DEBATE: Skimmers Yes or No

[HexaReef]

Do you believe a skimmer is a necessary piece of equipment for all systems? Or do you believe its system dependent?

Please explain your thoughts.

 

[Jvesche20]

Yes, I believe they are a necessary piece of equipment. They remove organic waste before it has a chance to break down and release nitrogen compounds. It helps keep nitrate levels down. There is a guy at my lfs that says he doesnt have a skimmer on his tank. No idea how he does it or what he uses but thats what he claims. I had to QT 9 fish, 3 of them fairly large and I didnt have a skimmer just had a HOB filter and my levels were super high. So high that I believe it may have been the cause of death of my blue tang. Later when purchasing a bundle from a guy that lived near me he had a setup for a frag tank. I purchased everything and that included a HOB skimmer. When I had a clown, PBT and a purple tang in QT I used the HOB skimmer and my levels never went up and the fish were kept there for a month. I believe the skimmer was a necessary tool to keep them healthy during QT.

 

[hart24601]

There are plenty of examples of skimmerless reefs out there that I don't really see how anyone could make the argument they are necessary for all systems. Heck pico and nano reefs tend to not have any skimmers and some of those have literally been running for over a decade now and many of them have stony coral including various SPS. I don't see that as up for debate, they exist and are not hard to find.

Now *should* skimmers always be used is another debate. The use on picos and nanos is tricky as the small volume doesn't really lend itself well to running a large effective skimmers and the effectiveness of large water changes and limited or no live stock makes skimmers on those systems ime make them not needed.

On larger systems I go back and forth. Some years I think no they are not, but them it seems that if one is optimizing growth and color it's hard to not have them. It's pretty amazing what skimmers pull from the water if you add a skimmer to a previously not skimmed or underskimmed reef tank. I am a fan of lead by example and none of my skimmerless systems have been as nice as the ones where I run skimmers, and while there are some really nice skimmerless systems out there, the vast majority use skimmers.

 

[PirateDan]

All I know is that when i dump my skimmer cup its brown so im gonna say yes.

 

[RMS18]

System dependent (LPS, SPS, FISH ONLY, ETC) IMHO. Heavy bio-loads will benefit from a skimmer. Some minimalists aquascapes will also benefit if you do not have enough rock in the sump to make up for the loss in display. Do i think NEED is the word, no but BENEFITS is. With GFO or lanthanum phosphate and other additives for po3 and po4 reduction one can manage without a skimmer. I ran a 30 gal with no skimmer, LPS only with 6 fish. I had no algae issues, but had 45lb of rock between the sump and display. Honestly looking back it was my favorite tank, coral growth was out of control.

 

[DarkSky]

They aren't necessary equipment, there are tons of reefs out there that are skimmer-less.

But they are a tool to help manage nutrient levels in your tank, and they provide aeration. The aeration aspect alone is almost worth it.

A skimmer also allows you to use carbon dosing to remove nutrients from your water.

 

[Musovski]

well.... the way i see it is, yes and no. I used a skimmer for the first 6 months of my tank, now the tank runs without a skimmer, just a large fuge. Its doing better now than it did with the skimmer, but then again all i have is softies and a couple LPS/SPS.

 

[dansreef]

way too many variables to generalize to a simple Yes or No answer. Size of tank, Sump / Sump-less / Filtration / Algae Scrubber or Chaeto or Refugium.... What are the inhabitants going to be for the tank.... how many.... etc.... and probably a dozen more.

Skimmers do a good job pulling organics out of the water... I dump my skimmer cup almost daily... if I didnt have it....what else would pull that nasty gunk out.

Can systems run without one....sure. You have to make up for what you loose by not having one... in nutrient export ....etc.

 

[shred5]

Absolutely not required.
I run reefs both with and without but I think it is still the best piece of equipment and a safety net.
It also depends on what you are keeping, how many water changes you are doing.
If not running a reef with a skimmer you better have another way of nutrient export like macro algae.

 

[Hulley]

My tank has been up since last August with no skimmer, however I plan on adding one soon but mainly for the oxygenation side of things. The filter roller does an awesome job of mechanical filtration.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

It's AN export method. All systems need export methods to remove excess nutrients. However, it isn't THE export method. There are lots of ways to get the job done. That said. I do like my skimmer, and I probably wouldn't own a reef without running one. That's just the way that I do export. Others do it differently. One of the things I love about this hobby is that there are 1,001 ways to do it successfully.

 

[Reefster]

Absolutely YES! I went over 2 years without a water change and run 2 skimmers on my system, 1 on top and 1 down yonder. I only have Soft Corals, but have 12 fish on a 135g.

 

[MrObscura]

Nothing but water, light and flow are necessary. Export methods are all dependent on the type of tank you want to run and and how much you need to export.

That said, a skimmer is nice piece of equipment that likely won't hurt most systems you decide to throw one on. As long as you dont strip the tank too clean.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have tried with and without and see clearer water and happier corals with. I run an algae scrubber and still utilize Protein skimmer!

 

[Nep2n]

I have tried with and without and see clearer water and happier corals with. I run an algae scrubber and still utilize Protein skimmer!

Same here.

 

[steve bergmann]

Great question. I would be on the side of no skimmer. To me I would rather spend the money on other equipment, like lights and pumps. Here is a video of my tank:

 

[HexaReef]

Great question. I would be on the side of no skimmer. To me I would rather spend the money on other equipment, like lights and pumps. Here is a video of my tank:

Wow! Awesome!

 

[JPergamo]

My skimmer cup stinks my house up worse than both my sons diapers when I clean it every few days, so I'd say it is effective at nutrient export that's for sure. However, I wouldnt say they are essential as long as other methods make up for it I suppose.

 

[PYRU]

I've done it both ways. Skimmer was way cheaper. Unless you have a low quality skimmer then you might as well not have one

 

[ca1ore]

I wouldn’t personally run a large reef tank without a skimmer, but clearly it’s possible as there are successful tanks without. I have run small tanks sans skimmer.