protein skimmer ?

[a9chooch]

do u need to have a protein skimmer to have a reef tank.i have one but it wasnt cleaning anything out so i took it out,i had it in there for about 2 weeks,its not a good one but its decent,its a visi-jet protein skimmer.any help will be great thanks:happy:

 

[stapler]

Could be a few things why it wasnt working. First off, some protein skimmer sucks...and they wont pull out much crap period. I believe that some skimmers take time to break in before they start working. I have heard some advice to let the protein skimmer just run without air for a few days, then slowly open up the valve over a few days till you find the best setting.
Im not familiar with that particular skimmer, but I have a Sea Clone 100, and it pulls stuff out, but very minimal. One day I will upgrade, but for now it will have to do.
For reef tanks, skimmers arent absolutely necessary, but are very good investments. When you go to empty the collection cup full of brown sludge, you will be happy to see it in that cup and not in your water.
Do you have any corals right now?

 

[a9chooch]

thanks,i put it back in and im not letting air in yet.i have ricordea polyps,yellow polyps,star polyps and some purple tree thing i forgot what its called

 

[bildotang]

A protein skimmer is very important. It sucks that the good ones are really expensive. I bought a cheap one on my first tank, and it worked terribly. I am looking around right now to find a really good one, because with skimmers, you-get-what-you-pay-for!
A good skimmer should really look disgusting in the collection cup. That way, you know it's doing it's job!