Skimmer Necessary?

I just started my first tank this week. I got a 35 G Hexagon tank from my sister. I already have it set up with LR and LS. I was wondering is a Protein Skimmer totally necessary?.. I dont know much about them, ive been doing as much research as I can though. And also for a HOB Skimmer is it possible to not have it sit right there on the top? In my opinion they are very ugly and I dont want to have to look at it on my tank all day. Thanks for any help

 

one sec >> follow close.

 

yes, you're gonna have fish right?\

and you can hang it off the back of the tank. ask on here what skimmer for that size tank peeps recommend!

 

For a beginner.. in my opinion (IMO) yes. Crucial for maintaining good water quality during the beginner stages of learning the ins and outs of a marine aquarium. You don't need one until the tank is cycled so do some research and figure out which skimmer fits your needs. You could always build a sump and put the skimmer in the sump. The sump can then house your heater and some extra LR down the road as well.

 

There are many ways to run a saltwater aquarium, but for a beginner, I would suggest you getting a protein skimmer as it will make it easier for you to keep your water parameters up to par. And it will allow you to not have to do water changes as often. As for the HOB Protein skimmer, you can always use your rockwork to hide it, not really sure how your aquascape looks like but there are ways to hide the pump etc.

 

DO NOT waste your money on Jebo, ViaAqua or SeaClone. They are all junk.....they don't work....we've been there and done that! I'm not sure for that size but I'd say an AquaC Remora. I'm still using the one I had on my 55 on my 135 and it's working great!

 

THanks you guys... now the question is what would be a good one for me to buy? And as far as my question about hiding it, i meant on the back of the tank, every picture i see has the skimmer on the back and it looks very ugly. I was wondering if there was a way to maybe extend the tubes (?) and have it stashed down below in my cabinet from behind?

 

I have had my water from my first tank (about 15+ years ago) still in my tank now.
You will find people who swear by them and other who dont >> ITS A HOBBY! Everything you do it trial and error. You can try to learn from others experiences then try what's best for you.
I have NEVER ran a Skimmer on my big tank and...
on my smaller tank, which I use for cycling rock and messing around wit, I noticed absolutly no difference in a skimmer.
Some people will swear by them. I dont knock it. Maybe I just have had absolute perfect luck with every combo.. I dunno but I have had ALOT of different combos and A skimmer (IMO) "skims", taking valuable nutrients and salt out of the water. In the wild, things adapt >>> let your tank balance itself out w/o messing with everything.

YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!!!! (save your money)

 

You can't extend the pipes because the pump on the skimmer will have to fight the water column and many of the HOB skimmer simply dump into the tank rather than through a tube. If you do figure it out, post pics, but you'll have to get a better pump in order to reach the same tank size recommendations as with the stock pump. If you're thinking of extending the pipes to the cabinet, you should seriously consider a sump. You'll want to do it later anyways and it's REALLY hard with livestock in the tank

 

you could do that but you'd have to upsize the pump for it pretty big.

The remora is black so you really don't see it, other than the tube into the tank and the collection cup in back top. but you want to be able to see it and get to it to clean it.