Originally Posted by
rudezuk
I believe that this is just a myth!
If there isnt anything to skim out of the water then it wont....but always buy a skimmer that is rated larger than what your tank is.
And yes even a backpack skimmer will make a difference in your tank. If you are short of room, there are backpak/fuge combo skimmers you can use. this would allow you a small fuge for cheto to get rid of nitrates and possibly grow some pods too
Also, a properly set up skimmer will only skim the surface water, where many/most of the targeted elements are. I got the skimmer box for my RemoraPro that only allows surface water in, and prevents bubbles from the skimmer entering the tank. I ran it for a few weeks without the box, and it skims much more after I put the box on.
I've also heard that it's best if a skimmer can access the dirtiest water it can, so a skimmer in a sump should ideally be place pre-filtration. That said, a skimmer post-filtration still works well.