Thinking about doing away with my skimmer.

My sump is way to small for my tank and without a massive job I cant put a bigger sump in. The water level in my sump changes so much that the skimmer is only working like 10% of the time so i am thinking about just taking it out for now.

Anyone have a reef tank without a skimmer? Any suggestions?

 

Rig up an algae scrubber. That will work great for you. Or an ato to keep the water level consistent. (tunze keep levels within 1/8 inch)

Or better yet, both!


Many people have run reef tanks, even with sps (corallline, i'm looking at you) without a skimmer. It just means you need to find another route for export. Either increased water changes, or some sort of algae filter are the best ways I know of (usually both)

 

... and put a baffle in your sump to keep the water level constant in your skimmer compartment. Then all the water loss is in the return area. With or without a ATO you have to have a baffle if you want consistent skimmer performance.

 

Well, not quite.

I don't have a baffe, and my PS water level stays constant.

You could probably get a larger plastic bin and wedge it thru the door of your tank,
then you put a smaller container inside the larger one for your skimmer compartment.
Either cut slots, drill holes, or let it run over the top of the smaller container into the larger one.

check out the end of my DT video in my sig (very short). You'll see my 50g sump, I installed on a running tank, with livestock, etc.

It can be done.

I even have a DIY
ATO now and it's keeping my SG and water level constant- only RO/DI hooked to it.

BTW, my system is quite functional, large volume, and nadda mucha $$!

 

I've been running my 26g without a skimmer for over a month now. I do a 25% WC every 10-14 days and all is well.

I've tried 2 nano skimmers. I get more out with WC

 

All great ideas and I thank you. I have even considered removing the center support for a few minutes to put in a larger sump (this was suggested by my LFS), but i am way too scared to do it. lol

I guess in all actuality my tank has been running without a skimmer for the most part so taking it off now shouldnt have much impact. I have an fx5 running on the tank also so disconnecting the sump for a while isnt an issue either.

Has anyone removed any panels or the center support from thier stand?

I guess i have some thinking and planning to do.

 

I would suggest putting in a header to hold the weight. How big is the tank?

 

The tank is a 150 high. Really poorly designed tank in my opinion and when i buy a bigger house this will end up as my sump. lol

 

Then you definitely need a header. I wouldn't risk it. That's a lot of weight to float without support.

 

I hear u, the only thing is that the back of the stand has the same size opening with a larger support. lol I am neurotic sometimes but who knows.

I would LOVE to put a 40 breeder under the tank. Would be perfect but not sure I could do it even with removing the support.

I am thinking that putting a header in would be a good idea even if i dont remove the support. The tank is about 7 years old and i dont know how long stands last. lol