Is A Skimmer A Must Have???

[sea n life]

i hear alot of pros and cons about having a protien skimmer what do you guys think do the pros out weigh the cons?do you really need a skimmer what about the corals that need really rich water would it pull what those corals need out?

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by sea n life
http:///forum/post/2708768
i hear alot of pros and cons about having a protien skimmer what do you guys think do the pros out weigh the cons?do you really need a skimmer what about the corals that need really rich water would it pull what those corals need out?
skimmers have a lot more pros than cons imho. You dont NEED one, but they are very helpful, especially if you have a big bioload and it will pull things out of the water making it clearer.
I know you will get someone that can explain all the technical stuff for you.
But to answer your question you do not NEED a skimmer on your tank, i havnt had one on my 72 gallon for 2 years, i dont even do water changes that often on it. (maybe if im doing good every 2 weeks but sometimes i slack off on it and go a couple months.) Tho i never was able to keep corals in that tank. (didnt have the greatest lights but i couldnt even keep common zoos alive in it for very long)
In my 125 with metal halide lighting, i have my skimmer on it and i am very happy with it, it pulls out so much gunk that is in the water. So far i have been able to keep every coral i have placed in there alive.
You should always dose your tank (and have the test kits for what your dosing) at ************** there is a nice 2 part kit that will give you a mix for 1 gallon of magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium. These things you should dose your tank if it is a reef. But have the test kits to make sure you keep them at the right spot. I have also heard of people using calcium reactors.
*edit* also keeping up on water changes will help replenish these things in your water.

 

[mr_x]

what cons have you heard about having a protein skimmer?
besides the extra piece of equipment, i don't know of any.
are you referring to the skimmer pulling trace elements from the water? if it does, it's so little you won't notice.
i never dose anything. everything my corals need is in my salt mix.
fishygurl said it perfectly- you don't need a protein skimmer, and/or waterchanges, but your corals sure do!

 

[xtreeme]

Depends. A skimmer Can pull out trace elements you will notice IF its overkill. There is a right amount to skim. If you have a skimmer 4x the tank needs and run wet. Most dont heh lol. I personally use one and wouldnt run a tank skimmer-less.
Water changes each has own opinion. I do 10% a week. My buddy has a 4 year old reef tank. He does water changes once every 3 months. It has some nice corals hard coral and soft. His devils hand drops frags all the time, he is bringing some out this week with 2 5 gallon buckets of live rock and mushrooms etc. He throws them out in the yard coral and mushrooms they take over the tank.
Most of us should do regular water changes but its not a 100% set rule.

 

[nordy]

As mentioned by fishygurl, a skimmer pulls out a lot of gunk. It's hard to beleive all that dark nasty stuff is in your nice clean well running tank! They do need some maintenance, but if you are into SW tanks, then you already know about maintenance

I do dose my tank, with the 2 part kit from bulk reefsupply, but ony in conjunction with regular testing with a good kit (I use the german made tropic marin ca/mg kit). Since i have been dosing, the coraling algae and my other corals are doing noticeably better. I also do 20% water changes every week to 2 weeks.

 

[mr_x]

Originally Posted by xtreeme
http:///forum/post/2709410
Depends. A skimmer Can pull out trace elements you will notice IF its overkill.
how do you know this? i'd like to see where you learned this.

 

[dragonboy]

Whatever works for you do it and I don't think there is only one way to run a system to have a successful reef. Skimmer does help if you use it but it isn't a necessary item.

 

[fats71]

skimmer + W/C every month or 2 = Great coral growth atleast in my tank everything almost doubles in size if not doubles in size monthly.
My elegance went from 4 inches to around 10 inches in a month my devils hand went from ¼ tall to 3 inches tall in a month My zoos have dropped so many new ones I am filling up my 125 tank now....
I have never had diatoms nor any negative issues in any of my tanks except for when I bought some coral with apistasia on it and some red hair algae. It was cured within the week however. I guess I AM JUST LUCKY.

 

[sea n life]

well my tank has been up for about 5 years now i dont run a skimmer i dont dose anything and i did a water change about 2 years ago other then that i just top off every week i was just wondering if it would help but i guess if it aint broke dont fix it heres my tank

 

[xtreeme]

Its all over the net read about it. As I said and will repeat just to be sure you read it I dont think you can normally BUT a way over sized skimmer run wet COULD. No one skims that way. But its possible to do it. Its not easy to go to outerspace but its possible. Use google and btw a biologyst said you could skim out trace elements in a article I read on the topic of tangs. They claimed best to have one but dont run a huge skimmer wet or trace elements will be removed.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...ostid=12462291
Actually, I changed my former Tunze master dockskimmer for an ATI BBM 250. My tank is a 100g and some of my acroporas are bleaching.

Yeah, right. 'overskimming is a myth' says the guy who hasnt seen it happen... I have. The corals start bleaching in spots... random starvation rather than at a certain location. Then again, I was using ethanol to improve skimming efficiency to the limit... gathering things from the water that would have been otherwise impossible.

honestly though, what beneficial organic and inorganic trace elements are being pulled out of your tank by protein skimming?

I'm glad you find me funny Yoshiod.
To answer your question:
calcium,
magnesium,
strontium,
amino acids
and important micro algea's essential for growth and balance.
To name some....
I have been in this hobby for well over twenty years,
I've seen plenty come and go.
Owned a fish store for a while...so you could say
that I have an opinion.
Everyone knows when you skim, you have to add more.
Well, most people.
I just like mini's to be simple. no skimmer.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...imming-13.html
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/...kimming-2.html
The jist is that;
when overskimming you hit a point of efficiency, whereby everything that your skimmer can remove has been removed. No further DOC will be pulled, however trace elements will still come out most notably K. Unless you are ill with the 10% weekly water changes you will start down the road of trace element imbalance. How long it will take for that imbalance to get to proportions that will be detrimental depends. It could be weeks, months, maybe a year or so but you will get there.
When skimming dry you're not stripping the water as much of these elements. As Herm mentioned, and yes his word should be enough , you will get more wet than dry but you don't necessarily want to pull out the extra stuff.

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopi...t=overskimming
As for overskimming it wont remove calcium but to an extent trace elements are! this is why on a heavily skimmed tank you will need more trace elements, iodine ect
And also with a skimmer you can use the master......ozone. but thats another story!

http://fins.actwin.com/reefkeepers/reefkeeper1.html
Using a 8" x 6' counter-current skimmer processing 600 gph of air on a 20 gallon tank could overskim it - be reasonable!)

 

[mr_x]

i've heard it plenty of times also, but i was wondering if someone actually did a study somewhere.
i'd like to see actual water test results, rather than fellow reefers' hearsay. not that i don't believe it could happen, but i'd like to know how/when/how much....
i recently combined my prop system and my main system together, and i tossed the euro-reef skimmer in the sump with the G4X. i'm wondering if i'll see any great difference.