# Skimmer......do you think you dont need one?



## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Guys....I am shocked at the ability of a skimmer to do the job. Let me preface by saying that on my little nano...I dont have the top of the line....My skimmer is just a cheap $29.00 skimmer that I gave a shot because it is a simple 10 gallon tank.

Check this out:

I have lost a lot of the passion for doing water changes in the last week or so because of what happened to my tank and my geryi....so yesterday I was looking at my little salt tank and the water looked like crap. I dont run the skimmer 24/7 simply because it is such a small tank with a relatively low bio-load. So Im looking at the tank and the water is brown. I decide to fire up the skimmer and see what happens and after 24 hours my tank looks amazing. I changed the configuration around a bit.....so the skimmer is one of the first things that cleans the water....and it did an amazing job.

What I am trying to say is that no matter the size of the tank....you need a skimmer to clean the water...it make such a difference. Even my cheap little skimmer on my nano worked wonders...so dont believe what they say.....every salt tank needs a skimmer.

And props to my cheap ass skimmer for doing what it advertised....I am shocked.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

LOL

while this is true what changes are very important to.

i love my skimmer, sometimes i find my self watching it run longer then looking at the corals..


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Oh...I know water changes are important....I actually did one about a week ago...maybe two... and hadnt turned on the skimmer since. When I say loosing my passion...it was more like even looking at the tanks at all.

I was a little drunk when I wrote that....so excuse my babbling......the point I was attempting to get across is that a lot of people say that on a small tank you dont need a skimmer...just keep up the water changes....and I think you would need to do a lot of water changes to get the same results. The amount you would spend in salt...and the time involved...it is worth the investment to get a skimmer. Even the crappy little one I have on that tank does a better job then simple water changes.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

i hear ya i made enough water the last time i was running my ro/di to do a water change then mixed teh water and was letting it "age" planning on doing the water change this week but never found the motivation


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Whats up with the aging of water? What does it do and should I be doing that?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i was told the same thing about skimmers when i first started my sw tank, people at a few different stores told me that i wouldn't need one on my 46 gallon so i never had one. i ended up buying one after it was suggested by the owner at my lfs and my water was crystal clear all the time after putting it on, the difference was amazing, it was the best $100 i spent on that tank.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

Grosse Gurke said:


> Whats up with the aging of water? What does it do and should I be doing that?


its basically just circulating the water for atleast 24 hours to allow all the salt mix to completely disolve also bringing it up to temp and possily adding calcium or buffer to match or boost the tank parameters. i generally only run a minijet 606 and a heater to keep it moving and up to temp.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

nismo driver said:


> Whats up with the aging of water? What does it do and should I be doing that?


its basically just circulating the water for atleast 24 hours to allow all the salt mix to completely disolve also bringing it up to temp and possily adding calcium or buffer to match or boost the tank parameters. i generally only run a minijet 606 and a heater to keep it moving and up to temp.
[/quote]

on top of that, some salt mixes go through a stage when first mixed where their parameters swing all over the place. PH swings, can get very acidic, and adding that into your tank before it stabilizes can really f*ck up SOME types of coral and fish.

GG- i have a friend in town with a 50 gallon reef with no skimmer. this tank is BEAUTIFUL! i couldnt believe he didnt run a skimmer when he first told me. crystal clear water, and an incredibly healthy tank. but i wouldnt say that all skimmerless tanks dont turn out the same way.


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

Jeff....
i had to dose my tank with prazio pro last week and i have always stressed when turning off
my skimmer (case in point) my water was so unclear and the scum that was in my sump was
gross....i did the typical 20% water change and hit the skimmer....man my water was back to
normal.....a skimmer is the heart of your tank, besides the live rock if any.


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## Chapz (Jul 9, 2007)

I usually have a 18 gallon rubbermaid bin full of saltwater and a maxijet pump running overnight during the week and then change the water on a weekend. Gives the salt & water time to mix. 
As for the skimmer, i get other day a cap load of grime. Thanks goodness for the skimmer also since my tank wouldnt survive. Even my fiancee is amazed at how the tank looks now compared to january.


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## wally43 (Feb 23, 2007)

i know what u mean man skimmers make a world of difference, i just modded my sump to fit my new skimmer so i had to take it out over night to let it all dry, but my main tank after i had the sump taken down over night was a noticeable difference, cloudy and didn't look good but a couple hours after i put my sump back in and hook up the asm g1x its the cleanest i've ever seen my tank, i had just a small skimmer in the sump before this but it stayed clean but now its just so clear, skimmers are great
wally


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