Small Skimmer vs No Skimmer

[Brady4000]

Hey all.

I have a 50g corner tank (peacock mantis tank) with a 10g sump. The sump is obviously small, and not much room for a skimmer. The space under the tank where is sump sits is maxed out, so upgrading to a larger sump is not an option.

I was wounding what your thoughts were on just running a undersized skimmer? I know it’s not optimal, but is something better than nothing?

The tank is going to be a macro algae DT, so it will have a refugium kinda..

Thanks!

 

[Jimmeh lee]

Is there any stocking other than the mantis? Being a macro display you might run out of nutrients for them even without a skimmer.

 

[Brady4000]

Is there any stocking other than the mantis? Being a macro display you might run out of nutrients for them even without a skimmer.

No it’s going to be a species only tank. Still in the build stage ATM and currently working on the scaping. Should be up and running by the end of the week.

Worried the mantis will make too large of a mess, due to being a smasher. Going to be Macro DT, because of the dim lighting the mantis needs.

 

[Jimmeh lee]

No it’s going to be a species only tank. Still in the build stage ATM and currently working on the scaping. Should be up and running by the end of the week.

Worried the mantis will make too large of a mess, due to being a smasher. Going to be Macro DT, because of the dim lighting the mantis needs.

Given the space limitations, I think I’d try it out with no skimmer since the majority of the system volume is sort of a fuge, and have a backup plan for a small or hang on skimmer if necessary.

I ran a small(10g) frag tank with a hang on fuge(~3 or 3.5g) with chaeto, no skimmer. Tank had 4 fish in it and the chaeto handled it on its own.

 

[Brady4000]

Given the space limitations, I think I’d try it out with no skimmer since the majority of the system volume is sort of a fuge, and have a backup plan for a small or hang on skimmer if necessary.

I ran a small(10g) frag tank with a hang on fuge(~3 or 3.5g) with chaeto, no skimmer. Tank had 4 fish in it and the chaeto handled it on its own.

Awesome thanks for the advice, I didn’t realize a fuge will do so much.

 

[eggplantparrot]

I managed to fit a bubble magus curve 5 in a 10G diy sump.

*edit* nvm, missed the part of you making the DT into sort of a fuge. this would prob be overkill

 

[Peace River]

A skimmer provides mechanical filtration. Without one, then you will need some other type of filtration whether this is a refugium, regular water changes, or another method (or methods). Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[Brady4000]

I managed to fit a bubble magus curve 5 in a 10G diy sump.

*edit* nvm, missed the part of you making the DT into sort of a fuge. this would prob be overkill

Nice!!! Wish I could do that setup. Yea, mine was a wet/dry I turned into a regular sump, I still have the plexiglass going down the center. Really puts a stop to the room.

Here’s a photo of what I got going on. I am also doing it myself. The pink hose that is shooting to the left hooks to a aqua ultraviolet UV 25w, that will be mounted on the top. Right now I am testing for leaks, and the light was leaking from the wiper rod. So I am currently fixing that issue.

Also it’s 10g, but 10g tall lol. What you are seeing in water right now is 5g, to give you an idea.

 

[Brady4000]

A skimmer provides mechanical filtration. Without one, then you will need some other type of filtration whether this is a refugium, regular water changes, or another method (or methods). Good luck with whatever you choose!

Thanks!! Yea hopefully the macro DT is enough, now that I know it’s an option to replace a skimmer.