Skimmer Poll

[jon in tx]

See poll attached

 

[jmestayer1]

I am new to all of this and I thought you always had to have a skimmer? Mine is horrible and I would love if I didn't have to have it. I have a 20 gallon.

 

[lion_crazz]

You should honestly have a skimmer on any type of saltwater tank.

 

[shogun323]

They are absolutely essential IMO.

 

[cubsfan]

i finally got one (super skimmer) and it has pulled out about 1 1/2 cups of nasty brown water each day so far. The brown is getting lighter in color so its working.

 

[jon in tx]

Originally Posted by Jmestayer1
I am new to all of this and I thought you always had to have a skimmer? Mine is horrible and I would love if I didn't have to have it. I have a 20 gallon.
I don't have one on my 90 gal fish only tank. Apparently I'm in the minority and this might explain why I've had bad luck with it so far (9 mo old). The LFS I use said they are only needed for reef tanks.

 

[jonny bolt]

I did not use one on my 38 gallon. I only used 2 powerheads, with prefilters on them, and a Pengiun 200. It did fine and flourished without a skimmer for a year. But when I upgraded to a 72g bowfront, I knew I needed a skimmer. I have seen umpteen successful tanks under 40-50 gallons without skimmers, anything over that I believe it is more of a necessity.

 

[durgeonman]

I believe that skimmers are one of the most important things you should have on any kind of saltwater fish tank.