do i need a protein skimmer in a FOWLR?

[finchflex]

Been getting some good feedback from everybody, i think im gonna make my two tanks independent from each other, could i get away with out having a skimmer on the fish only for awhile or would it kill everything right away, wanna put the skimmer i have now on the reef tank. Any advice would help

[cameron91806]

for a lil bit just keep up on your water changes and make sure everything is ok

[TheBends]

Without knowing tank sizes / stocking it is hard to say. My vote would be do larger / more frequent water changes and you should be just fine.

[neoalchemist74]

With your stocking level you will want to make sure you keep your water well oxygenated.If you have a HOB you can put an air stone in it b-4 the filter pad to help until you get a skimmer. I wouldn't wait long though.

[agreeive?fish]

my 200g fowlr and my 210g fowlr tanks have been running 5-6 years without a skimmer on them... i have messy fish in them as well such as triggers, puffers, tangs, large angels,wasses(non reef safe)... the key is lots of good water changes and make sure you have your water well oxygentated by some method or the other,my method is the water free falls over the overflow to the overflow hole (no dorso pipe), then it free falls into the sump i also have a powerhead in the sump pointed to the surface,my returns are pointed where they break up the surface like mini waves and i also have power head breaking the surface in the DT... my method may not work for you if you dont like the water fall sound but i like the waterfall sound(s)

[Tuscaquatics]

If you have the money, I would get a skimmer. It will make your life a lot easier. You can do extra water changes, and things should be OK. But the cost of the water changes will add up and it won't be long until you've spent the 150 bucks you could have spent on a skimmer.

My 55 FOWLR has a Seaclone on it. They're not the best; they're maybe even the worst. But I have it souped up a bit and it pulls decent skimmate. Between that, the wet/dry that's on it and the chaeto I grow in the wet/dry, I have no nuisance algae. And I haven't done a water change on it in literally more than 6 months.

[finchflex]

When you say more water changes how often are you talking about, i think my system now is very oxgenated with out the skimmer. I was gone put a air pump with some air stones in it for more air. Also would seperating the two tanks, would it bed harm the reef tank since its losing that much more water?

[Frick-n-Frags]

water circulation provides the best oxygenation. so good circulation is all you need regarding the O2 issues. look into creating a gyre (whole tank circulation pattern)

protein scum and nitrates etc dont really bother fish that much, but the water will get , for lack of better words, "viscous" and yellowish and just plain funky..unless you do waterchanges, as mentioned above. plus siphoning as you do waterchanges to remove crud helps a bunch.

[artemus]

+1 skimmer.