Skimmer addiction?

I dropped by another forum, and read this question:

I want to upgrade to get everything in my tank a little happier. All my corals and fish are happy in my 29 gallon. I have about 200 to spend on my tank. Should I buy a MP10.......or should I buy a nice big skimmer to replace my AquaC remora? Thanks!



I found the responses interesting. A couple of people said, "skimmer" without asking anything about his water quality, the performance of his current skimmer, or what kind of powerheads he currently had (he doesn't HAVE ANY powerheads).

I think the reality is there will always be a better skimmer out there. But does that mean we should replace the one we have if the one we have is working?

 

A skimmer is the first thing you should decide on after choosing a tank. Skimming is one of the most important factors in a tanks health. With that said, as long as the skimmer is still working well (all skimmers work great when you first have them, its 6 months later that is important) you dont need a new skimmer. Randomized flow can definitly help his situation as well. I would probably say the MP10 over a new skimmer, the Remoras are OK and they do what they need to do.

 

Sort of what I was saying. I asked him a few questions, he said he was getting about a cup out of the skimmer every few days. That's not too bad. My recommendation for someone without powerheads would be powerheads. That would give him more directional control of flow than he currently has.

 

How did I know, without even looking it up, where you read that?

On a 29 gallon tank, you don't even need a skimmer. You can do just fine without one. On any tank in fact if you are willing to do the work involved. Something that eludes a lot of the "skimmer experts".

Being able to do without a skimmer but not being able to do without water movement, and knowing he has a skimmer and no water movement, its a no brainer on two counts:
1) What the advice should be - powerhead.
2) The quality of the advice he got. I won't comment on this one.

 

The odd part, of course, is that no questions were asked. Even after they were asked person after person lined up to say, "skimmer". So now this poor guy is going to go out and spend $200 on a skimmer, when he has a skimmer that he says has been working just fine.

I really wish more people would come to this forum.

 

That's because they get force fed the "You gotta have a better skimmer" line of crap so much that when people mention the word skimmer they auto-regurgitate what they were told and the myth gets perpetuated.

As for sites, I would love them to come here but more importantly, I prefer they get good advice and on some sites it seems being politically correct or part of the "in crowd" is more important than giving good advice.

 

I feel bad for this guy. The first response he got was, "skimmer" and I think he said something like, "I'm surprised, but thanks for your input". By the end of it he's buying a skimmer. What a waste of money.

 

Bet he puts a gate valve on it.

 

But only on the output, even if the mfr says the input.

 

LOL! Good times... good times.