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02/17/2010, 09:00 AM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 30
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How do I know when to install a skimmer?
Hi Everyone! I'm new here and following the skimmer threads with great interest!
My setup is a 37 gallon tall tank, 96 watt Coralife pc, 17 watt actinic, 20 watts Rio lunar led's, three Koralia power heads at 1400 gph, 60 lbs live sand, 45 lbs live rock, one cocco worm, three ricordia, three mushrooms, one glove xenia, two torch coral, one goby, one damsel, two peppermint shrimp, fifteen astrea snails, six margarita snails, three red leg crabs, three blue leg crabs and one mantis that I haven't caught yet! I test for ammonia - 0, nitrite - 0, nitrate - 0.02, ph - 8.1, alkalinity - 4, phosphate - 0.25, salinity - 35, specific gravity - 1.026, temperature - 78. Water quality readings conducted prior to weekly 10% water change and have been steady for past 6 weeks, tank is 12 weeks old. Water change is via uv sterilized water supply using Instant Oceans Reef Crystals and aged 24 hours with power head and heater. Installed one week ago; 6 gallon refuge (actual water volume in a 10 gallon tank, and hoping to use macro algae to reduce the free nitrate to zero) with a RIO 2100 pump throttled back to an unknown gph, two 40 watt equivalent compact fluorescents, 15 lbs live sand, 1 lbs live rock, two emerald crabs, small amount of unknown red macro algae on the rock and a small amount of chaeto. I have been told that I will eventually require a skimmer; how will I know when that time arrives? What will be the signs that a skimmer is needed? I am actually hoping that I will not require one, but time will tell. Thanks everyone! Dave 
Last edited by uslanja; 02/17/2010 at 09:04 AM. Reason: add photo |
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02/17/2010, 09:07 AM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 26
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if your going to house any coral,fish you will need a skimmer
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02/17/2010, 09:10 AM
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#3 |
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Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Iowa
Posts: 9,671
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You may never need a skimmer. Your tank looks great! They do provide some benifits like oxygenation and reduced DOC in the water but at your small of a tank it can be done with out one.
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rebuild and recovery log: No more red house, you'll have to click on my name and visit my homepage! You can check out my parameters at reeftronics dot net website and look for my username. Current Tank Info: 180g mixed reef w/ a beananimal overflow to a dolomite RRUGF. | 20g long G. Smithii Mantis Tank |
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02/17/2010, 09:14 AM
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#4 |
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Registered Member.
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Albany, N.Y.
Posts: 1,594
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Corals in & of themselves produce very little waste so if your going fishless you could PROBABLY get away without a protein skimmer if you do weekly 5 gallon water changes, if your adding fish eventually then I would tell you that you will need one.....FWIW I think that a skimmer would make your life a lot easier, they are most definately a good thing to have.......
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Steve Current Tank Info: 46 gal bowfront, mixed reef, 2x250W current outer orbit w/4x39W T5 ,10 gal fuge....38 gallon aggressive FOWLR, 10 gallon sump. |
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02/17/2010, 09:16 AM
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#5 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 183
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I dont run a skimmer and I have lots of corals..soft sps and lps it can be done. no nitrates or phosphates here. Your Alk and Ph seem a little low.
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02/17/2010, 09:17 AM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 183
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I am not saying you dont HAVE to have one, it certainly wont hurt.
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02/17/2010, 09:18 AM
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#7 |
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Registered Member.
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Albany, N.Y.
Posts: 1,594
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BTW, your tank looks very good, nice job.....
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Steve Current Tank Info: 46 gal bowfront, mixed reef, 2x250W current outer orbit w/4x39W T5 ,10 gal fuge....38 gallon aggressive FOWLR, 10 gallon sump. |
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02/17/2010, 09:19 AM
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#8 |
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Registered Member.
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Albany, N.Y.
Posts: 1,594
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Sorry, I missed that you were changing 10% weekly, that's great.....
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Steve Current Tank Info: 46 gal bowfront, mixed reef, 2x250W current outer orbit w/4x39W T5 ,10 gal fuge....38 gallon aggressive FOWLR, 10 gallon sump. |
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02/17/2010, 09:21 AM
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#9 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Iowa
Posts: 9,671
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I'm a big fan of skimmers myself but do recognize that they are not 100% required especially for smaller tanks.
If you decide to go skimmerless here's a great thread to read through. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1506957 his orignal build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&pagenumber=1
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rebuild and recovery log: No more red house, you'll have to click on my name and visit my homepage! You can check out my parameters at reeftronics dot net website and look for my username. Current Tank Info: 180g mixed reef w/ a beananimal overflow to a dolomite RRUGF. | 20g long G. Smithii Mantis Tank |
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02/17/2010, 09:22 AM
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#10 |
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Moved On
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Spring Hill, TN
Posts: 4,674
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There are many tanks run without Skimmers! That being said you will need some form of nutrient export at some point In time as you add more Bioload to your system. It will get to a point that the excess nutrients will start to cause problems, Like unwanted Algae growth or just poor water quality and your tank will suffer from It. But there are other ways to lower nutrients on a small tank like yours, Look Into a Algae turf scrubber, Easy to make and cheap.
Bill |
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