I want to set up a frag tank. Is a skimmer necessary?

[CIMulation]

I'm looking to set up a 20 gallon frag tank with a 250w MH lighting. Is a skimmer necessary when there isn't going to be any fish in the tank?

 

[TekCat]

good question, I am tagging along

 

[Fast Fred]

I don't know the answer to your question, but just a thought...would it be possible or practicle to connect the frag tank to the main system and let them share the same water?

 

[sunfish11]

Bear in mind that coral can produce slime and a bunch of other toxic stuff. Skimmers help reduce the effectiveness of the chemical warfare between different kinds of corals. Fish aren't the only ones who produce waste...Coral are constantly fighting for realstate. You may be able to get away with 20% water changes weekly, but I would probably get a small skimmer to help with the goo.

 

[CIMulation]

So you are saying they produce waste through chemical warfare when they fight for space, but what happens if the frag tank is not that dense and the corals do not have to fight for space. Is it that critical to have a skimmer when all is good and wouldn't 25% water change weekly suffice? Thanks for the comments so far!

 

[sunfish11]

I think you could definitely give it a try with regular water changes. Part of it depend on what frags you are trying to mix in the tank. I had a skimmerless system for quite some time with all softies and a few LPS that did ok for quite awhile, but I didn't see a lot of growth till I moved them to my 210 display with 3X250 halides plus a couple hundred watts of actnics, and a MRC2 skimmer. That may have been due to some lower wattage lighting in the skimmerless tank though. Some leathers and SPS are not friendly to one another. You will find other frags like zenia, fox, shrooms, or gonipora that thrive in a skimmerless system. Bubbles also seem to do quite well but they like to eat fish food. Other will argue that a skimmer may remove good stuff as well and I can definitely see that point. I think a lot will depend on what you want to grow. Will you have to target feed with meaty foods? What do you want to grow?

Lisa

 

[CIMulation]

The main corals that I plan on growing are zoos and sps.

 

[sunfish11]

With just zoo's I would say go for it with a skimmerless system but I am iffy with the SPS. They need really good water quality. I would put a few good chunks of live rock in to provide them with pods and larvea. See how it goes...it may work out great.

 

[MiddletonMark]

With SPS, I would use a skimmer. Given they're more picky about water quality, ultra-low nutrient levels [for growth/color] ... IMO it might be possible, but IMO not idea.

I don't skim my 60g prop tank in the basement - grow mainly softies and LPS. IMO, key to a skimmerless prop tank would be very regular w/c ... and part of my luck I would also attribute to having the coral tank fishless.

 

[AdidaKev]

I agree with all the advice here. SPS definitely should have a skimmer, whereas if you were only going to do softies, you could easily go skimmerless. Have you thought about setting up two separate systems, one for softies and LPS and one for SPS?

 

[CIMulation]

My life would come to an end if I set up that many tanks.