Going Skimmerless: What do I need to know?

[Treefer32]

Purigen basically does what a slimmer does. Bonds up organica so they dont break down Into nitrates in your system . Doesnt help with gas exchange tho

Interesting. I guess we'll see what happens over time here. I think going skimmerless is my new operation based on what I'm seeing. But we'll see, I'll continue water changes for now and see. I have it setup so a water change takes me less than 10 minutes. Open valve, drain into floor drain. Close valve, open valve to fresh water, plug pump in and fill sump. Shut off mixing pump and go.

Not quite an AWC, but pretty close.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

Interesting. I guess we'll see what happens over time here. I think going skimmerless is my new operation based on what I'm seeing. But we'll see, I'll continue water changes for now and see. I have it setup so a water change takes me less than 10 minutes. Open valve, drain into floor drain. Close valve, open valve to fresh water, plug pump in and fill sump. Shut off mixing pump and go.

Not quite an AWC, but pretty close.

Interesting. I guess we'll see what happens over time here. I think going skimmerless is my new operation based on what I'm seeing. But we'll see, I'll continue water changes for now and see. I have it setup so a water change takes me less than 10 minutes. Open valve, drain into floor drain. Close valve, open valve to fresh water, plug pump in and fill sump. Shut off mixing pump and go.

Not quite an AWC, but pretty clos

Interesting. I guess we'll see what happens over time here. I think going skimmerless is my new operation based on what I'm seeing. But we'll see, I'll continue water changes for now and see. I have it setup so a water change takes me less than 10 minutes. Open valve, drain into floor drain. Close valve, open valve to fresh water, plug pump in and fill sump. Shut off mixing pump and go.

Not quite an AWC, but pretty close.

I Turned my skimmer off a month ago. No noticeable difference in my system. Nitrates are the same(.2) Corals happy. Fish happy. I run chemi pure blue(the white balls are like purigen) and half of the recommended dose of GFO(slight trickle back in the sump thru a phosban reactor) and a large refugium. Ph is the same before and after(8.2). I’m going to turn it back on one of these days tho. I’m not for or against it. My system seems to not care whether i run it or not lol. And I haven’t done a water change in 6 months

 

[GillMeister]

I turned my skimmer off a week ago due to a leak. My pH dropped 0.3 on average.

 

[arking_mark]

I turned my skimmer off a week ago due to a leak. My pH dropped 0.3 on average.

That would seem to indicate that your skimmer was playing a role in aerating your tank. You can increase surface agitation and flow to compensate.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

You and me both. I always wondered how skimmers know the difference between good (trace elements) vs. bad (detritous) to be removed from the water. They don't, so, I wondered if skimmers perpetuate the need for water changes because they remove beneficial elements from the water that are needed for corals. I'm noticing some of my acans getting brighter, bigger, just in the last 5 days than they have been in the last two years of having the skimmer.

And I'll save money on electricity of not having 130 watt pump running 24/7. (I always ran it at max).

From day 1 till now what’s the difference in nitrate and phosphates? I’m curious if I’m 5 days without skimmer how much they went up if any

 

[Orm Embar]

My understanding is that skimmers remove roughly 20-30% of TOC (total organic compounds) - https://reefs.com/magazine/further-studies-on-protein-skimmer-performance/.

I find that an adequately sized and lit refugium with chaeto provides all of my biofiltration needs, and is as easy (and cheap) a means of nutrient export that i have found - throw a handful of chaeto into the trash, or better yet give away/trade to other reefers.

For a large tank like yours, I would assume that a proportionately sized refugium with chaeto and LED lighting would work well. I don't have experience with other options (scrubbers/reactors, pellets, etc).

 

[DxMarinefish]

Why algae turf scrubber over a simpler refugium? They seem like more work to me.

Servicing the ATS is just 5 mins.

I also have a refugium that is glued to the back of the DT, this refugium is not lit and full of LR, sponges, etc. The two ATS drain into it. Any detritus that accumulates there will just provide a habitat for worms, etc.

 

[Treefer32]

I'm a week out, and haven't noticed anything bad. Actually I'm noticing a decrease in Diatoms on my rock work. Imagine that. Not sure why a skimmer would cause Diatoms. But, that is decreasing significantly.

 

[GillMeister]

I'm a week out, and haven't noticed anything bad. Actually I'm noticing a decrease in Diatoms on my rock work. Imagine that. Not sure why a skimmer would cause Diatoms. But, that is decreasing significantly.

How is your pH?

 

[Treefer32]

How is your pH?

PH is staying on average between 8.07 and 8.22. I have noticed much of a difference in trends.

 

[arking_mark]

PH is staying on average between 8.07 and 8.22. I have noticed much of a difference in trends.

I'm not an expert, but PH would only be affected if the tank had an aeration problem or was used in conjunction with a CO2 scrubber.

 

[Treefer32]

I'm not an expert, but PH would only be affected if the tank had an aeration problem or was used in conjunction with a CO2 scrubber.

Agreed, There's plenty of ways for my water to be aerated outside of the skimmer. I was more worried about phosphates and nitrates building up. But, I had a diatom problem when I was running my skimmer. Now I don't... go figure.

 

[burningmime]

I wonder if you could use a high powered air pump with a CO2 scrubber for the aeration advantages?

 

[GillMeister]

Someone had suggested I didn't have enough surface agitation and that's why my pH dropped with my skimmer off. I have 4 return jets from my sump, 3 WAV pumps at 60% (2 directed at the surface) and an 3k gyre running 50% at the back of the tank. I have surface agitation up the wazoo. I also have a tank that's 32 inches deep and that might be why I need the skimmer to supplement the air exchange.

 

[arking_mark]

I wonder if you could use a high powered air pump with a CO2 scrubber for the aeration advantages?

You could. I was thinking of using the bubbling method. Then someone reminded me that bubbles in a tank or sump = salt creep mess.

I'm in the camp that if you need a CO2 scrubber and/or additional aeration, a skimmer is a good choice as it controls the bubbling mess. Filtration, not so much.