What is possible without a skimmer?

tekisui

tekisui

Member
Hi all,
I have been reading this great forum for about a month now. I have set up a 75 gallon reef tank. I have done it in steps, as my wallet allows. Today I upgraded the lighting to support soft corals. The only thing left is to add my skimmer. But, I am interested in knowing what could be done without a skimmer. Is it vital? I have about 35 pounds of live rock and live sand. Two Koriola 3 powerheads.
 
salt210

salt210

Active Member
the skimmer is a needed item in my mind. you may be able to do it without as some that I have read about have, but you should get one
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
i have been running my 90 reef without a skimmer for over 15 yrs.
i dont keep alot of fish in the tank .
just need to keep up with water changes.
i do run an octo on my 225 fowlr as i keep some pretty big fish in there.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
CK, Really? I thought you did.
One of the most beauitful tanks I ever saw was pretty heavly stocked and had only powerheads for water movement and a vho bulb. The rocks were "open" design to get more filtration from the rocks. Definetly the cheapest reef tank I had every seen.
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by fishkid13
http:///forum/post/3119139
CK, Really? I thought you did.
One of the most beauitful tanks I ever saw was pretty heavly stocked and had only powerheads for water movement and a vho bulb. The rocks were "open" design to get more filtration from the rocks. Definetly the cheapest reef tank I had every seen.
Yup, all my tanks are skimmerless. :)
 
tekisui

tekisui

Member
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
http:///forum/post/3119084
ALL my tanks are skimmerless and have been set up for a while.
How often do you do water changes, and how much each time? Do you do anything else to keep things balanced?
I have read that many corals and sponges do better without a skimmer.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Right now my main tank is skimmerless --- I just run a sump with chaeto. I do have skimmer for it but it's been acting up so it's been unplugged lately and not working right for months.
I've seen tanks run 10+ years (reef tanks) without them.
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by tekisui
http:///forum/post/3119174
How often do you do water changes, and how much each time? Do you do anything else to keep things balanced?
I have read that many corals and sponges do better without a skimmer.
I do 10% weekly watcher changes. Just dose calcium/alk as needed, top off with RO/DI water as needed, add Iodine weekly as needed, and I think that's about it.
Very true, my sponges grow VERY nicely.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
A skimmer is not a necessity, however it is a security blanket if you are not otherwise disciplined, IMO. That is the trade off. You have to be careful of your stocking and feeding and keep up on your maintenance. I think having a refugium in such cases is something that would be very helpful.
But, IMO, it is one of the myths in the hobby that you need a skimmer. It is a VERY handy piece of equipment and in certain tanks (e.g. SPS tanks, predator tanks) I would strongly recommend them. However it doesn't mean you must have one to succeed.
I believe Eric Borneman was going to do a study on the GOOD things that are removed by a skimmer...eg the things that make sponges grow nicely may also make other things grow well also.
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
I have never run a skimmer and find it unnecessary in a normally stocked tank. I agree with Ophiura in the sense that if you have a over stocked tank, not enough filtration, over feed, have a predator tank with a lot of messy eaters or just are not able to do weekly maintenance for whatever reason then a skimmer may be much more important for you. I have a HOB filter and more than 1 pound of LR per gallon of water in my tank. I use chemipure elite, polyfilters, and carbon. Mine is a 29 gallon rectangle with 5 fish currently residing in it.
 
tekisui

tekisui

Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
http:///forum/post/3119340
A skimmer is not a necessity, however it is a security blanket if you are not otherwise disciplined, IMO. That is the trade off. You have to be careful of your stocking and feeding and keep up on your maintenance. I think having a refugium in such cases is something that would be very helpful.
But, IMO, it is one of the myths in the hobby that you need a skimmer. It is a VERY handy piece of equipment and in certain tanks (e.g. SPS tanks, predator tanks) I would strongly recommend them. However it doesn't mean you must have one to succeed.
I believe Eric Borneman was going to do a study on the GOOD things that are removed by a skimmer...eg the things that make sponges grow nicely may also make other things grow well also.
It is not going to be a predator tank. Only peaceful, loving creatures. I am also not doing any SPS. Only mushrooms and LPS. I am a diligent maintainer, so as long as I stock and feed appropriately, it sounds like I should be fine. I am not looking to pack fish in, either. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
 
noah's nemo

noah's nemo

Member
No skimmer here either.I find it interesting that there seems to be alot of us here who don't.When i was starting out,i was told it was a must!I figured i would try without,and its been just fine.
 
luvmyreef

luvmyreef

Active Member
I started out my 75g. reef without a skimmer. But soon added a coralife super skimmer, and it did make a difference for my tank. It improves water clarity, and helps to increase the o2 levels, removes waste, etc. I was amazed at all the stuff that thing took out of my water. But, I would say that it is one of choice whether or not to use one.
 
lil.guppy

lil.guppy

Active Member
I noticed my skimmer would skim heavy for about 2 weeks and then stop and not really do anything so I only skim my tank for 2 weeks out of the month. Rest of the time its off
 
salty blues

salty blues

Active Member
Dang, I have been running an Aqua C Remora on my 14g sump with 29g DT for about 2 1/2 years. I have four fish(two damsels, a clown, & a pj cardinal). I have a few mushrooms and a couple sponges, with about 60 lbs of LR.
I'm wondering if I could get by without the skimmer. It does pull some gunk out, but it also adds some noise and heat to the system.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I would say that if the question is "can you do it" the answer is yes.
If the question is "do you want to do it" that is a different thing. I happen to think that for new hobbyists, it is a very useful piece of equipment in particular. This is not an all or nothing. every tank is different, every keeper different...so what works in one case would not in others.
I personally feed very heavily and would not consider it without a skimmer.
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, my 180 that's skimmerless has 400 lb of live rock that's 5 years old and about 550+ lb of sand and a BIG fuge filled with macro algae (not all 400 lb of rock is in the DT, most of it is in the fuge). If you want to go skimmerless, I suggest you get lots of rock, sand, and a big fuge filled with macro algae.
 
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