no skimmer but less algae growth?

[peace and reefs]

the powerhead on my skimmer died on me and I have been without a skimmer for a couple of weeks now. The wierd thing is is that I have noticed that I have much less algae growing on the bottom of the sand bed and less on the live rock also, I thought that without a skimmer that I would have an algae bloom, but just the oposite. Does anyone have any idea why this would be, I am not sure what kind of skimmer it is but it is a hang on the back but not a bac pac.

 

[hwyman]

well we are skimmerless for a couple years now.

 

[BlueCoast]

what kind of skimmer are you running? there are more than a few on the market that are more useful as an aerator than as a skimmer. If you were collecting a good amount of skimmate i would be a bit confused as well. Sounds like your skimmer was not pulling much out of the water column, possibly redistributing back into the system what it could not push into the collection cup.

Changes tend to upset the balance even when done for the better. Quite possible that in the few weeks without a skimmer other copepods, mysids and others have adjusted their population to the new nutrient level available in the tank.

 

[EdKruzel]

Often a skimmer will remove items that fauna can use as food; a properly running sand bed can greatly improve a system.

 

[6stang9]

i agree with edkruzel, a dsb is a great thing. i got rid of my skimmer 2 months ago and my tank seems much healthier. i believe you only need a skimmer with a huge bioload. just my opinion. any thoughts?

 

[syntax357]

Not to butt in but I have a small bio load in my 55. 4 fish 1 shrimp 2 anenomes and 1 colt coral. Now I am not asking for who is right or who is wrong but would this be considered a small load? It just seems that my skimmer never really seems to run very well. Perhaps I should try not running it at all. Any one else think this might work?

 

[Jakaru]

I hade at least a small bioload and thought "hey" what do I need a skimmer for? I had two fish and some zoa's. Well I bought one any way for the future and after it broke in it started to pull some nasty sludge out of the tank... Not like some but still alot and I can't imagine what would have happened over time if I had not bought a skimmer to pull it out.

Not that you need a skimmer but you need a proper set up without one. I'd suggest dsb with a sump/refugium if you plan on going without. Not to mention pods and enough filter feeders. for those like me without these things a skimmer really helps keep a balance.

 

[syntax357]

I have about 60 lbs of rock in my tank and about 5 in my fuge along with a 4 inch dsb in my fuge and about 3 in my tank. The funny thing is the skimmer only pulls out stuff overnight and it usally isnt that much. I am begining to think that this may be my problem and I might try this no skimmer thing for a few weeks. Oh yeah my tank has been up since July 3 of this year and I did change out the substrae about a month ago to sand

 

[EdKruzel]

The largest benefit to a skimmer is the elevated amount of dissolved oxygen that it adds to the system; as far as the skimmate pulled from the system, that green gunk is more than 80% dead bacteria.

Bacteria which is the key to any successful system has to be strong and plentiful, however as most strains of any simple cell, the life span is very short (hours to a few days) and keeps rapidly reproducing.
In a Juebert style tank, a skimmer or frequent water changes is a must, however in a tank with an active sand bed and oodles of fauna and micro fauna living amongst the grains, that excess bacteria pulled from the system is a vital food source.

In a past conversation with Dana Riddle (an extreme expert hobbyists) he mentioned putting together a 500gal Dendronepthya tank fed with the waste of the other skimmers in his facility.

Eric Borneman has been running his 1000 gal box of corals quite successfully for some time now without a skimmer.

To skim or not to skim... well it's not Shakespeare, but it is dependant upon what kind of tank you wish to keep.

 

[syntax357]

My tank isnt anything like hard corals or anything like that. I really cant afford that lol I just want something that I can enjoy and still not lose my mind and paycheck lol. I have a top fathom skimmer that I only paid 30 for and I am suer that if I had the right pump it woud work fine but if my tank will be better without it then I will have to remove it

 

[BlueCoast]

Ed, thanks for the great insight into different ideas and setups. I just got back from our monthly meeting and the host had around 3000 gal's in his garage. he AC's quite a variety from zoa's to acro's, he runs a DSB with his fuge overgrown with xenia.

It ceases to amaze me at the number of choices available for designing your tank. It seems all too often we get caught up in technology and salesmen when the real secret is understanding the micro-processes occuring in the tank and adjusting our routine accordingly.

 

[6stang9]

hey syntax357, i would put 3" more sand if you want a deep sand bed. 3" is a shallow sand bed (doesnt work). save the money from the skimmer and spend $4. at home depot for a bag of kolorscape white sand (passes vinegar test) dont rinse it and go 6"dsb in your tank.

 

[syntax357]

Yeah that sounds like a great idea my skimmer is a major pita and I just shut it off tonight. I am hoping that this will make things grow better. I am just fed up with messin around with a skimmer that I feel dosent benifit my tank

 

[6stang9]

get a 6" pvc drain pipe. cut to 3 feet, stand it up in you aquarium, dump the sand in it, then spread it slowly with the pipe. makes less cloudyness. make sure you research a dsb so you know what they are all about. good luck

 

[hwyman]

WOW, how has RC changed! Just a short while ago if this thread had happened, boy would anyone who posted for this guy to go skimmerless gotten flamed. Good to see that this community is willing to move forward or backward but has finally opened its mind some.

Our tank has benefited alot by getting rid of the skimmer. The gonipora which was dieing off when the skimmer was going is growing like a weed and reproduceing, all of our soft corals are growing rapidly, only got pc lights so any sps have a hard time. Have not had any real bad algae outbreaks, a little cyno from time to time but never serious, and of course bubble algae, but if harvested monthly its kept under control and can be used to remove nutreints just like chaeto, also our fuge has to be emptyed monthly. all levels have been 0 for years now. Also we havent done a water change in well over a year. we supplement minerals. All in all we believe our tank is alot healther since we removed the skimmer.