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[dragonchic3]

Hi I am new here and I would like to start a FO and I was wondering do I really need a skimmer? All i here is people having trouble out of them.I do 20% water changes in all my tanks. All my tanks are 155's except for this new one I want to do the FO with and its a 135. I have all my tanks filtering as if they were 495 gal.so do i really need one?

 

[prime311]

I would definitely recommend them, especially if you're going to do aggressive fish. Aggressive fish = messy eaters = more crap to skim. Nitrates are less of a concern, but the skimmer still has so much benefit in oxygenization and waste removal.

 

[dragonchic3]

No messy eaters just clown fish and little fish like that

 

[rcreations]

What problems are people having with their skimmers? I can't imagine not using one. They're so extremely easy to use and remove so much waste, why not use one?

 

[jaymz]

people have problems with them because they buy cheap ones.. and they dont work 90% of the time... You get what you pay for and skimmers are not cheap.. skimmers are the main type of filtration beside your rock and sand. and you said FO which mean you dont plan on having any rock. In this case i would highly recommend a skimmer.

 

[errattiq]

I agree Jaymz, you get what you pay for. Cheaper ones require lots of knowledge and fine tuning to use. Get one that is more expensive and 99% of fine tuning is done. I was a little intimidated by this idea too when I started so I saved up and bought an Aqua C Remora skimmer. It hangs on the tank like a filter and is literally plug in and skim, nothing to worry about. I'm not trying to advertise them, but its an example of how more money prevents headaches in this hobby LOL!!! Anyway, its only about 150ish depending on where you look. Hope that helps.
-josh

 

[dragonchic3]

Thanks! I have been doing some more reading and I think I want to try live rock also with the live sand.I have been reading and some ppl dont use skimmers when they use live rock with it too. why I am worried about buying a skimmer is a couple ppl I have talked to are having problems with theres and my brother has a reef setup and he paid 250 for it and it doesn't work half the time.

 

[salt210]

what size tank does he have?if its a large tank then 250 is nothing. for my 210 which I bought a cheap skimmer for I now am looking for another one and probably will end up spending 400 to 600 for it. you could probably get away without having one but you would end up spending more on salt for your water changes that you would have to do to make up for not having it