Saltwater Aquarium
- Thread starter hobyfish
- Start date
Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:
NanaReefer
Well-known member
Protein builds up very quickly in our tanks. Skimmers remove this protein constantly. They also add much needed oxygen. They are also much easier to maintain then having to do water changes on a daily/weekly bases. Which you would have to do if not running a skimmer. This I know for a fact 
If you know of a way to remove protein and add oxygen to your tank without the use of a skimmer, please share your ideas
If you know of a way to remove protein and add oxygen to your tank without the use of a skimmer, please share your ideas 
Terrance
Well-known member
Lots of surface agitation adds O2 to the tank. Many overflows to sumps does the job nicely.
NanaReefer
Well-known member
seedlessinseattle
Well-known member
I believe a protein skimmer is the most important part of any saltwater system, not the only one but in my book it will take the # 1 spot, just my 2 cents
rainydave
Chimp in Space......
I didn't run a skimmer on my tanks until I moved up to a 40 breeder with a sump. Prior to that I ran two rather successful tanks. I was diligent with my water changes (10 - 20% every two weeks).
So, a skimmer is great to have and I wouldn't go back to a tank without one if I could avoid it, but it is possible to have a successful tank without one.
So, a skimmer is great to have and I wouldn't go back to a tank without one if I could avoid it, but it is possible to have a successful tank without one.
Krish
RF STAFF
Welcome to the forum. As for skimmers, I personally feel they are beneficial. Just watch one in action and see what it pulls out of your water and you'll be amazed. My thoughts are that our tanks are only small models of the real thing (ocean) and so as much help as you can get to help keep your tank running optimal for its inhabitants is the way to go. No, they aren't necessary and many people have had successful aquariums without them, but my personal preference would always be to use one.
Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk
Terrance
Well-known member
Back to the original question. Physical removal of waste means doing water changes. Water changes are pretty expensive and can be time consuming if you don't have a proper water change station, especially for a large tank.
A skimmer helps delay water changes by keeping the water cleaner in between water changes, so you are able to go longer without a water change. A skimmer is very important for many of us. I did not understand this concept until I finally got a skimmer.
N1Husker
RF Staff
I think that it also automates the process of waste removal without the negative effects, like that would happen with a canister filter.
xxkenny90xx
Well-known member
My tank is two and a half years old and I've never used a skimmer. It does get dirty fast so I will be adding one soon
N1Husker
RF Staff
I just cleaned my skimmer and made a proper platform for it to sit on, 2" high. It was the first clean up of this skimmer, not to bad.
Love the consistency of reply's here. I am running a BM curve5 on my 80gallon and it makes a huge difference to water quality and frequency of water changes. On my 14gallon biocube I am not running a skimmer as I have not found a good way to get one to fit that tank and It does force me to spend more time on that tank vs my 80gallon. On the bright side of that its only a 14 gallon tank. So I would tend to say it all depends on how much time you want to spend doing water changes.
reefman069
want more mini maxi
in the past i bought some coral from a guy. i cant remember his name. he lives in orting. he had a huge 300 gallon + system. he never did water changes or used a skimmer. his tank looked very nice. all the coral looked nice. i didnt understand his thinking of not wanting to use a skimmer to get all that dirty crap out of his tank. i guess everyone does thing the way they want to do them. as for me i running a big swc skimmer and do 50 gallon water changes every other week. i need to bump that 50 gallon up, 50 gallons doesnt even put me close to 10%
N1Husker
RF Staff
What size of tank do you have?
reefman069
want more mini maxi
360 gallon reef tank. it is 8 feet long and 4 feet wide almost 20 inches tall
N1Husker
RF Staff
Nice! I only have a 90 and water changes wear me out. But I am 63 yrs old too.
reefman069
want more mini maxi
well i need to do a water change right now. the only problem with that is i just fell down a hill and broke my right leg in three spots. i guess i will have to talk a friend into doing it for me. i hate when i cant do something myself. booooo
N1Husker
RF Staff
Man, that's not good. If I lived closer, I would come over and help. I have to do a water change myself.
ak_reefer
Well-known member
Chad if you need help I can help you out. Im off work at 1430.
Sent from the great beyond via Tapatalk 2.5!!
Sent from the great beyond via Tapatalk 2.5!!
