Do I need a protein skimmer?

[Reefing Madness]

I have a fluval 305 filtration system and was wondering do I need to add a protein skimmer to my tank setup? I plan on having a decent amount of coral and fish. Tank size is 55 gallon.

A decent amount of fish and a decent amunt of corals. Needs a skimmer or a ATS or a chunk of change on a ton of water changes or a big fuge full of macro.
You have one fish Pete. The OP clearly states decent amount. One of those water cleaners will or should be incorporated in the tank.
But thats not my call. If your going 4 months without doing anything to your tank Pete, then your not feeding anyone or anything in there.

 

[pirate2876]

I think the OP is really saying "I'm new to this and I need advice".

Can you run a skimmerless tank? Sure. Is it a good idea? Probably not.

If there is one thing I learned in this hobby it's to spending money on quality equipment helps ensure the life and money invested inside the tank.

 

[Pete polyp]

A decent amount of fish and a decent amunt of corals. Needs a skimmer or a ATS or a chunk of change on a ton of water changes or a big fuge full of macro.
You have one fish Pete. The OP clearly states decent amount. One of those water cleaners will or should be incorporated in the tank.
But thats not my call. If your going 4 months without doing anything to your tank Pete, then your not feeding anyone or anything in there.

No, I have 3 fish in a 29... 2 year old ocellaris, 3" bicolor blenny and a 2" watchman goby. So easily 6+ inches of fish. I feed 3-6 times a day with rods (a full 1in²) and 2 ml of reef roids or coral frenzy every night. My tank is FAR from being underfed.

 

[Pete polyp]

I think I might be misunderstood because I'm simply answering the question.

Do you need a skimmer? No

Will skimming make things "easier" with more wiggle room for error? Yes

Having a successful tank doesn't require gadgets and doo dads. Each of them do have their purpose and can be effective. Are they necessary? Certainly not.

This is why in my first reply I stated "its all in the design and approach at nutrient removal". A tank can be designed in a way that would make a skimmer completely useless. I'm not antiskimmer at all, so don't get me wrong. I do have a tank with a skimmer, and it will be a vital part of this specific setup.

 

[pirate2876]

I think I might be misunderstood because I'm simply answering the question.

Do you need a skimmer? No

Will skimming make things "easier" with more wiggle room for error? Yes

Having a successful tank doesn't require gadgets and doo dads. Each of them do have their purpose and can be effective. Are they necessary? Certainly not.

This is why in my first reply I stated "its all in the design and approach at nutrient removal". A tank can be designed in a way that would make a skimmer completely useless. I'm not antiskimmer at all, so don't get me wrong. I do have a tank with a skimmer, and it will be a vital part of this specific setup.

Bingo!

 

[WhoKnew]

I use a skimmer because it was costing me more money to maintain salt with water changes. I guess you could say I'm "lazy". Good luck

 

[yogamon]

Why? I don't have any of that stuff and my nutrient export is crazy.

how do you manage do the nutrient export without it?

 

[yogamon]

I do a small change about 10% every 2 weeks. I did go over 4 months without changing water and had 0-1ppm nitrate. The only reason I change water is for the trace elements. I also have over 120 different corals and 3 fish in a 29. I feed the fish 2-4 times a day and the corals twice a night. My last nitrate test was 0.5 ppm. No skimmer, no sump, no hang on fuge. Just a deep sand bed and good live rock.

oh i see hahaha you answer it already..sorry my bad,..nice tank by the way,..i need to watch your tank thread..its amazing

 

[PaulKreider]

Fish poop has to go somewhere.

 

[TheSaint216]

I ran the big oversize skimmer for awhile. I felt my water was to clean so I went to just using Chaeto. Grows like crazy. Main tank is 30 gallon, sump is about 15. I usually change 10 gallons a week after I use a turkey baster and clean my rock off. I do want to experiment with an Undersized skimmer at some point.

 

[Nathan2585]

I plan on having 10 or so fish and numerous corals a mixture. So besides my fluval system I will be fine with just adding a skimmer and some jets and that's all I will need? I don't have to have a refuge under my tank do I? I have seen some pretty big serious but this is all I have to start off and
Might upgrade to one of those systems after a while. But I will add a skimmer to my set!

 

[PaulKreider]

10 fish in a 55gal tank is too many IMO, especially for your first tank, I'd slow down a bit.

 

[TheSaint216]

+1. Id start with 3 and let things settle for a bit. If you go 10 fish off rip you might have big problems.

 

[Nathan2585]

No I know that I'm not doing all that up front I'm going to let the tank cycle and just start adding stuff a little at a time. Just once complete that's what I want.

 

[PaulKreider]

My 55gallon has been up for nearly 3 years and I still wouldn't put 10 fish in there. Your bio load will exceed your nutrient export capabilities.

 

[Nathan2585]

Ok you guys know more than me. What's a good amount of fish to have in a 55 gallon? Not all at once of course but adding a little at a time!

 

[WeLoveReefers]

I've heard 1 fish per 10 gal.

 

[Touring]

Get a skimmer,just so much easier

 

[DaveMorris]

Uh-oh...here comes the "fish inch per gallon" nonsense. There is no hard fast rule about how many fish can go in a certain size tank. Way too many variables to make that call. You could very easily keep 10 Bangaii Cardinals in a 55g with no problem. 10 tangs? Not with any real success. (I know, some fool out there has 10 tangs in a 55g and "they are happy and healthy"). You just have to keep an eye on things and make adjustments as your system dictates adjustments need to be made.

As far as do you need a skimmer? No, but there is a very good reason why 99.9% of saltwater tanks have them.

 

[Pete polyp]

Uh-oh...here comes the "fish inch per gallon" nonsense. There is no hard fast rule about how many fish can go in a certain size tank. Way too many variables to make that call. You could very easily keep 10 Bangaii Cardinals in a 55g with no problem. 10 tangs? Not with any real success. (I know, some fool out there has 10 tangs in a 55g and "they are happy and healthy"). You just have to keep an eye on things and make adjustments as your system dictates adjustments need to be made.

As far as do you need a skimmer? No, but there is a very good reason why 99.9% of saltwater tanks have them.

Yeah, I'm expecting people to give me the lecture on inch per gallon once my 40 is completely stocked.... I have at least 8" already and I'm halfway there.... I need more fish! Haha