Whats more important?

I would agree with this statement. However, I have easy access to RO/Di water, so have not invested in equipment for myself YET. But I couldn't run the bio load I have (I overfeed, and yes, the dog is fat too) without my skimmer.

 

Yes, yes......the question posed was which is more important if only using one or the other.

 

Yea that is the question. Thanks for all the good info though.
IMO, i believe that running 15% water changes a week would be most beneficial. Please tell me otherwise before making a purchase.

 

This is a very informative post. I had the same question... but regarding whether or not I should get a skimmer in my little 14g cube. I use filtered water from the grocery store machines to do water changes. As of now with the small bioload, the water changes have been working fine.

 

That all depends. How large (total water volume) is in the system, including canister(s), fuge or sump (if any) + water volume of tank minus the live rock and substrate?

 

Well its a 55 gallon without sump or fuge. Canister filter holds about a gallon of water. There is 90lbs LR and 60 LS. So i can only make an estimate of about 45gallons or something. So i would change about 10 gallons a week.

 

I have a 46 gallon and do 10% changes every week and have bought store purified RO water for the past 2 years and I getting an RO unit next week. The mighty might from airwaterice.com. I have to attached to the sink in my bathroom downstairs. I am hoping it works. I tested my store water with API phosphate test and got 0.5 phosphate. A skimmer is very important. I would say skimmer before RO if you have to choose.

 

OMG why so much??

 

If you keep the canister real clean by cleaning it bi-weekly you could do a 15% bi-weekly. Look into the the "Filter Guys". They have a 5 stage for $130.00. Jim (co-owner) is real helpful and will take the time to talk and answer any questions you may have. I took his suggestion and got the faucet adaptor so you can move the unit if you want instead of tapping into a water line. Keep up on your lights, change T5 every 8-12 mos. and Pc, T8-12 every 6 mos. Also, the use of Chemi-pure elite will go a long way in cleaning the water.