I usually prefer the expert forums like Dr. Ron and Eric Borneman - their advice is so much more reliable than the highly anecdotal recommendations found elsewhere - but someone told me this was a good discussion, although frankly I'm surprised it's still going on. A few observations to no one in particular:
Why do you want to go skimmerless? If you've already spent the money on a skimmer you won't be saving any by not running it (other than electricity). Is it because you're dissatisfied with your tank as it is currently? If so, what do you hope to accomplish by going skimmerless? Unless you know what you want you'll have a hard time achieving it.
I get really tired of all the skimmer snobs unequivocally proclaiming something can't be done. They brag about how big their skimmer is (you'd think they're trying to compensate for some other... um, shortcoming) or how much "crap it pulls out," and say it's "necessary" if you hope to have a tank as wonderful as theirs or grow "SPS" corals or be cool or whatever.
Let me say this: skimmerless is NOT more work; it is NOT more water changes; it is NOT only for experienced reef-keepers to attempt. What IS necessary is some patience and a decent understanding of the science of what's going on in our tanks. You've got to deal with nutrients somehow - how are you going to do it? Live sand and live rock? A refugium? Macroalgae and other harvestables? Water changes? Carbon? What are you going to do about algae when it grows, and what if your snails won't eat it? How will you ensure O2 remains adequate?
When I wanted to start a reef tank I was told it would be a minimum of $2,000 just to get started. Well, I'm cheap, especially when it comes to spending on a "hobby." So I kept reading everything I could find and as my knowledge and understanding increased, I began to see comments that skimmers weren't absolutely necessary - and usually those people were flamed immediately for such heresy. But then I read a great article by
Eric Borneman, and I realized that maybe this skimmerless talk isn't so much nonsense. Plus, the tank he described sounded a lot like what I wanted to do - lot's of interesting life, not just another "coral garden." Then I found other threads where he discussed how to go skimmerless (
2004 thread,
2001 thread). I read other articles, like
Dr. Ron's article on sandbeds and
refugiums and Borneman's
"Mything the Point" (specifically #15) and I started to understand how it might work. It hasn't been perfect, and I've had to learn quite a few things in the last 2 years, but it's been a lot of fun and very interesting, and that's what I wanted. When I get tired of learning from my tank it'll be time to find a new hobby.
But don't just take my word for it - READ the articles and then THINK for yourself. And then if you still want to try skimmerless you'll have a better understanding of ways to deal with the nutrients.
I think it's much more rewarding.
John
