Skimmerless

[RushAct]

Hello and good morning, can someone share thier views on going skimmerless and how important is it to have a skimmer?

If I do a 10% wc everyweek is it possible to go without a skimmer?

Thanks for reading.

[dominik]

Hello and good morning, can someone share thier views on going skimmerless and how important is it to have a skimmer?

If I do a 10% wc everyweek is it possible to go without a skimmer?

Thanks for reading.

I have not installed a skimmer since day 1. Running on ATS since nov 10 without any water change. Right now N and P level still not satisafactory. I have redo my ATS, hope to improve it. U can refer to algaescubber.net for moreinfo.

[tunicate]

Yeah, one can opt to do more frequent WC in place of a skimmer. It's the effort & $$ consideration. Most human(including me) are lazy & let machine do the work as much as possible.

[xaine]

Skimmerless would require more parameter checks as you would need do perform high frequencies of nutrient export. Of course you will first need to see what's your tank's bioload and if just doing WC is sufficient in bringing the NH/NO levels to an acceptable range. Yes, all are lazy by nature, that's why we employ technology to work for us. Also think about if you were to be away for a while, without a skimmer that excess nutrient will be left in the water until your next WC.

[Guest]

It is possible if you have a nano tank with a very low Bio load . Just imagine if you have a 500 litres tank, you need to change 50 litres per week , the cost of doing so may eventually cost you a skimmer in a month time .

[Solo77]

It is possible to go skimmerless but u need to ensure the maturity of yr sys and have some biological filtration. Regular water chge can do the trick but think u must try and understand how often and each time based on yr bio load and corals requirement. A skimmer is not necessary meant for lazy reefers, it is a system that helps and also reduce chance of major crashes. Take for example, if yr fishes or corals died, a skimmer helps alot in cleansing yr tank water though water chge is still encouraged to dilute Amy toxic residue in the water. Without a skimmer and yr knowledge, water can turn foul fast. Why penny wise pound foolish if you treasure yr livestocks. Just my 2 cents worth comment.

[braincoral]

mine sps nano tank also come with a skimmer,

but totally fishless~~

Totally without any feeding

Very Low bioload lol

Nothing much to skim also

[Zoa guy]

how big is the system? What is been kept? i only change water once every 2-3 months with a skimmer.

[RushAct]

i have a 4x2x2.5 with a 3ft sump and does 10% WC everyweek.

So m i right to say that with a skimmer i dont have to do WC everyweek?

[tunicate]

I suspect that subconsciously, I get the satisfaction seeing & smelling the dirty skimate being extracted from my tank water when I wash the skimmer collection cup. WC doesn't do that for me except back ache.

[Zoa guy]

nope. Many other factors involved too...hard to say without adequate info. Yeah, washing the skimmer cup is disgusting

[Zoa guy]

i have a 4x2x2.5 with a 3ft sump and does 10% WC everyweek.

So m i right to say that with a skimmer i dont have to do WC everyweek?

What do you keep in your tank? Whats in your sump? Frankly, whether u want to use skimmer or not is up to you...there are also many dif sorts of filtration.

[RushAct]

i have a low bio load. 2clowns, 2cleaner shrimps,1yellow tang, sailfin tang and a purple goby =)

Im running biopellets in my sump and few KGS of bio homme.

Thanks

[Zoa guy]

chey, for such a big tank, if u dont overfeed or have lots of nps corals, then u may want to stick to wc if it works out. But its all really up to u. Like tunicate said, cleaning a skimmer cup is not gonna be fun, wc just takes more time and strength. HOwever, I still prefer getting a skimmer.

[cdckjn]

Skimming is to allow the minute solid waste to combine with the tiny air bubbles to form a semi-solid foamy product which can be removed. If one has a low bio-load (a few fishes) then skimming is optional. If you are keeping corals, skimming is alos optional as perhaps these minute solid particles can serve as food for filter feeders like sponges, clams etc. So if we douse coral food, we normally off the skimmer to prevent the food from being skimmed off.

if you really opt to go skimless, then have the macro-algae srubber, using the algae to consume the solid waste partcles but these will take a longer amount of time. Of course water change is also good but cost and containers to store water is an issue.