protein skimmer

nervous nelly

nervous nelly

New member
People are telling me that i need a protein skimmer ... What exactly does this do and why whould i need it now if i been running my tank for about 3 yrs...am i just going to waste money or is it worth the investment...i have a 35 hex tank with a bio wheel filter ...coralife lunar aqualight deluxe lunar series total of 130 w
 
you do not NEED a skimmer. However, if you get a DECENT skimmer, the money will never be wasted!

I suggest ditching at the VERY least, the bio-wheel from that filter. It is a nitrate factory, and really won't help too much in the SW tank field.
 
If your happy with your tank dont change anything.

If you want to know what is normally recommended as best for a tank thats something different.
 
so should i replace the bio wheel filter with the skimmer... i would like to do everything right ive had this tank for 3 yrs and never paid any mind to it... i really want to do the right thing..
 
If you are not having any problems with your system as it is then I don't think you should change anything. A skimmer would potentially be more efficient then what you have now but if there isn't anything wrong then why try and "fix it"?
 
Agreed with ARTEMUS. HOWEVER, If your asking for advice because something is amiss..ie.. constant hair algea.. parameters off... OR your looking to start keeping corals or something more delicate then I woud post a full tank shot, water parameters, all current equip ect and we can help make a few recomendations. But like everyone has said.. If its worked for you and your happy with it .. Don't change it.
 
I believe a good protein skimmer is one of the most important pieces of equipment you can have. Anyone who says it's not needed should drink from the skimmate collection cup and tell me what you think. The skimmer will removed dissolved organics which adversely affect water quality, nitrates, etc.
 
abulgin No offense mate but it really depends on what you plan to do with the tank. I've had fish only tanks with live rock running skimmerless for years and never had a issue.

And even with reef tanks I have seen many really nice nano's skimmerless and they rely on water changes.

Now personally I wouldnt run a reef tank with out one, but if he is fish only and everything is running good for 3 years why change something that isnt broke.
 
personally i think skimmers are great bits of kit and run one myself, but theres a balance in a good tank, where everything runs smoothly and its hard to get that balance, if your lucky enough to find the balance it would be madness to change it imo.
 
No offense taken. First, though, I didn't say "you must have a skimmer or your tank will fail.". I simply stated my belief that a skimmer is one of the most important pieces of equipment you can use, and I challenged the nay sayers to drink a cup of the skimmate from my EV-180. Second, in response to everyone saying "why fix something that ain't broke", I say, "to make it better.". You can put a skimmer on any tank - even one that "ain't broke" - and you will get dark, smelly skimmate. The proof is in the pudding.
 
I agree with abulgin, next to LR a protein skimmer IMO is 1 of the most important pieces of equipment you can invest in, for a reef tank I would consider it a necessity, I'm not sure I would go with a "if it ain't broke don'ty fix it" philosophy in this hobby but that's just me........what is in your tank in terms of livestock? What is your regular H20 change regimen? Are your H20 parameters stable? A protein skimmer removes excess proteins & organics in your water column by exposing the water to a chamber that is flooded with air bubbles, the excess proteins and organics stick to these air bubbles creating a foam that is collected in a cup on top of the skimmer......IMO if your going to get a protein skimmer do some research, don't just buy any old one because there is def. a lot of crap out there, I'm assuming you don't have a sump so I personally would look into the octopus line of HOB skimmers, I have 1 on my FOWLR tank & I love it......I've also heard good things about remora skimmers as well, a bit more pricey than the octos though & like I said I love my octo, best $100 I've spent equipment wise.......HTH.......
 
Also consider the AquaC Remora, which is a nice hang-on-back skimmer.

If you talk to the "lifers" in this hobby, I think you'll find that most of them consider a good protein skimmer a necessity for any reef tank. I agree with Steve that you should research and spend the money to buy a good skimmer. There are a lot of really crappy skimmers on the market (e.g., Coralife Super Skimmer), and this one piece of equipment where you can actually gauge its quality/effectiveness by its price.
 
I would agree skimmers are nice and it looks cool when you empty the cup and there is some nasty coming out of it. but with proper care of your system not necessary.
This conclusion and only my opinion comes after visiting foster and smith's where many reef and salt water tanks have been stocked nation wide if not world wide and not one of there tanks uses a skimmer not even there dt tanks.
I'm sure this disapoints many who have purchased the show piece of their tank from them, but yes you can reef with out a skimmer.
you can get one and it will make care of your tank / I dont want to say easier but it something that is easy to use and can help a tank . but don't feel you have to have one cuz the Jones do.
As far as most import thing for a reef goes I would rather spend my money on a well designed refugium and find a usded skimmer on craigs list
 
hartnell said:
I would agree skimmers are nice and it looks cool when you empty the cup and there is some nasty coming out of it. but with proper care of your system not necessary.
This conclusion and only my opinion comes after visiting foster and smith's where many reef and salt water tanks have been stocked nation wide if not world wide and not one of there tanks uses a skimmer not even there dt tanks.
I'm sure this disapoints many who have purchased the show piece of their tank from them, but yes you can reef with out a skimmer.
you can get one and it will make care of your tank / I dont want to say easier but it something that is easy to use and can help a tank . but don't feel you have to have one cuz the Jones do.
As far as most import thing for a reef goes I would rather spend my money on a well designed refugium and find a usded skimmer on craigs list
Click to expand...

:confused:

I made a 30 gallon refugium for $40. Expensive refugiums that you find at the various re/e-tailers are a ripoff and waste of money that is better spent on other things, such as a good skimmer. I don't think you should gage how well your tank will do without a skimmer by looking at Drs. Foster & Smith. First, although I doubt they don't employ skimmers, I am positive they use massive and very effective filtration systems. Second, fish are moved in and out of those tanks so quickly. Third, you have no idea how frequently they do water changes, what supplements they add to the tank, etc. No offense, but your statements tell me you don't understand what skimmers do.
 
Ok, let's not get too off topic arguing specifically with eachother, not really providing any answers for the original poster.

About the BEST answer that can be given is:

Do you need it.....NO. Will it help your tank, 99.999999999999% of the time.... YES.


On to opinions: I would get one. Knowing my tank, and my set-up, seeing what comes out of my tank via the skimmer, that otherwise would not(still do frequent water-changes), I designate it as a necessary part of equipment.....FOR ME.



The above answer does not apply if you go cheap. There are most-certainly cheap skimmers that do nothing more than act as an air-stone oxygenating the water. There are also intircate ones that are the cream of the crop(deltec is an example because I am ONLY talking hang-on skimmers), that if you can afford it, great. There are also HOB Skimmers that are middle of the road price-wise(examples might be ReefOctopus and Eshopps) that do a very good job, without the elevated cost of the BEST.
 
spw4949 said:
I agree with abulgin, next to LR a protein skimmer IMO is 1 of the most important pieces of equipment you can invest in, for a reef tank I would consider it a necessity, I'm not sure I would go with a "if it ain't broke don'ty fix it" philosophy in this hobby but that's just me........what is in your tank in terms of livestock? What is your regular H20 change regimen? Are your H20 parameters stable? A protein skimmer removes excess proteins & organics in your water column by exposing the water to a chamber that is flooded with air bubbles, the excess proteins and organics stick to these air bubbles creating a foam that is collected in a cup on top of the skimmer......IMO if your going to get a protein skimmer do some research, don't just buy any old one because there is def. a lot of crap out there, I'm assuming you don't have a sump so I personally would look into the octopus line of HOB skimmers, I have 1 on my FOWLR tank & I love it......I've also heard good things about remora skimmers as well, a bit more pricey than the octos though & like I said I love my octo, best $100 I've spent equipment wise.......HTH.......
Click to expand...

i respect your valued opinion steve, very much so, actually i think skimmers are "almost" essential in marine aquaria, but 1 thing i learned a long time ago with aquaria is stability and balance are very very important, sometimes in my opinion we can over do things, the op has had the tank running 3 years and its doing great, hence my view about leaving things be.

mike
 
I too built my refugium for about $30.......Never did I say that you NEED a protein skimmer in order to have a successful reef, if you want to do water changes every 3rd day or so(which IMO you would have to in order to replicate what a skimmer would do) then by all means go ahead but you'll spend more in salt in a few months you could have bought a skimmer.......protein skimmers are utilized in this hobby for a reason....as far as Foster & Smith goes, read the info on their website:http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=377

It says in multiple places that they employ a "VERY LARGE" protein skimmer on their 2000 gallon fish only system & each coral tank has it's very own dedicated protein skimmer.......go figure........
 
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