nano reefin
New Member
I'm planning on setting up a 20 Gallon Reef and was wondering if a skimmer would be needed if I was using a refugium..
Skimmer and Refugium
- Thread starter nano reefin
- Start date
mr . salty
Active Member
You say you are setting up a REEF tank??? If so then a skimmer is really not needed at all..Many sucsessfull reef tanks are run without skimmers.Just lots of live rock(1 1/2-2 lbs per gallon)and a DSB.Remember that a skimmer is designed to mainly remove fish waste..A preoper "reef" tank has very few if any fish in it...
nano reefin
New Member
Hmm.. I have soo many conflicting opinions on this one.. I went to 4 LFS's and 1/2 said yes, 1/2 said no. I come here and 1 says yes while the other says no.. So basically it's 3 to 3... anyone else care to share their thoughts on this? And yes, I'm setting up a Reef tank.
G
glazer
Guest
Nano,
You're gonna get different answers because you are asking for opinions. There is good reasons to use a skimmer, good reasons not to.
That being said.... IN MY OPINION, hehe I would run the setup skimmerless. If you are indeed using a refugium, I would set your flowrate through it slow enough that detrious/junk and stuff has a chance to settle and stock it with some GOOD live sand, various macros and even a few bits of LR. All the critters will do their jobs, you can harvest the macros to export nutrients and be religous about changing out a couple of gallons of water a week and I think that would make for an awesome SKIMMERLESS tank.
You're gonna get different answers because you are asking for opinions. There is good reasons to use a skimmer, good reasons not to.
That being said.... IN MY OPINION, hehe I would run the setup skimmerless. If you are indeed using a refugium, I would set your flowrate through it slow enough that detrious/junk and stuff has a chance to settle and stock it with some GOOD live sand, various macros and even a few bits of LR. All the critters will do their jobs, you can harvest the macros to export nutrients and be religous about changing out a couple of gallons of water a week and I think that would make for an awesome SKIMMERLESS tank.
broomer5
Active Member
I ran my tank w/refugium for about 5-6 months without using a skimmer. I recently placed it back into service. My test results are the best I've ever had in my life.
Is it the addition of the skimmer back into the equation - don't know.
Could it be that the DSB is finally starting to mature - could be.
Difficult to say for sure - but I think I'll leave the skimmer installed as part of the overall nutrient export of my tank - and see how things go from there.
It's very hard for me to look at the greenish-brown skimmate produced by foam fractionation and not want to export it out of my tankwater. Even though there are some possible downsides of using the skimmer w/refugium together - I'm still going to do it.
Is it the addition of the skimmer back into the equation - don't know.
Could it be that the DSB is finally starting to mature - could be.
Difficult to say for sure - but I think I'll leave the skimmer installed as part of the overall nutrient export of my tank - and see how things go from there.
It's very hard for me to look at the greenish-brown skimmate produced by foam fractionation and not want to export it out of my tankwater. Even though there are some possible downsides of using the skimmer w/refugium together - I'm still going to do it.
broomer5
Active Member
I think some folks believe that some forms of macro algae need some of the waste/nutrients that the skimmer removes in order to grow well.
Some folks may feel that having both can be counter productive, and that the skimmer may be removing some of the trace elements and plankton along with some of the dissolved organics.
That the corals, bugs and inverts that feed on the plankton are better off without the use of a skimmer and that dosing foods for filter feeders is another expense.
Some folks may feel that having both can be counter productive, and that the skimmer may be removing some of the trace elements and plankton along with some of the dissolved organics.
That the corals, bugs and inverts that feed on the plankton are better off without the use of a skimmer and that dosing foods for filter feeders is another expense.