Are Protein Skimmers Overrated?

[jimmy frag]

No. If anything, they're underrated.

alot of great answers but i give this one an "A plus" lol. also consider who told you that they are over rated.

 

[ChuckChuck]

Couldn't they be overrated because they don't do water changes or make me pie?

 

[MrTuskfish]

You can get by without one if you religiously keep up with the maintenance and do not overfeed. If you get lazy on maintenance and have no skimmer, it becomes extremely difficult get the parameters back in check without the help a skimmer provides...

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If someone won't keep up with the little job of skimmer maintenance; they should give up fish and get a pet turtle.

 

[jake koppen]

You may be misinterpreting. Skimmers are usually rated for tanks larger than they can really handle. So when you see a little skimmer and the manufacturer states that it can handle 500 gal, the skimmer is " overrated".

i think you could have misunderstood the "overrated" statement. They are a great method of filtration. manufactures "overrate" their capacity to handle a volume of water. so if they say 50-200 gal tank, it's usually good for up to a 40-70 gal. Do your research on here before you buy on too.

 

[GroktheCube]

If someone won't keep up with the little job of skimmer maintenance; they should give up fish and get a pet turtle.

Heh, if someone can't handle a skimmer, the definitely couldn't handle cleaning a turtle tank. Filthy animals!

 

[igot2gats]

Curious. Who is telling you that protein skimmers are over-rated? If it's your LFS, time to find another LFS.

Ummmmm.....yep. +1 to this.

 

[DopeCantWin]

You may be misinterpreting. Skimmers are usually rated for tanks larger than they can really handle. So when you see a little skimmer and the manufacturer states that it can handle 500 gal, the skimmer is " overrated".

i think you could have misunderstood the "overrated" statement. They are a great method of filtration. manufactures "overrate" their capacity to handle a volume of water. so if they say 50-200 gal tank, it's usually good for up to a 40-70 gal. Do your research on here before you buy on too.

That really depends on the manufacturer. I usually go by how much air they draw, how much water and the volume. Compare the Bubble Magus Nac 9 rated for up to 530 gallons

Model: BM-NAC9 CONE SKIMMER
Tank Size: 395-530 Gallons
Pump: Bubble Magus SP4000 (Made in China)
Pump power: 25W
Air Intake: 1020 L/hr
Dimensions: 12.2" x 10.2" x 22.4"
Cylinder: 9"
Water Level: 9.5"-11

To Bubble King rated for 300 gallons(as far as I can tell)
2000 L/h Air - 4000 L/h Water
Total Height: 25.6"
Footprint: 22" x 23"
Power Usage: 45 Watt/h
Original Red-Dragon pump with standard anti-lime bypass and titanium screws
Super Quiet - only 46 db
Bubble King Supermarin 300 Internal Protein Skimmer

 

[Windirmere]

Dont skimmers also help with Oxygen exchange? just another reason they are good, also the green/brown scum they pull out :S

 

[reefgoddess808]

I have a 56 g FOWLR tank. An ocellaris clown, coral beauty, toby puffer and a newly added sailfin blenny. In addition I have a relatively small CUC consisting of one hermit and about 50 snails, mostly dwarf ceriths. I have a HOB skimmer with a UV sterilizer and a carbon filter. It constantly spews micro bubbles into my tank. I have fiddled with all parameters for over a month. So my solution is to just run the skimmer part at night. Since the bubbles dont hurt anything I do it when it wont annoy me. That being said, even the small amount of time I run the skimmer I have noticed an improvement in my water quality. I bought it to help control nitrates, which were around 20-30 pre skimmer and now stay around 5-10. Good enough improvement for me for the $70 investment. I still change my water twice a month and top off with ro when needed. It didnt replace any part of my regular maintenance just helps keep things stable. Since I dont have a sump its kinda nice to have really. I was originally against having one, thought it was just pricey extra crap I didnt need. But it has proven to be helpful. Wish it didnt spew microbubbles but alas it was only $70 where as most are over a hundred.

 

[jake koppen]

That really depends on the manufacturer. I usually go by how much air they draw, how much water and the volume. Compare the Bubble Magus Nac 9 rated for up to 530 gallons

Model: BM-NAC9 CONE SKIMMER
Tank Size: 395-530 Gallons
Pump: Bubble Magus SP4000 (Made in China)
Pump power: 25W
Air Intake: 1020 L/hr
Dimensions: 12.2" x 10.2" x 22.4"
Cylinder: 9"
Water Level: 9.5"-11

To Bubble King rated for 300 gallons(as far as I can tell)
2000 L/h Air - 4000 L/h Water
Total Height: 25.6"
Footprint: 22" x 23"
Power Usage: 45 Watt/h
Original Red-Dragon pump with standard anti-lime bypass and titanium screws
Super Quiet - only 46 db
Bubble King Supermarin 300 Internal Protein Skimmer

i get that some companies are more accurate than others with their rating ie: reef dynamics, sro, bubble king, vertex... i was more addressing the op's question that skimmers in general are overrated. I'm thinking he misunderstood what the lfs guy was saying when he said "overrated". He was probably talking about what you and i are. He was probably not saying it's not a needed piece of equipment and they're overrated in that sense.

 

[Curious George]

The minute I bought a decent in-sump skimmer, I saw a healthier tank by way of more active fish, less nuisance algae, more coralline, and better coral growth with more opportunities to feed. I can't think of a better way to remove detritus from the water column, other than pia water changes.

 

[that Fish Guy]

i get that some companies are more accurate than others with their rating ie: reef dynamics, sro, bubble king, vertex... i was more addressing the op's question that skimmers in general are overrated. I'm thinking he misunderstood what the lfs guy was saying when he said "overrated". He was probably talking about what you and i are. He was probably not saying it's not a needed piece of equipment and they're overrated in that sense.

No, he meant "overrated" as in you do not need one at all. Not that companies lie about how powerful they are.

 

[ChadRaay86]

Heh, if someone can't handle a skimmer, the definitely couldn't handle cleaning a turtle tank. Filthy animals!

+1

lol True!

 

[sanababit]

A Skimmer is an overated, overpriced, oversized piece of equipment that anybody can live without, the thing is that everyone is scared of doing it and with all the hype, everyone thats new to the hobby has got to have one, i started just like anybody here, wanted the best skimmer i could buy, but it turned out to be a piece of junk, it was an octopuss skimmer top of the line back in 2007, well that thing did not work most of the time, and when power went out and restarted and if i wasnt home then the freaking pump would burn, went thru 3 pumps, then the acrilyc started hazing and cracking, anyways sold it back in 2010 and been skimmerless for almost 3 years now, and i could show you the tank but you would just get jelouse and say no way, so there, save your money and buy a vortech which is another overpriced piece of equipment but hey i like the way they look inside my tank

Sana

 

[jake koppen]

No, he meant "overrated" as in you do not need one at all. Not that companies lie about how powerful they are.

OK, just thought that may be the case. He's correct in some sense. No matter how great the skimmer, they can only remove about 30% of undissolved organics. You can simply replace the skimmer with as much live rock as you can and the undissolved organics will become dissolved and broken down biologicly. You could also employ an algae scrubber to remove the organics...etc. There's more than one way to skin a cat. If you know what you're doing, achieve it what ever method you'd like. Skimmers are great IMO tho. Except the coralife & red sea junk. Also you're on here so you don't have to listen to that LFS guy anymore, just do you research here before any purchase.

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[biodegraded]

A Skimmer is an overated, overpriced, oversized piece of equipment that anybody can live without,
...
and i could show you the tank but you would just get jelouse and say no way, so there,

LOL! Please, by all means make us "jelouse" and post a photo. Or better yet, post a link to your build thread with lots of photos.

 

[karsseboom]

A Skimmer is an overated, overpriced, oversized piece of equipment that anybody can live without, the thing is that everyone is scared of doing it and with all the hype, everyone thats new to the hobby has got to have one, i started just like anybody here, wanted the best skimmer i could buy, but it turned out to be a piece of junk, it was an octopuss skimmer top of the line back in 2007, well that thing did not work most of the time, and when power went out and restarted and if i wasnt home then the freaking pump would burn, went thru 3 pumps, then the acrilyc started hazing and cracking, anyways sold it back in 2010 and been skimmerless for almost 3 years now, and i could show you the tank but you would just get jelouse and say no way, so there, save your money and buy a vortech which is another overpriced piece of equipment but hey i like the way they look inside my tank

Sana

Skimmers have come along way since 2007. The skimmers nowadays are a lot more effective. Comparing an old reef octopus skimmer back in 2007 to a sro xp2000 or whatever is a big difference. I agree you can run a system without it but you must have some other method to reduce nutrients.

 

[insaneDynamix]

It actually depends ...
on whether you'd rather spend more time looking at your tank

 

[leveldrummer]

A Skimmer is an overated, overpriced, oversized piece of equipment that anybody can live without, the thing is that everyone is scared of doing it and with all the hype, everyone thats new to the hobby has got to have one, i started just like anybody here, wanted the best skimmer i could buy, but it turned out to be a piece of junk, it was an octopuss skimmer top of the line back in 2007, well that thing did not work most of the time, and when power went out and restarted and if i wasnt home then the freaking pump would burn, went thru 3 pumps, then the acrilyc started hazing and cracking, anyways sold it back in 2010 and been skimmerless for almost 3 years now, and i could show you the tank but you would just get jelouse and say no way, so there, save your money and buy a vortech which is another overpriced piece of equipment but hey i like the way they look inside my tank

Sana

Id actually love to see the tank.

and how did you burn up pumps on an octopus skimmer? were you running it externally? and was the water level below the pump?

 

[AquaTDV]

I have 2 skimmers (beckett/Needlewheel) for aeration only in my 300 gallon system. My filtration is provided by a Xenia refuge. For the past 20 years I've gone from swearing by skimmers to only using skimmers for gas exchange. I can now say I find my tank far more stable and healthier when I don't collect skimmate, but instead feed heavily and keep a healthy fuge. However with the added nutrients I run into problems with zoas and other polyps taking over everything.