are skimmers bad?

Are skimmers a good thing for most tanks? probably. Do you have to have one? certainly not. The thing you have to remember is skimmers are non-discriminate in what they remove...sure they remove unwanted organics, but some of what they remove is "food" and nutrients for some types of coral...if you're goal is to have a ULNS then a skimmer is a great tool...even for the "average reef" their benefits probably out-way the cons. I personally don't have a skimmer on a couple of my display tanks...my 125 with all soft and LPS corals doesn't have one...the corals in that tank do better without a skimmer so I use other methods to keep the system in check. I also don't fun a skimmer on my NPS tank. Since it gets fed almost continually the skimmer would just be removing the food as quickly as I add it, LOL!

As others have said, skimmers are just one of many options available to us...you have to decide what works best for you...they do happen to be very "in vogue" right now...but I've been in the hobby for 28 years so I've seen many other pieces of equipment/methods come and go as the latest and greatest...some have stuck around and others we look back at and just laugh.

One of the things I really enjoy in this hobby is seeing how many different ways we all achieve the same goal. There truly are no two tanks that are just alike.

 

I have run my first two tanks with and without over about 10 years. In the end I would say the aeration factor alone is worth it, but a good skimmer is third on my list for equipment behind lights and flow.

 

well im not claiming anything so your wrong with that comment. i just was asking the question because i had seen several people on some forums wondering about it. i dont know much about them as i never use them. i feed alot of liquid food and such so i dont think it would be a good thing.

i disagree with your claim that many of those things arent necessary, maybe for a very simple tank they arent but for any coral a powerhead is a must have, and a calcium reactor or calcium dosage is a must for hard coral. its hardly the same as without alot of that your fish and corals cannot survive, as without a skimmer they can all survive easily.

 

I think on a small enough tank, skimmers are pointless. like my BC 14 for example.

 

In regards to 20% water changes being a lot I really dont think it is. I am not only pulling out waste but also replenishing a lot of resources that the living organisms in the tank require. I do not dose and I keep hard corals, why does this work for me? Because I do frequent water changes. My phosphate levels are below .02 why? Because I do what some would call frequent water changes. I attribute the health of my tank to the exchange of nutrients. Bad out good in. Do i disagree with skimmers? Not at all.

 

If you can do it more power to you. I personally am too lazy to mixing up 20 gal of water and drag around 8 buckets every week. I do 20% every other month, and dose in between. I don't have any sps though, and run a skimmer and refugium.

posted with tapatalk please ignore bad spelling and grammar

 

Here we go again.. lol... Are skimmers bad?, Are filters bad?, Is Carbon bad?, Are UV Sterilizers bad?, etc..... We can have this dance all night.. Like others have stated, skimmers just like the other items I have listed remove good & bad. Though it removes "the bad stuff" a lot more then "the good stuff".

Honestly if you want to look at it, a water change could do more harm than good. You are removing salt, CA, MG, AK, & other nutrients.

For the record, I have NEVER done a water change. Between my skimmer, LR, and LS my tank stays stable & without swings on my parameters..

 

I have to disagree respectfully that water changes could do harm. There are no nutrients that you tank has accumulated that have not come from the salt mixture other than what you dose

 

I agree, a 20% water change a week is a lot. So, by the end of the month you have replaced 80% of your established water? No disrespective, but that's insane.. I'm yet to see any salt mix having the levels they claim on CA, MG & AK. Usually CA will be at 300-350 at best, MG will be as 700-900 at best & AK is around 6-7 at best. PH is pretty much the only thing that is right.

To top of off you're not dosing? I have no idea how long you have had your system. Unless you are using sea water, I don't see at your current habit is paying off.. Again, no disrespective..

 

Fresh batch of salt water yields me 480 ppm for calcium and a alk of apx 10 dkh. Never had a batch of salt that was lower parameters then what is in the tank although sometimes parameters of new water are very close to whats in the tank. Must be paying off in some way since all my parameters are very stable. You said it yourself 80% new water which means every month most water is fresh new water which should have limits close to what the salt mixture yields.