Do I really need a protein skimmer?

Pito

New member
I have a 120G tank, running about a 30g sump with Fuji mud just removed the 2 micron socks from it. I put some of that filament with a blue side on it over the the pump. My waters gets nice and clear from time to time but then gets a whitish color to it. I noticed my clarky clown (Female) moving sand around with her tail. Could this be the reason for Whitish water?? or do I need a skimmer and if so, which one would be the bang for the buck??

:spin2:
 
The whitish color to your water is probably as you suspect, the clown throwing sand around. A protein skimmer probably won't help too much with that, although I have noticed whenever I turn my skimmer off for a day or two the water doesn't seem as clear. That all being said, I still think you need a protein skimmer. It's a necessity for any reef tank IMO and nice to have even w/a FO tank. It pulls a lot of waste out, aerates your water and w/o one I think you might be limited as to the number of fish you can have. Trust me, the first time you dump that cup out and smell what it pulled out of your tank, you'll never go w/o one again!
 
We can talk all day about going skimmerless. But the way I see it running without one is an advanced kind of thing.
 
For that much water volume definitely look into a skimmer. Check out the Reef Octopus skimmers. Probably the best for the price!
 
Imo The skimmer is one of the most important tools for filtration in a SW tank. Your livestock will love you.
 
Imo The skimmer is one of the most important tools for filtration in a SW tank. Your livestock will love you.

+1

Why wouldn't you want a peice of equipment that will make your tank so much healthier? I never heard anybody post on here or anywhere else for that matter that a skimmer hurt their tank. No brainer to me. Get a skimmer...
 
hope i dont get jumped on for saying this but...

I am running my tank skimmerless. All fish are alive and healthy and my clam, monti caps, softies are growing. My candy canes grow like crazy and I have to keep fragging it every couple months.

But if you have the cash to get one, I would. I down graded from a larger tank to a 40 gallon breeder. I HAD a reef octopus on the larger tank and went to an older cheap skimmer on the 40 gallon in an effort to get some cash. The cheap skimmer seemed to never work properly and then the pump went and here we are a year later skimmerless.
Honestly, if you cant afford a good skimmer then dont get one. Do water changes and hopefully down the road you can get a good one, otherwise you just waste cash on garbage skimmers that are doing a whole lot of nothing.
 
hope i dont get jumped on for saying this but...

I am running my tank skimmerless. All fish are alive and healthy and my clam, monti caps, softies are growing. My candy canes grow like crazy and I have to keep fragging it every couple months.

But if you have the cash to get one, I would. I down graded from a larger tank to a 40 gallon breeder. I HAD a reef octopus on the larger tank and went to an older cheap skimmer on the 40 gallon in an effort to get some cash. The cheap skimmer seemed to never work properly and then the pump went and here we are a year later skimmerless.
Honestly, if you cant afford a good skimmer then dont get one. Do water changes and hopefully down the road you can get a good one, otherwise you just waste cash on garbage skimmers that are doing a whole lot of nothing.
I'm running my tank skimmerless right now, too and I hate it :lmao: And I only have 1 teeny tiny fish in a 100g tank. My skimmer needs a repair I can't do myself.
 
I'm running my tank skimmerless right now, too and I hate it :lmao: And I only have 1 teeny tiny fish in a 100g tank. My skimmer needs a repair I can't do myself.

I feel your pain. When gas prices go down you can bet Ill be getting one pretty soon but I dont see that happening. :headwally:
 
I feel your pain. When gas prices go down you can bet Ill be getting one pretty soon but I dont see that happening. :headwally:
Back at you. I really want to ship the thing off to it's maker who is only charging $50 for the fix, but the shipping is about $145.
 
Skimmers are by no means a necessity on a moderately stocked tank. This can easily be proven by the plethora of many year old tanks that run just fine without a skimmer. The heavier stocked a system is, the more likely you will need a skimmer to keep up with the load.

As for the whiteness of your water... you mentioned your tank was 120g. I have a hard time imagining a single clown is causing your water to look cloudy.
 
Skimmers are by no means a necessity on a moderately stocked tank. This can easily be proven by the plethora of many year old tanks that run just fine without a skimmer. The heavier stocked a system is, the more likely you will need a skimmer to keep up with the load.

As for the whiteness of your water... you mentioned your tank was 120g. I have a hard time imagining a single clown is causing your water to look cloudy.

Oh man, those clown fish can stir the crap outta that sand Mine does, but the white cloud does not last that long.
 
+1 on Reef Octo. Best investment I have ever made. The more nutrient exporting methods...always the better. No one can argue that. You can always replenish whatever beneficial nutrients that get skimmed.
 
Sorry i didnt read all threads. In the beginning i would say yes and if you have alot of fish then i would say yes.

I dont use one now but i did. A little waste is good for coral so if you have alot of coral then removing all the waste id not good.

My tank is mature and i only have 4 fish , i stopped useing skimmer a year ago and tested ammonia yesterday ( the last test ) i have no ammonia.

Depends on your situation...
 
To answer your question; No, it's not mandatory.

It does however make your reefing-life a lot easier. Not running a skimmer will have you making a lot of big water changes since that will be the only way to remove a lot of bad stuff from your water.

If money is the only thing holding you back from buying a skimmer I urge you to reconsider since buying a good skimmer will save you a lot of money in the long run.
 
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