To skim or not to skim ?

I have a 20 gallon tall and am running a reef octopus bh100s. Originally I had the skimmer on my 55. Had to downsize to the 20 due to living in an upstairs apartment. The skimmer was real good on the 55 but on the 20 it really doesn't seem to be as effective. With weekly water changes is it necessary to run a skimmer ?

 

In my opinion no you do not need to run the skimmer. You should however stock accordingly,feed accordingly, do water changes, and not expect to have great success with more delicate sps or other sensitive corals (there is always the exception).

 

+1, I agree with Corailline.

 

Like me?

 

I run a 10 gallon sump, skimmer rated for a 100 gallon and a phosphate reactor.

I also have an ATS setup. I have 3 fish and feed very heavily. Upwards of 5x a day- all in the evening.

BTW, I too have a 55 thaylt I can't set up being on the upstairs of an appt

 

That brings up a couple questions that I have. I just started an 8 gallon nano for my wife. I'm looking onto an ato and have considered a skimmer. I think the ato is more important for this size, but would a skimmer have a benefit even if it's only producing skimmate part of the time? My guess is that it still is beneficial by limiting the upper end of pollutants in the aquarium. But that is just a guess.

 

Agreed, a skimmer is not necessary for smaller tanks.

Pardon my OT reply here, but this logic is something I've never understood. If the structure was built according to code, the upstairs should be at least as sturdy as the main floor of a single-story dwelling.

 

How you plan to stock and/or feed will determine the actual benefit of running a skimmer; however, suggestions are just that, and with small tanks, water changes are just too easy and make the skimmer less important, but one could always be employed with any system.

 

I will add, I haven't done a water change on my 20 in a long time since my skimmer pulls so much. I dose a lot of alk. and calcium is the SPS deplete it in my tank pretty quickly.

 

I just moved last weekend. I am still toying with the idea, just not set on the idea of it falling through. But the way I see it, a solid concrete foundation on mother earth will not be nearly as strong us floor joists held up by nails. Add in the off chance of a knot on the board or rot, and you have a recipe for disaster. I'm looking at 800 pounds of in the system spanning two joists.

Now, I did rip up the carpet in a corner and noticed concrete overlain by plywood (for the carpet). I am not sure if this is foamcrete with wooden floor joists or solid concrete with steel. I need to research. The latter would work for a 55.