks like crap, but it's that important, I'm making a new stand as I type)
 
mikeyjer

mikeyjer

Active Member
Some of the better skimmers that are now offer now days are Euroreef, Aqua C Remora, Precision Marine, Deltec, ASM, etc. Just naming off a few that does a good job. Skimmer is a must in my opinion, I wouldn't run a sw tank without one. :happyfish
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
I have 55gl and 75gl, never had a skimmer...and really don't understand why now everyone seems to say we need one. I have good water movement and no build up on the top of the water. just my two cents. I also always have a light bioload.
 
P

phishface

Guest
light bio load, thats why , try a mod-heavy load- pond skum it what happens
 
saltwater8

saltwater8

Member
Originally Posted by Sinner's Girl
I have 55gl and 75gl, never had a skimmer...and really don't understand why now everyone seems to say we need one. I have good water movement and no build up on the top of the water. just my two cents. I also always have a light bioload.
I bet if you put a skimmer on it, you would think differently...
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Nasty, smelling crap is what it pulls out, I was removing the collection cup last night and spilled some on my leg, you would have thought I needed the EPA to come clean it up along with calling the CDC because it came in contact with my skin...LOL
 
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