Protein skimmer necessary?

I was just wondering how important it is to have a protein skimmer in a FOWLR tank? Is it possible to do without? My problem is that I didnt realize how big they were. At least the one I purchased. It takes up so much room, I had to rearrange a lot of my rock to even get it in. And then my lighting fixture wouldn't fit properly. I don't have a sump tank, so I can't put it in there... My tank is 29 gallon standard. Currently on the 10th day of it's cycle...

 

Not really as nessisary as on a reef tank, I have a 116 gal FOWLR that does have a skimmer on it but I have not emptied it in at least 4 months & there's only about 1/2" of liquid in the cup. Just do a 10% water change every couple weeks & you will be good.

 

Not necessary. Keep the nitrates below 20 and you'll be okay with frequent water changes. You may see an increase in algae growth without it though.

 

Really? Wow, here I am thinking its an absolute necessity. Thank you. And you say 10% every couple weeks? Will 10% every week be too much? Also if I want to add coral in the future, would a protein skimmer be something I definitely want to instal??

 

Coral does not like high nitrate, it would likely not be a necessity, but it would greatly benefit you and your system. I would do 10% a week, if not more depending on the load on the tank.

29g of water volume fowls up quickly with fish waste and food oils, you need to export that somehow.. Either with a skimmer, or via water changes.

 

still not 100% necessary, depends on wc frequency, bioload and what corals! If frequent wc's and low bioload, and not overfeeding, you should still do good with a decent amount of corals, but prob not the water clarity sensitive! Seems like some corals like dirtier water!

 

Is your left arm numb?!!!

 

lol. i have no idea why i do that. bad habit!!!!!lol

 

10% WC weekly would not hurt one bit, you could add some coral in time but if it's going to be any type of leather coral you will want to add a skimmer & some carbon as leather are very harsh on you water parameter. There are many good HOB skimmers out there & if you have a sump you could get a Tunze 9010 or something similar with a very small footprint.

 

The protein skimmer will remove organic waste before it has a chance to break down. As the others has said, you don't NEED one but it COULD be working for you 24/7 at pulling out a good percentage of waste that you'll otherwise need to remove with water changes at more regular intervals than if you did have one.

Which one do you have?