Thinking of going skimmerless, thoughts?

I have been considering going skimmerless on my tank. Currently in my sump I have a eshopps psk 150 on one end and a fuge with chaeto and a 5-6" dsb on the other.
I came to this idea because I have had some trouble with the skimmer being erratic and overflowing randomly. Seems no amount of cleaning keeps it from doing this.

My thought would be to remove the skimmer and fill that chamber with chaeto and then maybe add some mangroves to the other side. This will allow me to run 3 times the chaeto I run now and still add more macro(mangroves or something else).

Now question is, will this be enough for me to stop using my gfo reactor? And will I run into any real issues with no mechanical filtration? Will a monthly 10gallon water change schedule be sufficient?



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I was thinking of going skimmerless as well with my 113g build, but use and ATS.

 

The main reason for my thinking this will work is even when the skimmer doesn't pull anything, my params stay the same. I am really questioning its necessity in my system right now.

I think this weekend I will do some cleaning/rearranging. What should I watch for to see is my plan is failing? Rising nitrate? Algae blooms?

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How many fish do you have in the tank? I started to go skimmerless though I know I overfeed my fish sometimes and rather have that just in case then not at all. Maybe your skimmer is going bad or not properly adjusted thus the reason you are having issues with it (i.e. need new o-rings). Also, I just remembered that there is another member that started talking about going skimmerless, I would use the search function and see what you can find..let us know how it goes.

 

I have 5 fish that get fed 2-3 times a week. I read that thread when I started thinking about this. I don't really have any difficult corals so I am thinking of trying this for a week or so to see what happens.

During that time I am going to really soak ny skimmer in vinegar to be absolutely sure it is spotless.


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If your skimmer has a venturi, chances are the air inlet has calcium buildup, restricting airflow resulting in your skimmer sometimes overflowing...just something you might want to check/clean. Like you I also run a DSB with cheato (and halimeda) on one side and a skimmer in the other side. I could run my system for days without the skimmer with no major changes in parms....however, when I empty the skimmer cup weekly the amount of thick gunk that comes out tells me it's doing something. What you're trying to do is not impossible, many reefers run skimmerless systems...but IMO, a good skimmer is a key piece of equipment, without it your system would be less forgiving. My guess is if you don't stay on top of maintenance, you will probably run into problems over time. It also depends on the fish you have and the type of corals your plan to keep.