How essential

Hi all
I figure a skimmer is a definate must in a reef tank what is the possibillity of a reef tank without a skimmer

 

Hey Keats,
A skimmerless system is very possible! There has been many tanks that run without a skimmer however, I dont reccomend it for begginers! A system without a skimmer = freaquent water changes IMO. It will be more work and more of a chance for you to have unsafe water params.
--Jordan

 

I agree with Jordan.

It's do-able but you'll have to spend a lot more on salt, granular activated carbon, and possibly have to buy an air pump to offgas CO2 to keep your pH steady.

IMO, a skimmer is the best filtration device there is. Once waste enters the skimmer cup, it's gone forever (unless you spill the skimmer cup into the tank). With macroalgae refugiums, everything remains in the system until you trim the algae. Sometimes algaes go "sexual" releasing all absorbed nitrates, phosphates, as well as other nasties into the water at once. Canister filters trap detritus well but the tank water continues running through the trapped waste until you clean it. yada, yada, yada.

 

Do you run a fuge ? What type of system do you now run or hope to run ? One of there best systems I ever ran and it really rocked was a true Berlin and for that its all designed around the systems skimmer. But on the systems I really prefer and choose to run long term a skimmer plays a very limited role. The properly designed refugium (see InWalls post) takes so much load off the skimmer that the skimmer does nothing more then acts as an oxygen reactor really. But with any system a skimmer up front will retard the growth of coralline and many want them .. I use them as a barometer of the systems ability to move on to corals myself.

Now I never use live rock or sand and if you do then you need to really skim that well so that puts you back to the need of a strong skimmer at-least until the tank is stabilized and cleaned up. Its never a yes or no answer with this hobby its always a simple series of trade off of this for that..So the long term goals for your system determines the need for a particular piece of equipment. .