I Pulled My Skimmer.

[WDLV]

I've decided to go skimmerless.
Why? Because for the last 9 months that my tank's been set up the skimmer that was on it has been severely undersized, and has only occasionally been properly maintained or adjusted and so, has never really pulled much out. What it did pull out seemed to make it back in when the collection cup would accidently overflow with SW anyway.
I have a bare bottom system and have no plans to put in a DSB or a refugium. I have an LTA in a bucket partially filled with sand sitting in my sump. With the amount of detritus this small amount of sand has collected it has reaffirmed my decision to keep sand out of this system. I don't suspect I will see any major changes in the system.

My plan is this:
Having already removed the skimmer from service I will continue to vacuum the sump out along with a 100 gallon water change once or twice a month (roughly 30%.) I will not be using a refugium. I had a ball of chaeto in there for probably 7-8 months and the only thing that ever seemed to grow on it were the bristleworms. So, it got pulled along with the skimmer.
I will be using water changes and carbon as my sole method of tank mainenance. I will be hooking up another return pump to help make up for the loss in oxygenation from removing the skimmer.
My hope and beleif is that the suspended detritus in the main display will be eaten by the corals and what makes it into the sump will remain relatively undisturbed until it is vacuumed out.

I realize that this is against conventional wisdom. Mostly in that I have no sand bed or macro algae to process or absorb nutrients.
I've been reefing for nearly a decade and I know the risks involved. I am posting because I hope that I can get input on how to make this work more efficiently.

Thanks and happy reefing.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I've been skimmerless for almost a year now. Things are fine. I do recommend having some sort of algae as a backup filtration method, but this can be done very easily if you watch your bioload and feeding.

 

[Serioussnaps]

Get some xenia and put it in your tank!!!

run a GFO

 

[geekreef_05]

Ive also been skimmerless for about a year. Its awesome. WAY less maintaince. (and I even have SPS that're doing well!)

We need a 'skimmerless forum section'. ...Id be happy to hear from other skimmerless reefers.

 

[BeanAnimal]

There is no problem going skimmerless, you just need some other means of export.

In the case of the OP, the ONLY way will be frequent substantial water changes. The nutrients need to go someplace. Without the sandbed, skimmer or refugium, the "stuff" will build up over time and the tank will crash.

I made it a little over a year without a skimmer. Everything was great, but when it went, it went fast. A few water changes helped to save some corals. However, the water changes had to be kept huge to keep the saturation level down. No DSB and ony a refugium.

It's not convention wisdom, it is simple fact. Without export the tank will turn into a cesspool.

Bean

 

[hahnmeister]

Some biologists argue that what skimmers remove is what corals (and other critters like pods) feed on... so I suppose its questionable what you are trying to export with a skimmer, or anything for that matter. IF you keep the eco system balanced, a skimmer doesnt add much. The challenge is to keep it balanced. Often times, the overly predatory nature of our tanks prevents this from being a long term possibility... our captive reefs place predators in too close a proximity for lower critters on the food chain to remain in high populations. Pods for instance, in comparison to a single fish, should be in the millions. Our reefs dont allow this. Phytoplankton feeds on the nutrients that we remove through skimming... and so that cycle gets taken out. Id say you can go skimmerless as long as you run some sort of mechanical detritus removal, and you do more water changes. Fuges have such a limited uptake of nutrients unless you use caulerpa species... which for stony corals do more harm than good.

 

[nugg91]

I am a newbie and have benn researching for over a year now and have had my tank for a little of 6 months...i too have yet to add a skimmer but have been considering it in the future. I have a 1 1/2" sand bed with 30lbs of rock in a 20G w/ a 10 G sump with a large amt of cheato and some additional liverock and sand. Everything has been good so far but i feel like i have a need for a skimmer. I only have two fish (a clown and a six line wrasse)...any opinions are greatly appreciated. is there anything i can do besides water changes that will allow me to not have a skimmer?

 

[hahnmeister]

"but i feel like i have a need for a skimmer"

Lol. What makes you feel this way? Peer pressure? Advertising? Or, is there something happening in your tank, like a parameter that is hard to control?

IMO, you should be fine w/o one unless you start adding more fish. Just keep up on the water changes, which IMO, are just easier to do on a nano, and a better idea anyways than using a skimmer and lessening the changes. Unless you start dosing all sorts of chemicals, which in a nano is kinda expensive, doing frequent water changes is the best idea still. Even better than a skimmer. Doing an average of 10% a month should keep your tank fine... maybe up to 25% if your bioload gets high... but thats only about 4 gallons every other week... and with your chaeto and lots of LR, you should be fine. Nanos often do get packed, and so one thing I have noticed is how detritus doesnt get taken care of the same as with larger tanks...the corners and cracks are tighter. This would make me suggest more attention to siphoning out detritus when you do water changes, or running some sort of box filter/mechanical filter when you stir the much up to limit the buildup of rotting organics (phosphate and nitrate sources). A box filter would also give you the opportunity to run carbon, which, much like a skimmer, helps keep the water clear and untinted which really helps everything.

Perhaps an oversized cheapy box filter that you just turn on once every week (or on a timer) would provide you with a worthy alternative. FWIW, I find fuges more effective on nanos than skimmers for many reasons, and you have that already by growing chaeto... so rock on!

On a side note, both a 6-line and tomato clown should be housed in nothing smaller than a 75g, of not a 100+g. I would swap them for more suitable species before they start maturing and kill each other. Or, perhaps this is an indication of your intentions (a larger tank in the works?).

 

[Aquabucket]

Been going skimmerless on my tanks for 5 years now. I would also recommend you keep some macro algae growing to out compete hair algae etc...

Here is a link to my latest tank thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=8219394#post8219394

Good luck!!