Do I still need a protein skimmer?

Timfish

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Why would you want a silly lil thing like balanced air quality in your water? Like the Oceans don't need white capped waves.

Corals do great in low pH and heavy CO2 levels

Wow! Impressive! You've kept up with research! And here I was thinking you were stuck with decades old dogma. :D




 

Dolphins18

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I've used skimmer's for a long time, and have done several tests on startup tanks. In my experience you can go without a skimmer if you have fuge (or other significant nutrient export method) UNLESS you are running a predator or a heavily stocked tank. In that case, if you want to even consider keeping SPS and most LPS happy, a skimmer is an absolute must. Most tanks I see these days are on the moderate-heavy stocked side of things, generally requiring a skimmer. On my last build I cut a hole in the bottom of my stand, and have my sump sitting on the floor, all to accommodate a skimmer.
There is new tech like filter rollers that are bleh and cause as much pain as they do good, and there are skimmers which have sort of received a standard in the hobby for 40 or so years.
In some cases, in a very lightly stocked tank one would opt out of a skimmer as a means to keep a little of that dirty (1-5 nitrate) water around. Light stock would be a few inverts and 2-3 small fish in a 40g.
 

CanuckReefer

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I've used skimmer's for a long time, and have done several tests on startup tanks. In my experience you can go without a skimmer if you have fuge (or other significant nutrient export method) UNLESS you are running a predator or a heavily stocked tank. In that case, if you want to even consider keeping SPS and most LPS happy, a skimmer is an absolute must. Most tanks I see these days are on the moderate-heavy stocked side of things, generally requiring a skimmer. On my last build I cut a hole in the bottom of my stand, and have my sump sitting on the floor, all to accommodate a skimmer.
There is new tech like filter rollers that are bleh and cause as much pain as they do good, and there are skimmers which have sort of received a standard in the hobby for 40 or so years.
In some cases, in a very lightly stocked tank one would opt out of a skimmer as a means to keep a little of that dirty (1-5 nitrate) water around. Light stock would be a few inverts and 2-3 small fish in a 40g.
I have no skimmer, or fuge, or cannister or sump, and I have a 90, and a plethora of inverts, 5 fish, a few of them larger, 3 of them 18 years old. LPS is happy, recent SPS, isn't dieing yet, I'll let you know in a year or two how it all shook out for them....Nitrates are still relatively low, as is Phos.
Absolute must my freakin butt
 
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CanuckReefer

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Wow! Impressive! You've kept up with research! And here I was thinking you were stuck with decades old dogma. :D




Facts really suck for some....ho hum....
 

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