Are protein skimmers really that important?

[CHSUB]

I’m a bit surprised…. Since he stated in both interviews that there is no skimmer on his main tank

One 12 years ago and another one more recently.

For the rest, being or not Julian was just to give a counter example of my own believe :)


Here it go:
Minute 3:20


And minute 12:00

Maybe more recently, I was there over 10 years ago. Same tank however…

 

[Flukes]

My 180 gallon has only been up for 9 months but I think I could go without the skimmer. I have a reefmat 1200 that exports solids. I also built a plenum under my sand bed and one of my 2 return pumps sends water up through the sand.
Ever since I added a yellow headed goby the sand has been sugar white.
The skimmer seldom produces any waste. Although crud will build up in the neck over a couple of months.

 

[UncommonSense]

Just based on dissolved oxygen content, and PH stability/control; a skimmer makes sense… (even ignoring actually using it to collect skimmate!)

I will add that every single time I’ve started a skimmer (thoroughly cleaned of factory mold release agents) in a system that hasn’t run one in a while, it has immediately started to pull at least a tan colored foam head within minutes of firing up! — They clearly do something!

 

[Mongo1.0]

I occasionally will see people on here who will not run protein skimmers in their tank and think, "Do I really need one in my tank as well?" That's why I'm asking all of you. Do you think protein skimmers are important for a reef tank, or do you think reefers can do without them?

Photo Credit: @Butuz

I have a 75gal and 55gal. I just leave them on for aeration. If my nutrients get high, I'll adjust it to help get them back down. The one on the 55 gal quit working about 2 months ago and it still is good on everything.

 

[lawnerd]

I have a nano tank - 8 gallons. Many opine that a skimmer is unnecessary for a nano, but I don’t agree that water changes alone would be sufficient for export so I got a VIV glass nano skimmer.

I see benefits. For example, my pH was on the low side so I made a diy CO2 scrubber which has raised and stabilized my pH. So for me it is a benefit in three areas: aeration, nutrient export, and pH stability.

 

[Marco_99]

Yes, and I wouldn’t reef without one

 

[kboogie]

I occasionally will see people on here who will not run protein skimmers in their tank and think, "Do I really need one in my tank as well?" That's why I'm asking all of you. Do you think protein skimmers are important for a reef tank, or do you think reefers can do without them?

Photo Credit: @Butuz

There have been many responses explaining what protein skimmers and why you “should” have one but can “get away” without one if other conditions are met.

I want to dig more into the motivation of the question. Beyond pure intellectual curiosity are you experiencing an issue with your protein skimmers that has you questioning the need for one?

 

[Anna K]

Got mine because I thought it was a requirement It wasn't. It also failed 4 months after purchasing.

 

[LPS Bum]

I run skimmers on all of my systems, but in many instances they're not necessary. Especially if you run a good filter roller. If you like to feed heavily like I do, they help.

 

[Ox100]

I don't believe every tank need one just depends on what your housing but i run one now i tryed the refugium and algae scrubber and it didn't work best for this system

 

[AUSXMD]

I have always had one. When you see what they pull out of your water it kind of validates getting one. More power to the people who don't run one. I recently broke my 1200 dollar skimmer and replaced it with a 450 dollar skimmer and it works just as well, but is just a bit noisier. I have a large refugium as well. It's a 230 gallon FOWLR tank that's mediumly stocked. Next purchase is a roller mat. Still debating what brand. I have a Waterbox aquarium but they dont make roller mats. Any suggestions on those would be appreciated!
Scott

 

[salinity now]

I occasionally will see people on here who will not run protein skimmers in their tank and think, "Do I really need one in my tank as well?" That's why I'm asking all of you. Do you think protein skimmers are important for a reef tank, or do you think reefers can do without them?

Photo Credit: @Butuz

I made the 170 buck mistake of buying a Shark 300 skimmer. It never worked and basically fell apart in my tank. Don't make the same mistake I did!

 

[twentyleagues]

I can say I have never run a long term successful reef tank without a skimmer. Every time I try I start having algae issues that dont happen in tanks with a skimmer about a year in. Now this may be size of the tank as all the tanks I have run skimmerless are nano sized largest being around 40g, or possibly main filtration/ fuge. I did have good success with an 8g but that was only up for 6 months but I did every other day 40oz water changes and ran purigen in the only filter, a 2 little fishes reactor driven by an mj900.

 

[Reefer Matt]

They are very important for tanks that need them, which is most, imo. It comes down to nutrient removal and aeration needs. If you have a heavily stocked tank and no skimmer, sps and some others may not do too well. If you have low aeration, ph may go too low and cause issues. But if you have other means of bypassing those like a rollermat and high surface agitation, then a skimmer might not be needed. It’s mostly to take the waste out of the water, and raise the ph by aeration (in most cases) from my experience.

 

[TankYouVeryMuch]

I truly believe that it is impossible to run a serious reef tank without a skimmer…

… except if you are Julian Sprung

There, nothing make sense: no skimmer, no circulation… and everything grows

Every time that I see a video about his tanks… I enter into deny mode
How is that possible???

Cheers

He has his lights farther away from the surface which means the corals are getting less light, and thus need less flow.

 

[EchoPear]

I made the 170 buck mistake of buying a Shark 300 skimmer. It never worked and basically fell apart in my tank. Don't make the same mistake I did!

I pulled mine after it was just making a bubble storm in the tank months after putting it on. Never figured out why or if my bioload was too low at the time

 

[HARDY CORALS]

I do not run a skimmer in my 40g breeder. My tank is almost 2 years old and I feel like I'm having a lot of success. This is my first tank so i have nothing to compare to though. I do have a refugium.

 

[Pat's Reef]

I occasionally will see people on here who will not run protein skimmers in their tank and think, "Do I really need one in my tank as well?" That's why I'm asking all of you. Do you think protein skimmers are important for a reef tank, or do you think reefers can do without them?

Photo Credit: @Butuz

I’ve run natural systems for over 15 years. About half with skimming and half without. When not running a skimmer, I used an oyster and a yellow ball sponge for skimming duty. Between the two, they remove the same dissolved organic compounds as a skimmer. I originally started with two of each in a 29g Biocube, but the tank didn’t produce enough dissolved organic compounds or the super tiny scale size bacteria to sustain them all. But one oyster and one yellow ball sponge will thrive in a 30 gallon skimmerless system and keep the water polished. Other advantages include not stripping trace elements, no bubbles,stability, and zero maintenance. Just figure one larger ball type sponge and one oyster per 30 gallons and you don’t need a skimmer at all. You do want to make sure that you have good flow everywhere to ensure oxygen levels stay high though. But good flow will do just that.

 

[Pat's Reef]

I occasionally will see people on here who will not run protein skimmers in their tank and think, "Do I really need one in my tank as well?" That's why I'm asking all of you. Do you think protein skimmers are important for a reef tank, or do you think reefers can do without them?

Photo Credit: @Butuz

I’ve run natural systems for over 15 years. About half with skimming and half without. When not running a skimmer, I used an oyster and a yellow ball sponge for skimming duty. Between the two, they remove the same dissolved organic compounds as a skimmer. I originally started with two of each in a 29g Biocube, but the tank didn’t produce enough dissolved organic compounds or the super tiny scale size bacteria to sustain them all. But one oyster and one yellow ball sponge will thrive in a 30 gallon skimmerless system and keep the water polished. Other advantages include not stripping trace elements, no bubbles,stability, and zero maintenance. Just figure one larger ball type sponge and one oyster per 30 gallons and you don’t need a skimmer at all. You do want to make sure that you have good flow everywhere to ensure oxygen levels stay high though. But good flow will do just that.

Oh yeah, don’t try to keep sponges or large bivalves if you do run a skimmer. It strips their food away and they will die over an extended period of decline.

 

[lubeck]

In my experience, there is an inverse relationship between coral biomass and need for a protein skimmer.

Hello! Could you please elaborate on this?
To be sure, here you are referring purely to “nutrient” export part, right?

I have a significant amount of coral mass vs volume… although I was many times tempted to remove the skimmer… I never had the guts to run without it for more than 2 days (cleaning it)

I’m too scared to… but tempted:)

Thanks!

Do you have a build thread