Is it necessary?

I'm starting a 180g FOWLR with out a protein skimmer. Well at first anyways. So I guess is it going to be necessary at all? What's your opinion? What's the max bio load for not running one?

 

I personally wouldn't run a tank at all, without a skimmer. With that being said, you can get away with a standard filter on a FO system. Fish can tolerate higher nitrate than a reef aquarium can. BTW, I don't mean to sound rude but cutting corners is the quickest way to get yourself into a pickle in this hobby. I've learned this the hard way .

 

thats not an easy question. with a low bio load and light feeding and the right fish, sure, you don't "need" a protein skimmer. But it's nice to have to help keep params in check, I'd seriously consider budgeting for one. You can prob get a nice enought one for $200-400 for that tank. But it'll take ya 6-12 months to fully stock the tank so ya have time to save up

 

Skimmers remove organics before they have an opportunity to break down in to more complicated things to remove like Ammonia and Nitrite. If you run with out a skimmer you will need a method to remove Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate in an effective way.
I've seen a ton of great skimmerless tanks but in many cases the fish bio load was extremely low. In the long run I think Skimmers are the cheapest and most effective way to remove these compounds

J

 

+1 to the protein skimmer. You will want one unless you are willing to do constant water changes as a means to export organics. I had a FOWLR and love fish as I'm sure is your goal and typically you'll probably like to feed so export of excess nutrients will be necessary....

 

My 180 and 300 FOWLR's are plumbed to the same system. Over time, I've found that using filter socks that are changed regularly has been more effective at keeping the tanks clean than a skimmer alone. I have one on the drain and another that flows to the second sump area. This has kept overall accumulation of detritus way down. If you're lazy and can't change filter socks on a regular basis, then you need to lay down some cash for a huge skimmer.

 

Totally Agree,

I However got tired of soaping my Filter bags in a dilute bleach and scrubbing. ( I know a washing machine works well I'vd heard.
So now my overflow to my sump flows into a mesh bag that catches the bigger stuff, and so on.


No-one mentioned it, but I've heard some good things about a turf scrubber also!- I didn't build or have one however.

I run a SC150- comes with the ATMAN 2500 pump, shipped new to my door for $95! It works great!

 

IME the skimmer and water movement will be the 2 most important things to keep nitrates down. I started my 180 gal FOWLR with an undersized skimmer ( Euroreef 6-2) and ran a filter sock that I would change out every 2-3 days and mu nitrates would hover around 50-100ppm. I upgraded my skimmer to a SRO 5000INT and now don't run a filter sock and my nitrates were stay at 5ppm before I started running bio pellets and now they are between 1-5ppm and I have messy meat eating fish ( 2 Triggerfish and a Grouper)

The addition of 2 MP40s increased my skimmer efficiency since they have a lot of undertow and pull the detritus off of the live rock and substrate and get it to the sump via the overflow

The detritus will settle in the sump where it can be vacuumed up during a water change

 

I do not run a skimmer on my 46gallon but do a 5gal WC weekly and clean the filter weekly as well changed the carbon and phosgaurd every 2 weeks. My nitrates stay under 5 tank is 10 months old with 5 fish.

 

Need to keep everything straight. Filter socks and skimmers do not directly reduce nitrates. Macro algae, turf scrubbers, carbon dosing and water changes do. Reef tanks are very different from FOWLR tanks in their filtration needs.