Life WithOut My Protein Stripper- Skimmer less Week 4 expo

phreakemup

phreakemup

Member
OK.. Last post in this thread, cuz it's gonna go downhill...
First off, like I said, I run a skimmerless tank as well.. I'm not shunning the theory that a tank w/o a skimmer can be nice, All I'm sayig is that it WILL take more work, wether u like it or not.. A skimmer takes out excess organics, something ur rock will never able to do... U will sooner or later(if not kept up properly) get hair algae, u will get po4 (unless a reactor is ran) and u will get high levels.. It's gonna happen, no matter what ya do my friend.. If a fish dies, that is that much more organics that the tank has to comppensate for, which will take time to do.. A skimmer would take those organics out, b4 the tank can see any level change..
Once again, goodluck in ur adventure, I wish ur fish the best o' luck, and plz slow down on adding livestock..
Phreak
 
sammystingray

sammystingray

Active Member
I ran skimmerless for years, and thought a skimmer would steal important nutrients and whatnot.........about 6 months ago, I finally put it back on after maybve three or four years....I simply feel stupid now....the water is crystal clear, and everything looks 100% healthier. The difference was obvious. I am definately in favor of skimmers now......and that comes from years of waching the same tank go through changes....tanks are tooooooo small to treat like they are the ocean and will take care of themselves. They need help in the form of skimmers, macros, and whatever else works.
I had a skimmer going for a long time.....saw that.....took it off for years.....saw that......put it back on now, and clearly see the difference through YEARS of watching the same corals react.....skimmers do good things for sure. Most of the awesome tanks like Steves ARE skimmed, and the water is kept in good shape....as opposed to those who think they can guess what amount of plankton they have, and what their livestock needs, or even think clean water will have a negative response...........folks, skimmers work great IMO.....after years long experiments, it will never be off again.
 
droshi

droshi

Member
Have you ever seen those nasty yellow bubbles that wash up on beaches? Rocks and such with lapping water act as somewhat of a natural skimmer. Also I'm just speculating, but I'd be willing to bet that the fish:water ratio of the ocean is incredibly small, which would lessen the need for skimming, and there is still yet a lot of open space for wastes and such to settle.
Wondering on an update for your system and how its coming, I'd be interested.
 
jedininja

jedininja

Member
Yes, I too would like an update. New photos, what livestock have made it and what has not. How often do you have to clean the tank of algae. What are your water change schedules? And just overall appearance would be great. I didnt comment before during the heated discussion, but I have to say that skimmerless would work with a lot of work. But adding a ton of big fish at once to a pretty new tank is just irrational. So how many of those original fishes are still doing well?
And let me just remind you is a sucessful tank is shown in terms of years, not months.
 
97tahoe

97tahoe

Member
I would like to see some better photos also. I cant see half the things in the list in that blurry photo. Maybe they arent there who knows.
 
dragonboy

dragonboy

Active Member
Dru system can be done but doing it all once may work or may not but his system can work. Its about less technology and more biology he can pull it off if everything still remains intact, but instead of arguing lets just see how it all plays out for him.
 
footbag

footbag

Active Member
Actually, wasn't one of those final updates to tell us that he added a skimmer. Oh yeah I forgot he changed his mind and poured the skimmate back into the his tank.

Druluv...How about another update?
 
mary

mary

Member
Dru, Different things work for different fish. I do have a skimmer and have it running all the time. Have healed our regal tang of ich with garlic extreme. Calerpas do not do well in my tank unfortunayely. After several years he grew so very large, had to find him a larger tank-home. Felt horrible. Have learned never to buy fish that get large. The LFS's tell you they grow very slowly, as some books do also. Never will I beieve everything I read, or am told. Good luck with your experiment, you need it!
 
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