For the most part, and I am generally speaking, I believe that either one, or the other is best.
By that I mean, run a big skimmer 24-7, and have a fuge to mop up whatever is left over - or do away with the skimemr altogether and just run with macro.
The former is pretty much the "safe" bet and it is what most everyone does. No need to go on about it.... its well covered.
The latter, on the other hand, is an idea all too often shot down by nay sayers, who, with the greatest of resepct, do not really knw enough about it to comment in an educated way other than a few guys they know said it was a bad idea, so they just do along with it...... this statement does not apply to everyone, of course.
Why do I think "one or the other", well in principle the concepts directly oppose each other. Skimmers strip mine the water column indiscriminantly - taking out the good with the bad..... skimmerless tanks have alot more micro fauna (critters etc.). If you are trying to deal with nutrients then these little critters form an important part of the "machine". Not only that, but skimmers remove some of the other trace elements that macro needs to grow. The key to a macro based system is strong algae growth, obvisouly - the more it grows, the more you harvest, the more is removed.
So - by skimming, you are directly impacting both the natural fauna in the water coloumn that would break down waste into a form that macro can use, and you are depriving the macro of trace elements it needs to grow.
Am I advocating that everyone should ditch their skimmers and let their fuge take over - absolutely not! What I am saying is decide - either your tank is a "natural" type system or a skimmer skimmer system - then commit to either method compeltely, and you will have a good stable system.
Which is best - there are distinct pro's and con's to both in my view. The main advantage to a skimmer system is its ability to rapidly adapt - for example if you have lionfish and feed heavily twice a week, then a skimmer can deal with the surge in waste more quickly. Macro based systems however can be more stable, less maintenance, more efficient at mopping up nitrate and phosphate, providing "softer" environments for more delicate species, and are much QUIETER! Both camps will argue that the others has more "risk" - the skimmer camp will argue if the macro crashes, the world will end...... the macro camp argue that if a specialist impeller or pump part breaks you could be weeks without a skimmer...... both arguements have their relative merits and mitigations....... in my view they are about the same, and for a lightly stocked tank - are probably better.
HTH
MAtt
) and even though there are only a few inverts and rock and sand, I still pick up skim mate all the time. It's not ridiculous, I change it once a week or so, but I have virtually no bioload and my water parameters are completely perfect (nothing really to foul it up) I said all that to say, there may be some tweaking needed on the skimmer if it's not picking up much. I would say also, that if you leave it running, no harm done, it picks up what it can. But if you take it out, than you don't know really what it's not picking up.
