Do you need a skimmer if you have a fuge?

I have heard mixed opinions on if a skimmer is necessary if you have a fuge. I will be building a display fuge next week and am deciding if I should put the skimmer on a timer for a few hours a day, let it run constantly, or remove it. These options are for after the fuge has been established and doing well. My skimmer doesn't do near;ly as well a job it had been doing when I first purchased it. I clean the skimmer pump monthly and the neck everytime I empty the cup. I don't want to get a new skimmer.

Plan for fuge set-up:

The 20 long will go on the stand that has my wet/dry/su,p in it.


The fuge will be very simple.



Sorry about the crappy paint image. Both chambers will be blacked out and the fuge will have 2 cleaner shrimp in it, mangroves, cheato, and maybe some caulerpa on a rock.

 

I would keep the skimmer. It provides a lot of oxygen to the water.

 

Agree with the oxygen fact. Also, while there's debate as to whether or not a skimmer is necessary sometimes, IMO there is no downside to running a skimmer. As I see it, if a device rids water of dissolved organics, why not use it?

There's no reason I can think of to put it on a timer. Let 'er rip.

 

I have a skimmer but I never really adjusted it right to have it fill up the cup And it's been like that for a long while lol. . I honestly don't know if this is right for everyone just noticed I don't need one for my tank since I don't really use it lol. I also have a refugium

 

there is a huge debate on running a skimmer..
there are downsides to running a skimmer though there are also good reasons to run the skimmer.. certain corals actually tend to thrive better without a skimmer vice versa some do better when there is a skimmer.. a skimmer basically collects protein from the tank, and certain corals actually go about absorbing protein from the water to thrive.. therefore a skimmer does have its negative effects.. however, the skimmer does pull out a lot of waste from the tank which does benefit the tank..
if you want to run a tank without skimmer, i would suggest more consistent water changes of about 10% a week.. if you have a lot of biological filteration in the tank though, you see less of a problem with less frequent water changes although they are still needed.. also depends on your bioload in the tank and how stable the system and water parameters are.

 

I don't think there's a huge debate, there are those that go skimmer less and there are some benefits depending on how your tanks setup and what you are keeping. IMO, running a skimmer by far outweighs any negatives it may have. Refugiums don't take out the same things as skimmers, IMO, running both is optimal.

 

again, there have been tons of debate regarding running a skimmer vs not running it, i personally have seen my corals to do better since i stopped running mine 2 months ago because the pump stopped working and i have only seen positive things

 

There might have been tons of debates ten years ago. Seems pretty settled to me today. Not all coral are the same. Some corals can live in high nutrient water, some can't. Depends where they come from. Skimmers remove dissolved organics. Refugiums do not remove disolved organics. Seems these days, the best recipie for a reef tank is a lot of live rock, macro algae, refugiums, and skimmers. Most SPS dominate tanks are agressively over skimmed.

A refugium is a place for critters to take refuge. Macro algae is for removing phosphates and nitrates. Skimmers are for removing disolved organics and particulate matter before they break down further into waste.

 

+1 on debates 10 years ago, I was involved in a few back then

skimming removes plankton amongst the nasties it takes out and there was a school of thought that stated many tanks where over skimmed and then liquid additives being used to replace the things the skimmer took out
hence the skimmerless reef tanks became popular and there was also a trend back towards less aggresive skimmers so air driven models where being used to replace the pump driven models

my opinion is
a reef keeper with enough experience and a feel for their tanks inhabitants can make their own decision and be in tune enough to reverse a decision should the need arise

but for a new comer or relatively inexperienced hobbyist - having the skimmer is a valuable asset and only after running it for a while whilst gaining experience should the decision not to do so be taken

Steve

 

Can't disagree there.

I could only add that if you run a tank exclusively full of softies--lots of mushrooms, xenia, zoanthids and palythoas; and to a lesser extent the euphyllias, you might fare better without a skimmer versus a tank dominated by SPS.

You'd be hard pressed to find an SPS-only tank owner arguing the benefits of NOT skimming.

I agree with Powerman and GuitarMan89 when they don't sense a big debate. Neither do I.

Lots of good input on this thread.