So many novices ask, hoping not---do I need a skimmer?
First thing to know is---what's an amino acid? Why are amino acids sometimes given as a 'dose'? Do I want them?
Amino acids come from protein breakdown: ie, when fishfood, fish, or fish poo, or any meaty substance breaks down---amino acids are what it breaks down into, putting it in a basic way. And amino acids themselves can be a nutrient---but they can also break down into nitrate and phosphate.
SO---too much is not a good thing. How not-good it is depends on what you're trying to keep, because some things don't like---seriously don't like---too much.
You'll note the ocean froths a lot on beaches. This is a natural 'skimming' action. Now, a swimming pool skimmer literally just sucks the surface of the water, collecting leaves, etc. That's NOT what a marine tank skimmer does: a marine tank skimmer takes advantage of a tendency amino acid has in salt water: it froths. It makes foam and bubbles. Lighter than water: it floats, so---froth as much as you can, and it will rise into a cup where it degenerates into a fluid brown or green-black that, if concentrated, smells pretty bad. This is now NOT in your tank. It can be taken to the sink and sent down the drain---and in a really active skimming, it can need that every day or so. This is crud that is not breaking down further in your tank.
What would it break down into if it were left in the tank? Two answers are: phosphates and nitrates. An excess of phosphate leads to algae growth and an excess of nitrate leads to blooms of nasty things and very unhappy, even dead, corals. I can't think that fish are that thrilled with it, either.
Now, you CAN overdo skimming: you can stripmine the water of every trace of nitrate and phosphate, and you do need a smidge, but by 'smidge', I mean the faintest trace of pink on the nitrate test, not flaming fuschia; and ditto, very low phosphate: a tad more if you have blennies and herbivores.
WHich skimmers work best? The ones with the most foam, pretty well. I recommend you take to You Tube with some brand and model names and look at them in action before you settle. The videos are out there.
You're going to spend serious money for a better skimmer. Again, you can do TOO much. Some corals, such as softies, and to a certain extent lps, do not mind rich water. So there is a reason for 'middling effective' skimmers. But this is a point at which you do need to sit in front of your tank and ask yourself what you want to do with it, whether you want to do it with THIS tank, or a future tank, and do some research. In terms of allocation of money, once you get past 30 gallons and into the middle sized tanks, this is where it will start to matter more. When you get into reefs, understand that your corals have requirements, and you can't just pop into the store and buy what's new this week: you need to know the coral type, and you need to consider your nitrate levels. THis is where it's useful to come to RC and ask 'my nitrates are 20. Am I good for [coral name]?"
If your ambitions are running toward corals that like it in the zero-5s', time to take a look at the skimmer and the bioload and flow, etc, if you're not there yet.
First thing to know is---what's an amino acid? Why are amino acids sometimes given as a 'dose'? Do I want them?
Amino acids come from protein breakdown: ie, when fishfood, fish, or fish poo, or any meaty substance breaks down---amino acids are what it breaks down into, putting it in a basic way. And amino acids themselves can be a nutrient---but they can also break down into nitrate and phosphate.
SO---too much is not a good thing. How not-good it is depends on what you're trying to keep, because some things don't like---seriously don't like---too much.
You'll note the ocean froths a lot on beaches. This is a natural 'skimming' action. Now, a swimming pool skimmer literally just sucks the surface of the water, collecting leaves, etc. That's NOT what a marine tank skimmer does: a marine tank skimmer takes advantage of a tendency amino acid has in salt water: it froths. It makes foam and bubbles. Lighter than water: it floats, so---froth as much as you can, and it will rise into a cup where it degenerates into a fluid brown or green-black that, if concentrated, smells pretty bad. This is now NOT in your tank. It can be taken to the sink and sent down the drain---and in a really active skimming, it can need that every day or so. This is crud that is not breaking down further in your tank.
What would it break down into if it were left in the tank? Two answers are: phosphates and nitrates. An excess of phosphate leads to algae growth and an excess of nitrate leads to blooms of nasty things and very unhappy, even dead, corals. I can't think that fish are that thrilled with it, either.
Now, you CAN overdo skimming: you can stripmine the water of every trace of nitrate and phosphate, and you do need a smidge, but by 'smidge', I mean the faintest trace of pink on the nitrate test, not flaming fuschia; and ditto, very low phosphate: a tad more if you have blennies and herbivores.
WHich skimmers work best? The ones with the most foam, pretty well. I recommend you take to You Tube with some brand and model names and look at them in action before you settle. The videos are out there.
You're going to spend serious money for a better skimmer. Again, you can do TOO much. Some corals, such as softies, and to a certain extent lps, do not mind rich water. So there is a reason for 'middling effective' skimmers. But this is a point at which you do need to sit in front of your tank and ask yourself what you want to do with it, whether you want to do it with THIS tank, or a future tank, and do some research. In terms of allocation of money, once you get past 30 gallons and into the middle sized tanks, this is where it will start to matter more. When you get into reefs, understand that your corals have requirements, and you can't just pop into the store and buy what's new this week: you need to know the coral type, and you need to consider your nitrate levels. THis is where it's useful to come to RC and ask 'my nitrates are 20. Am I good for [coral name]?"
If your ambitions are running toward corals that like it in the zero-5s', time to take a look at the skimmer and the bioload and flow, etc, if you're not there yet.
