We all know having a skimmer can highly increase your success in the hobby. but there are people with very nice successful tanks that don't skim at all. we know that skimming takes out both bad and beneficial things out of our tank.

i only shut mine down for a short while (1-2 hours) while i am feeding newly hatched brine shrimp and coral food, (dt's, Cyclopes, ect.) and also when i add any supplements to the tank......

Pretty much the same here. I turn it off when i add live food (which isn't that often for me yet) or when i have to clean the pump.

same here. why do we have to type so much in a reply now ?? i just wanted to say ... same here !!

Same here on my 54 so I voted 24/7. I don't have a skimmer on my nano but am looking at getting one.

While there ARE successful skimmerless tanks, I suspect they are few and far between.

same heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame here*cough*same heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame here.........why cant we say the same thing bit in long winded fashion.

you'll find skimmerless tanks are compensated with more frequent changeouts to counter. ether that or the bio load is factored & administratored correctly

I don't use a skimmer at all. but as Veriann said I change out 25% of my tank water weekly. But it's only a 20 gal nano and the small size makes this work I am guessing.

Same here on my 54 so I voted 24/7. I don't have a skimmer on my nano but am looking at getting one.

Carmie-

Euro-Reef announced a beta test for their new internal nano skimmer (http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=131801&view=findpost&p=1308509). There are some pics on NR of it in operation. May be worth checking out. Today's the last day for beta applications. I'm signing up for the beta to compare it to my Remora, but I don't know if they will take me...

I think the ER Skimmer is predicted to be US$80, which seems pretty competitive if it proves to be decent nano skimmer.

Someone posted a pic of the not-yet-released 10g Euro-Reef nano tank (http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=131801&view=findpost&p=1295396), which also looks interesting...

-S

I don't use a skimmer at all. but as Veriann said I change out 25% of my tank water weekly. But it's only a 20 gal nano and the small size makes this work I am guessing.

How long has your tank been up? What is the bio-load/stock list, if you don't mind me asking?

-S

I think nanos are a different story. I don't skim mine either, but I change 5 gallons a week in a 12 gallon nano.

guys, principle 101 of skimming, longer contact time, beter stripping ability.
Small skimmers for small aplications although might make you sleep better at night, really do min extraction for the cost & effort. Im never going to say dont buy them, however unless you have on the "big side nano", i would say your just wasting your money. Water changes & the tinker into remote "somethings" is a far better option. besides, nanos are target feeding cubes, nothing more. Im sure your all aware exactly what you need to extract.

I skim 24/7 lately but I feed heavily and use an undersized skimmer (modified prizm rated for a 75g, tank is 75+g) so it pulls out more uneaten food and particulate matter and less chemicals or proteinaceous compounds. Those are handled by frequent carbon replacement.

I may go back to a "midnight-noon" schedule next month when I set the tank up at my new place. I'm pretty sure the 24/7 skimming (even with this modest skimmer) is one of the reasons my gorgonians and sponges have been in a slow decline -- even a modest skimmer can outcompete these things for food in a small closed system.

How long has your tank been up? What is the bio-load/stock list, if you don't mind me asking?

-S


my tank has been up since Oct 06. But after about two months suffered a crash due to a large ice storm and the subsequent power failure. The power was off for about 7 days. But thats another story. So I'll call the tank 10 months old.

The bioload is light. I have a percula clown, peppermint shrimp and a small 3 to 4 inch piece of green star polyp. A clean up crew of about 25 assorted hermits and snails.
Two inches of sand (about 25 pounds) and about 33 pounds of rock.

I' not going to say he tank will never have a skimmer but for now the tank is pretty stable.

same heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame here*cough*same heresame heresame heresame heresame heresame here.........why cant we say the same thing bit in long winded fashion.

you'll find skimmerless tanks are compensated with more frequent changeouts to counter. ether that or the bio load is factored & administratored correctly

youre killing me ... lol

:huh: i dont know....i hate mess! lol

I skim 24/7, but I don't get a dark cup of waste (like dark coffee) - more like green tea colored. I wonder if my replacing the stock pumps on my skimmer w/ better ones would make it more efficient.

Usually the skimmate is thincker and darker if you can adjust the water level lower (either the skimmer is adjustable or by raising the skimmer up in the water). I get nice thick dark stuff but often it seems that my skimmer is not producing much just because there must be enough gunk to get the foam up that high. Skimming wet or dry is a big debate. IMO skimming a little more wet than I do would remove more waste. Too wet though and most of what you end up dumping from the cup is water and salt. When skimming wet you will have to empty it more and more likely to have the skimmer go nuts when feeding or putting your hands in the tank. My skimmer does not foam up crazy just from feeding.

24/7 with the exception of feeding and water changes. :cool:

I do not skim on my 90 as I do not have room in the stand for a skimmer. I have a ASM G4+ that I will be using on the 300.
Steve

Skimming is simply another method to run a tank, I've seen wonderful skimmerless tanks that looked great and didnt require any major maintenance above skimmed tanks. These were tanks with well planned plumbing and other methods to remove nutrients.

Simply put, compared to maintaining high nutrient systems by other means skimmers provide a relatively low cost easily maintained and easily available alternative to other methods. Thus it's a popular method, when weighing it on the scales if you run a low nutrient system IMHO it's probably the best way to go for most hobbyists.

I run a small skimmer on my display which has pulled extremely less since I switched to higher quality feeds (live phytoplankton and zooplankton vs. preserved) and given my feeding method I can probably yank it out altogether, but not everyone has racks of live food cultures bubbling away in the next room. Most use easily obtained foods and thus a skimmer is an excellent choice!

For breeding and experimentation often skimmers will remove or destroy planktonic nauplii and thus the rest of my tanks are run skimmerless. For these I have chosen alternatives such as foam fractionation (like skimming but without removing the skimmate), macro algaes, and fluidized bed filters. Coincedentally the fluidized bed and macro algae methods have proven best.

TheJRC..... Forgive me, but as one ages we seem to lose some information stored in our memories right when we need it! I am wanting to say that I thought that you were the one who is doing some serious culturing with Phyto and had even started a informational text covering your methods of culturing and growth. I have seriously contemplated growing phyto for my own systems as I purchase the phyto that is kept in the fridge to preserve it and it is quite costly but well worth it. If you are indeed the phyto guru, would you be so kind as to post me a link to the article that I seem to have misplaced? Thanks!

For breeding and experimentation often skimmers will remove or destroy planktonic nauplii and thus the rest of my tanks are run skimmerless. For these I have chosen alternatives such as foam fractionation (like skimming but without removing the skimmate), macro algaes, and fluidized bed filters.

Could you elaborate on how Foam Fractionation is different than Protein Skimming? I thought they were the same thing, or more precisely - I thought "Foam Fractionation" is the process behind the practice of "Protein Skimming".

If you do not remove the skimmate then how and what are you exporting?

Thanks!

lol i dont know what a skimmer is....
somebody had to vote for it!!!!!