Get by without a skimmer?

I have another question about a 15 gallon simple setup i'm putting together.It's gonna have a little live rock,a few low light easy corals(just some zoas,gsp,and mushrooms,with mabey 2 small fish and a few cuc members.Do i still absolutly need a skimmer?I will be running 2 20 gal hob filters-one with media and carbon,the other with ceramic rings and phos remover,one powerhead,and for lighting,i cut 2 hoods to fit 2 flouresent corallife bulbs(so instead of one light strip now theres 2)Trying to do this on a tight budget.Thanks

 

anyone?

 

grinder im fairly new to the hobby but have been researching my butt off. skimmer strap nutrients/proteins before they break down and increase phosphates among other things. i got one of my 55 but on a small system like yours it isnt a major deal to perform water changes. if you did regular water changes with ro/di i dont see a problem. watch your water quality make sure to test

 

I agree. The tank is small enough that I think you'd be fine without one. You just need to make sure you do enough water changes and stay on top of your water quality. If things get bad you can always get a small skimmer later on.

 

You can get by without a skimmer, especially without many fish, but you will need to pay closer attention to your parameters and do water changes religiously.

 

Very good point,and i am planning on frequent water changes to maintain the quality,i'm just wanting to here some others thoughts on this.Is this how you guys with picos and nanos keep your water quality?

 

grinder. another critical thing is flow. how powerful is your powerhead. for example i have over 2,000 gph of flow in my 55. excellent water flow will always help you just dont create a washing machine in your tank

 

I don't know the gph of the powerhead(it's an older one thats been encrusted with coralline)but it has adjustable flow and is pretty powerful in the 15,actually had to tone it down a bit(the tank has been cycling with live sand and a couple small peices of live rock for about a month)And i just didn't want to add anything yet if I had to get a skimmer.But i'm pretty sure that flow won't be a prob.Thanks again

 

You don't need a skimmer. It's more of a luxury.