Fuge vs. Skimmer?

Rogersaw · Jun 17, 2020

This is a 4 part question...I'm trying to get a consensus to determine the best course of action.

1. I am in the process of cycling my tank. Is there any issues with running a fuge now?
2. Should I run the skimmer now?
3. Can a fuge be used with a skimmer? (Now and/or in the future after cycling)
4. Which more beneficial a fuge or a skimmer?

As I said, I am in the process of cycling my tank (4 days in) and I am trying to determine the best course of action to take that is going to benefit my ecosystem in the long run. I just want to get it right;Bookworm

lazycouch · Jun 17, 2020

Rogersaw said:
This is a 4 part question...I'm trying to get a consensus to determine the best course of action.

1. I am in the process of cycling my tank. Is there any issues with running a fuge now?
2. Should I run the skimmer now?
3. Can a fuge be used with a skimmer? (Now and/or in the future after cycling)
4. Which more beneficial a fuge or a skimmer?

As I said, I am in the process of cycling my tank (4 days in) and I am trying to determine the best course of action to take that is going to benefit my ecosystem in the long run. I just want to get it right;Bookworm

keep skimmer off during cycle. a fuge is beneficial to growing pods and other critters that’ll eventually make their way into your tank and partake in the circle of life. this decision depends on the size of your tank and bioload you plan on having

Travis Wagner · Jun 18, 2020

As for question #3, I had a similar thought- are they redundant in function? I was told that they are safe to be run in tangent, because both the skimmer and fuge are helpful in improving water quality and the skimmer has the added benefit of increasing the water pH while operating.

Joedubyk · Jun 18, 2020

I am a very firm believer of having as much export as possible which allows you to have as much import as possible. That said, absolutely have both and they both have their pros and cons. I feed a lot, dose nitrates, etc in an SPS dom tank and get great growth. export: fuge, skimmer, filter floss, WC.

wonroc · Oct 4, 2020

Jon Fishman · Oct 4, 2020

Joedubyk said:
I am a very firm believer of having as much export as possible which allows you to have as much import as possible. That said, absolutely have both and they both have their pros and cons. I feed a lot, dose nitrates, etc in an SPS dom tank and get great growth. export: fuge, skimmer, filter floss, WC.

This!

I don’t have a fuge, but I run oversized skimmer, UV, Ozone, and ATS