jmichaelh7
2500 Club Member
Those that don’t run a skimmer, do you filter via water changes?
Anyone NOT run a skimmer?
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DrZoidburg
Valuable Member
Got a sulphur reactor. I keep having to remove media from it. Still getting super low nitrate levels. Considering retiring skimmer so I can dial it in better.
CanuckReefer
Simple...Salt, Water, LR, Lighting and Flow.
No skimmer last 2 months...so far so good.
I really only ran it a few hours a day over last few years anyway, and it never produced much gunk.
Water changes I do about 2% twice a week. 90 gallon system. Decent flow (although I will be adding more), UV, LR, and a polishing powerhead seems to work for me...no sump or fuge either.
I really only ran it a few hours a day over last few years anyway, and it never produced much gunk.
Water changes I do about 2% twice a week. 90 gallon system. Decent flow (although I will be adding more), UV, LR, and a polishing powerhead seems to work for me...no sump or fuge either.
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Spare time
10K Club member
I don't run a skimmer. I use a refugium, filter socks, carbon, and then some purigen that I had laying around but doesn't seem to do much (I think purigen in saltwater is basically a cruddier version of carbon).
Dkmoo
Valuable Member
I'm using skimmer now only bc I turned off my fuge bc doing vibrant treatment but before this I use skimmer only for the air exchange for my Co2 scrubber and actually dump the skimmate back into the tank
IMO, the best "filtration" for you will be a refugium if from your other post it seems your goal is to increase biodiversity. To understand why, yiu gotta first understand what each type of filtration takes out. Mechanical filters like socks take out solid foods and solid fish waste. What ever escapes it is then broken down to DOC and protiens thats then caught by the skimmers. Whatever escapes this is then broken down to no3/po4. This last form is what algae and cyano eat.
So, to promote biodiversity, all the stuff that sock and skimmer takes out can be considered "good" nutrient that help feed a wide range of organisms like corals, all kinds of filter feeders, pods, and bacteria. So, keeping them in the water will help promote diversity. Since these "food" if left uneaten, will break down to NO3/po4 and that's what the nuisance stuff feed on, this is why fuge is best option bc it will directly absorb no3/po4. The film algae growing in there will further feed your pod population. A fuge is also a place where many organism will naturally flourish bc it provides a refuge for them to settle (hence the name "refugium")
IMO, the best "filtration" for you will be a refugium if from your other post it seems your goal is to increase biodiversity. To understand why, yiu gotta first understand what each type of filtration takes out. Mechanical filters like socks take out solid foods and solid fish waste. What ever escapes it is then broken down to DOC and protiens thats then caught by the skimmers. Whatever escapes this is then broken down to no3/po4. This last form is what algae and cyano eat.
So, to promote biodiversity, all the stuff that sock and skimmer takes out can be considered "good" nutrient that help feed a wide range of organisms like corals, all kinds of filter feeders, pods, and bacteria. So, keeping them in the water will help promote diversity. Since these "food" if left uneaten, will break down to NO3/po4 and that's what the nuisance stuff feed on, this is why fuge is best option bc it will directly absorb no3/po4. The film algae growing in there will further feed your pod population. A fuge is also a place where many organism will naturally flourish bc it provides a refuge for them to settle (hence the name "refugium")
I have a 40 breeder with 20 sump/fuge that I have never had a skimmer on. It has softies, LPS, and SPS (only one acro). I change about 1 gallon a day, but I usually have to dose nitrate and sometimes phosphate.
CanuckReefer
Simple...Salt, Water, LR, Lighting and Flow.
Never had any real detectable Nitrates or Phos, and now that skimmer is gone, its still same. Nada, I guess my softies or maybe rock are gobbling things up before it gets there? I expected to see at least a slight uptick. No fuge, no sump....
davidcalgary29
2500 Club Member
I don't run a skimmer in my RSM 250 anymore because the stock unit put an additional 3C of heat into the tank.
shartpants007
Active Member
I don't run a skimmer, but I only have a 20 gallon tank. I just use an HOB filter with a carbon cartridge and some macro algae (which isn't doing as well as I'd like) but it works. I do small water changes about once a week, just whenever I think one is needed. There is some protein buildup on the surface but I think that's more from lack of flow than anything else.
john90009
Well-Known Member
I bought another doser to actually get nitrates off zero. I have a fuge in the back which is pulling out too much. The skimmer would be helpful if you ever wanted to dose interceptor to the tank for red bugs
Timfish
Crusty Old Salt
It doesn't matter where you look, sustanable farming or our own mental and physical well being, having the right microbial processes is essential. Skimmers skew and reduce the bacteria and are useless for removing the hydrophyllic compounds that promote pathogenic microbial shifts in coral microbiomes. To remove those you need to do water changes. Here's some of my systems that don't use skimmers:
90 Gallon Mixed Reef
500 gallon
Mixed Reef started in 1997, 10-07-19
220 Rimless 450 view
Links to hydrophilic stuff:
Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton
www.nature.com
Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
90 Gallon Mixed Reef
500 gallon
Mixed Reef started in 1997, 10-07-19
220 Rimless 450 view
Links to hydrophilic stuff:
Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages.
Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages - PubMed
Increasing algal cover on tropical reefs worldwide may be maintained through feedbacks whereby algae outcompete coral by altering microbial activity. We hypothesized that algae and coral release compositionally distinct exudates that differentially alter bacterioplankton growth and community...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching
Error - Cookies Turned Off
Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton
Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton - The ISME Journal
Coastal pollution and algal cover are increasing on many coral reefs, resulting in higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. High DOC concentrations strongly affect microbial activity in reef waters and select for copiotrophic, often potentially virulent microbial populations. High...
www.nature.com
Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs.
Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs - PubMed
Recent work has shown that hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic matter (OM) from algae disrupts the function of the coral holobiont and promotes the invasion of opportunistic pathogens, leading to coral morbidity and mortality. Here we refer to these dynamics as the (3)DAM [dissolved organic...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
OP
OP
jmichaelh7
2500 Club Member
The only reason I run a skimmer is because my co2 scrubber is attached to the hoseIt doesn't matter where you look, sustanable farming or our own mental and physical well being, having the right microbial processes is essential. Skimmers skew and reduce the bacteria and are useless for removing the hydrophyllic compounds that promote pathogenic microbial shifts in coral microbiomes. To remove those you need to do water changes. Here's some of my systems that don't use skimmers:
90 Gallon Mixed Reef
500 gallon
Mixed Reef started in 1997, 10-07-19
220 Rimless 450 view
Links to hydrophilic stuff:
Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages.
Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages - PubMed
Increasing algal cover on tropical reefs worldwide may be maintained through feedbacks whereby algae outcompete coral by altering microbial activity. We hypothesized that algae and coral release compositionally distinct exudates that differentially alter bacterioplankton growth and community...
Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching
Error - Cookies Turned Off
Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton
Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton - The ISME Journal
Coastal pollution and algal cover are increasing on many coral reefs, resulting in higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. High DOC concentrations strongly affect microbial activity in reef waters and select for copiotrophic, often potentially virulent microbial populations. High...
Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs.
Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs - PubMed
Recent work has shown that hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic matter (OM) from algae disrupts the function of the coral holobiont and promotes the invasion of opportunistic pathogens, leading to coral morbidity and mortality. Here we refer to these dynamics as the (3)DAM [dissolved organic...
