Building a 30g reef.

[reef4u]

Is it necessary to put a skimmer if your doing a reef tank and 3 fish?

 

[Reef-junky]

If you want coral I would. Maybe with that small of a bio load you can get away with out it. Do you not have a sump?

 

[reef4u]

If you want coral I would. Maybe with that small of a bio load you can get away with out it. Do you not have a sump?

No a canister. Dont have space for sump

 

[Waters]

Is it necessary to put a skimmer if your doing a reef tank and 3 fish?

A skimmer isn't necessary in any tank, whether it be a 30 gallon or a 300 gallon. A skimmer is just a tool used to export nutrients.......if you aren't using a skimmer you just need to use another method of nutrient removal. With a tank that small, you could easily get by strictly with water changes if you wanted to.

 

[reef4u]

A skimmer isn't necessary in any tank, whether it be a 30 gallon or a 300 gallon. A skimmer is just a tool used to export nutrients.......if you aren't using a skimmer you just need to use another method of nutrient removal. With a tank that small, you could easily get by strictly with water changes if you wanted to.

Ok. Soo can i get away of the skimmer with a 2 stage canister and water changes?

 

[reef4u]

Ok. Soo can i get away of the skimmer with a 2 stage canister and water changes?

How many water changes?

 

[Reef-junky]

Depends on how fast the tank gets dirty and what kind a coral you have. Try once a week and see what happens. Do a 10% water change.

 

[Mikedawg]

I think you probably want to test nitrate, phosphate, etc. regularly to determine if your current methods of husbandry/export produce the water parameters you want. Really can't say if you need more equipment or more water changes, etc. until you first know what you have and if it is changing for the worse. You may be doing exactly what you need to do, but you won't know until you have some test results.

 

[Reef-junky]

I think you probably want to test nitrate, phosphate, etc. regularly to determine if your current methods of husbandry/export produce the water parameters you want. Really can't say if you need more equipment or more water changes, etc. until you first know what you have and if it is changing for the worse. You may be doing exactly what you need to do, but you won't know until you have some test results.

+1

 

[reef4u]

Depends on how fast the tank gets dirty and what kind a coral you have. Try once a week and see what happens. Do a 10% water change.

Ok thanx for the info. Will try that way

 

[reef4u]

I think you probably want to test nitrate, phosphate, etc. regularly to determine if your current methods of husbandry/export produce the water parameters you want. Really can't say if you need more equipment or more water changes, etc. until you first know what you have and if it is changing for the worse. You may be doing exactly what you need to do, but you won't know until you have some test results.

True that .the tank is only 3 weeks in no fish yet. Dont know what to expect till i add the fish

 

[cracker]

A skimmer would be nice,maybe in the future when You want another fish. So no sump or other filtration?

 

[reef4u]

A skimmer would be nice,maybe in the future when You want another fish. So no sump or other filtration?

Yes. I have a 2 stage canister rated at 700gph

 

[Reef-junky]

Stay on top of keeping the canister filter clean or it could cause you problems. A skimmer and sump can be the heart and soul of a good system while anything is possible your better off with it then without just my opinion. I’ve seen nano tanks without them but they also do daily water changes. Think of it this way with a skimmer you maybe changing your water once a month vs once a week of course this all depends on what you have in the tank and how fast your tank gets dirty.

 

[reef4u]

Stay on top of keeping the canister filter clean or it could cause you problems. A skimmer and sump can be the heart and soul of a good system while anything is possible your better off with it then without just my opinion. I’ve seen nano tanks without them but the also do daily water changes.

Ok good advice. Can't do a sump do to the area and space. Going to try the no skimmer for a while and see what happens i have a coraline 120 hanging just in case it goes south.

 

[Reef-junky]

As long as you stay on top of things you should be fine.

 

[jdpeters]

Is it necessary to put a skimmer if your doing a reef tank and 3 fish?

Not at all it's about nutrient export. Biological media and water changes work just fine. I've ran my 42g without a skimmer for 2.5 years. Also a mature tank at a few years old can handle a lot

 

[reef4u]

Not at all it's about nutrient export. Biological media and water changes work just fine. I've ran my 42g without a skimmer for 2.5 years. Also a mature tank at a few years old can handle a lot

What did u use as of media?

 

[jdpeters]

What did u use as of media?

Up until recently I had my sump stuffed with live rock. When the tank was young I used gfo. A mistake I made with this tank was not curing the dead dry rock and cleaning it before putting in the tank. It takes a very long time for a tanks biological filtration to get up to par so patience is a virtue. There are bacteria starters to help speed the process up.

 

[reef4u]

Up until recently I had my sump stuffed with live rock. When the tank was young I used gfo. A mistake I made with this tank was not curing the dead dry rock and cleaning it before putting in the tank. It takes a very long time for a tanks biological filtration to get up to par so patience is a virtue. There are bacteria starters to help speed the process up.

I used api starter.