Skimmerless: who's doing it? pros and cons
- Thread starter rick12
- Start date
I am in the process of going skimmerless. Just started an ATS 2 weeks ago and once my nitrates are under control I will be pulling my skimmer.
Major benefit of a skimmer is that it is a proven method that works for almost anyone. There are not too may mysteries left regarding how a skimmer filtration systems should be set up.
The major benefit of going skimmerless is that you will not be pulling good things out of your water that can be food for your corals. The only catch is you must be sure that whatever methodology you are using to go skimmerless will keep your tank parameters under control. There are other benefits as well to going skimmerless that depend on the methodology you are using. I am going with an ATS in hopes I will be able to feed very heavy and support a lot of filter feeders without a lot of supplementation and target feeding.
I am really not an expert and don’t have any long term experience with either method. What I have said above is just a few basics I have been able to glean from forums such as this. I guess I will know a lot more in the coming months.
Major benefit of a skimmer is that it is a proven method that works for almost anyone. There are not too may mysteries left regarding how a skimmer filtration systems should be set up.
The major benefit of going skimmerless is that you will not be pulling good things out of your water that can be food for your corals. The only catch is you must be sure that whatever methodology you are using to go skimmerless will keep your tank parameters under control. There are other benefits as well to going skimmerless that depend on the methodology you are using. I am going with an ATS in hopes I will be able to feed very heavy and support a lot of filter feeders without a lot of supplementation and target feeding.
I am really not an expert and don’t have any long term experience with either method. What I have said above is just a few basics I have been able to glean from forums such as this. I guess I will know a lot more in the coming months.
I experimented without my skimmer for several months. The primary issue that was immediately apparent was that the pH rose too much. I use limewater, and without the skimmer to aerate and bring in adequate CO2, the pH was too high.
rick12
New member
good luck with your changeover pskelton. ATS tends to be all the rage today, and i am not too up on the results of it myself. what about others who go skimmerless without ATS.
use of filtersocks for larger debris and benificial macro algae. i would guess larger or more water changes would also assist a skimmerless system. any thoughts?
use of filtersocks for larger debris and benificial macro algae. i would guess larger or more water changes would also assist a skimmerless system. any thoughts?
rick12
New member
i dont use limewater i dose the main 3, Alk-Ca-Mg.
honestly i dont test PH
dkh 8
Ca 420
mg 1300
90g mixed reef.
currently i run a tunze doc 9011 skimmer
ColaAddict
In Memoriam
I run a skimmerless 28gal nano reef. I use chaeto, chemi-pure elite, and purigen, with a filter floss. Nitrates/phosphates/ammonia/nitrite are all 0. I also used dead rock and seeded the tank with RN bacteria.
rick12
New member
ColaAddict
In Memoriam
because everything is zero, I only do water changes every 2 weeks (5gal). I can probably go longer that that, but I like to replenish my trace elements. If I dose trace elements, I probably can go alot longer without water changes. But everybody says do more frequent water changes on nanos, so I change every 2 weeks. I like how quiet the tank is without a skimmer. I use a skimmer on my bigger tank because it's pretty well stocked with fish. My nano only has a pair of clowns/mandarin/anemone/bunch of softies/LPS.
bigkenny76
New member
I run skimmer less (3 years) and sumpless (5 months) i love the simplicity and how quiet it is , i havd a 220DS 82"x24"x24". the pros is the simplicity, the cons is you have to do your water changes and pay attention to your tank.
ColaAddict
In Memoriam
you can get cyano issues with or without a skimmer. I over skim my big tank and still algae (diatoms/cyano) sometimes. Skimmer doesn't remove phosphates.
chrissu
Member
I ran a high capacity Santa Monica 100 ATS without a skimmer, no water changes, or filter socks or GAC for about a year with great success. Nowadays I also have an automatic feeder which is based on a modified freezer and it adds thawed out food for the fish and filter feeders once every 80 minutes or so. My nitrates and phosphates were and continue to be unmeasurable with the ATS and feeder in place. When I have removed the ATS for a couple of weeks, my nitrates and phosphates would always return so the ATS is a must have with an automated feeder for my tank.
Back to your question about skimmers... For me, the skimmer is more of an optional piece of equipment but I did put it back into service more recently along side of the ATS. With no water changes, the corals were still growing great but I did notice that my calcium levels were slowly creeping up over time due to limewater additions for PH control. Randy Holmes suggested that I start doing some small water changes to address this so I figured I'd put the skimmer back in and just run it at night. I run it wet and have an 1 gal overflow so I have a nice slow water removal process in place plus the skimmer does pull out a bit of plankton and other gunk which makes the water clearer and keeps the glass cleaner longer. I don't overskim because I want the LPS, sponges and non-photosynthetics to continue to thrive (they grow like mad with an ATS and a feeder). I think running a skimmer part time is still of value and would recommend running both together to everyone.
Back to your question about skimmers... For me, the skimmer is more of an optional piece of equipment but I did put it back into service more recently along side of the ATS. With no water changes, the corals were still growing great but I did notice that my calcium levels were slowly creeping up over time due to limewater additions for PH control. Randy Holmes suggested that I start doing some small water changes to address this so I figured I'd put the skimmer back in and just run it at night. I run it wet and have an 1 gal overflow so I have a nice slow water removal process in place plus the skimmer does pull out a bit of plankton and other gunk which makes the water clearer and keeps the glass cleaner longer. I don't overskim because I want the LPS, sponges and non-photosynthetics to continue to thrive (they grow like mad with an ATS and a feeder). I think running a skimmer part time is still of value and would recommend running both together to everyone.
huckphinn894
New member
No skimmer and no machanical filtrations except a sponge over my power heads so as not to kill my anemone. 40gal dt 29gal fuge deep sand bed of 5" in fuge full of macro's and as a way of trapping any food in my fuge for pods to eat I buried my return pump inside 15lbs of rubble. this keeps all of the detritus in the fuge and out of my display tank. I also used rock pool crude instead of sand for my deep sand bed to replenish trace elements. I have never done a water change with this tank and running 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 20 nitrate .5 phos 440 cal 8.2pH. it has been steady like this for 8 months now.
BrokeColoReefer
Hermit
funny, i used to be a skimmer snob. My skimmer has been running at about 10% efficiency at best for the last 6 months. Im not cleaning it for two reason, one, i don't see the need now, and two, im lazy. I can tell zero difference in my water quality, my SPS dominate tank seems as good, if not better, then my overskiming past. I am setting up a 240 with a 1000+ gallon total system volume. I am thinking that my new 120 gallon fuge will take care of my nutrient export needs. After 15 years in this hobby, this is the very first time i can say that i don't need a skimmer.
It also might help that i am running 1000lbs of liverock in a basement sump and a 75 gallon fuge full of cheato, with a remote 8" deep sandbed with 2000 square inches of surface area..
It also might help that i am running 1000lbs of liverock in a basement sump and a 75 gallon fuge full of cheato, with a remote 8" deep sandbed with 2000 square inches of surface area..
BrokeColoReefer
Hermit
same here randy, ph upwards of 8.4 with the skimmer turned off. 8.1 with it turned on, so i just made sure that the skimmer was really not skimming but still aerating. Yes, i know, i have a $500 air stone :bounce2:
more importantly, im setting up my dream install right now, and i know i don't have to budget 1k+ for a skimmer
BrokeColoReefer
Hermit
dbl post
spamreefnew
New member
my skimmer has been in storage for about 2 full years now.
pros: more food for corals,no more noise,no more cleaning&adjusting,more life in sump&main display
cons: takes longer to restore water clarity/quality after feeding or mistakes.
pros: more food for corals,no more noise,no more cleaning&adjusting,more life in sump&main display
cons: takes longer to restore water clarity/quality after feeding or mistakes.
BrokeColoReefer
Hermit
carbon and ozone can take care of clarity pretty fast. I have had some pretty big mistakes, i think the age of the tank has a lot to do with how much it will absorb these mistakes.
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