are skimmers bad?

ingtar_shinowa · Dec 17, 2011

NanaReefer said: ↑

Do you have a tank thread? What corals are you keeping? I gotta see a, never have done a WC change tank! What size tank? Oooo I got so many questions for you
Click to expand...

There is a pic of my 46bf in my new build thread. To be fair I had a bit of nuisance algae (a little hair, a little more bubble !) but I also only ad 2-3 small fish. A false perc and a dottyback were my own residents for the majority of that tank's lief. I had a spotted Mandarin for a while, a fairy wrasse for a while, and at the end a pygmy wrasse.
The last year I even kept LPS in it. I've never seen a tank with more stuff in it (to be fair it was 10 years old) I had a ton of sponges and featherdusters, worms of many types. I think if i even cleaned y glass msot reefers would think it was a pretty nice tank!

ComputerJohn · Dec 17, 2011

Mobalized said: ↑

I was unaware that your use of the term nutrients was a reference to organisms. And my salinity is matched as are my other controllable params before the new mixture is added. And i disagree again on your theory that the removal of old water and replacement of new water does not replace trace elements. When you add a solution that is higher in something for instance calcium than the solution your remove you have raised the overall CA of that solution. Depending on the amount of decrease you have between each change you could keep it stable. Obviously if my ca level fell to 420 from 480 every week I would not be able to maintain it with water changes. That is just a random number since I currently do not have time to calculate it out but anyways. I mean you no disrespect and I know I will not sway your view so may as well continue to agree to disagree.
Click to expand...

Yup we'll agree to disagree, but it's all good.

ComputerJohn · Dec 17, 2011

ricoop said: ↑

So back to the original question lol. Are skimmers bad? NO. Are they necessary? NO. I personally don't like doing alot of WC's so I love my skimmer. As my tank has begun to mature and stabilize with the skimmer my water changes are far far less frequent. I monitor my parameters and keep them in line and it has worked for me.

I think it boils down to this. You have to "listen" to your tank and what it is telling you. If it is stable and doing well with whatever your WC regimen is or isn't, great. If not and you are having trouble keeping up with nitrates etc... even with water changes, maybe it's time to look into a skimmer. I think we would all agree that different things work for different people and their tanks. We just have to figure out what that is, and go with it.
Click to expand...

Very true. What works for one, may not work for another.

ComputerJohn · Dec 17, 2011

m2434 said: ↑

This is a classic sign of a poorly fit or adjusted skimmer.

It sounds like you are using skimmers too big, or small, or just cheap, low quality. They don't produce skimmate, so, you adjust the water level higher than you should. Once there is enough organics built up, for it to function, it is set way too high and overflows. Very common, but avoidable by using a properly sized, quality skimmer and setting it conservatively.

It should be set very low and adjustments made every few hours at most. The water level should not exceed the manufactures recommended range, usually this is the bottom of the neck, regardless of whether or not your getting skimmate. Also, certain chemicals in the air can cause the skimmer to overflow. Sometimes if this is an issue, filtering the air intake through some GAC can help. Other chemicals, such as epoxy, are notorious for this and if used, perhaps the skimmer should be turned off or down for a few hours after use, if an issue. Oils, such as from your hands, or from foods, can cause the skimmer to stop working. Often people adjust the skimmer to accommodate this and the result is an overflow, once the oils diminish.

I've been using skimmers for a decade though, and they are one of the most useful pieces of equipment you can have for an aquarium and then some.

As to nutrients, ca, mg, bicarbonate (more or less "alkalinity") are elements, not nutrients. Nutrients, as we refer to them as things such as nitrate and phosphate. These come from the breakdown of organic waste. This is mostly from feeding. Anyfood you put into the system, either needs to be converted to biomass, i.e. your fish or corals need to get bigger, or it needs to be removed. A skimmer is one of, if not the most cost effective way to do so. Other options include water changes, harvesting macro algae, GAC, but these methods are typically either less effective, or significantly more expensive to get the same effect. GAC for example, is more effective, but without a skimmer, would exhaust quickly, and would need to be replaced very often. Making it a much more expensive option, although, together with a skimmer, works well, and as it's life is extended by the skimmer, is more affordable in that case. Macro algae, is effective, and inexpensive, however, to be as effective as your skimmer, your macro algae refugium would need to be many times larger than your display. Water changes work, but not in real-time like a skimmer, unless your doing constant water changes and to do frequent large water changes is work intensive and expensive.
Click to expand...

Well said my friend. Skimmers don't flood, people do. There is a break in period that folks always ignore or try to rush. New skimmers have oils from the plastics. These oils can be removed by cleaning them with white vinegar first and then rinse them.

mm2002 · Dec 19, 2011

I would never personally run a tank without a skimmer. My experience has been to do small water changes during the first few months while establishing a good fuge,etc., and run a good skimmer. After that I rarely do water changes, and never have any traces of nitrates. My current tank worked out the same, and is doing great. I do dose Kalk, Mag, Strontium, and Iodide, and run GAC. I change the carbon every two weeks.
I'll also add that I don't starve the animals...they are fed quite well. Never a trace of nitrates. I harvest macros from the fuge weekly, they grow like crazy.....that tells you something right there.

mmakay · Dec 19, 2011

I've never seen a post that claimed skimming was in any way bad. Could you link or quote these claims?

chelseagrin · Dec 21, 2011

well it seems that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. thank you all for your great information. this thread went alot further than i thought it would!
but i still believe nothing can beat a good old water change. and i do mostly have nano tanks, and i have heard mainly with nano tanks for skimmers to be unnecessary. i do believe on a massive tank it would help alot.

Log in or Sign up

are skimmers bad?

ingtar_shinowa Giant Squid

ComputerJohn Panda Puffer

ComputerJohn Panda Puffer

ComputerJohn Panda Puffer

mm2002 Feather Duster

mmakay Feather Duster

chelseagrin Fire Goby

Log in or Sign up

are skimmers bad?

ingtar_shinowa Giant Squid

ComputerJohn Panda Puffer

ComputerJohn Panda Puffer

ComputerJohn Panda Puffer

mm2002 Feather Duster

mmakay Feather Duster

chelseagrin Fire Goby

Useful Searches