Do we need more protein skimming with less live rock or less protein skimming with more live rock?

[LRT]

Lots of live rock #1, skimmer #2 and no water changes #3(4.5+ years since last one) just wanted to turn that wrench a bit more!

I think im going to try turning wrench a little further with water changes in my system. Only thing I worry about is the trace elements and not knowing what needs to be replenished.
I do think having good bioload in water column has been helping keep system clean tremendously

 

[Saltyreef]

I think im going to try turning wrench a little further with water changes in my system. Only thing I worry about is the trace elements and not knowing what needs to be replenished.
I do think having good bioload in water column has been helping keep system clean tremendously

Reef moonshiners!!!!
Its my next step too.

 

[LRT]

Reef moonshiners!!!!
Its my next step too.

At this rate you guys will have me sending in water samples, setting up apex and trident or 3, reef moonshining, Building 5 more tanks etc hahaha
Its cool ive already notified the wife hahaha

 

[Saltyreef]

At this rate you guys will have me sending in water samples, setting up apex and trident or 3, reef moonshining, Building 5 more tanks etc hahaha
Its cool ive already notified the wife hahaha

Its ok. Mine feels the same way.
She tells me i should have married all my reefing buddies instead....

 

[LRT]

Its ok. Mine feels the same way.
She tells me i should have married all my reefing buddies instead....

Lol I bet if rev did a poll we would find that most reefers significant others say the same exact thing. Cant tell you how many times. She secretly loves it though

 

[glennf]

Do we need more protein skimming with less live rock or less protein skimming with more live rock?

What are your thoughts on that?

 

[glennf]

I prefer no skimmer and minimal rock.
It works fine for me

 

[Timfish]

No skimmer and a quality maricultured or wild live rock. Our systems should live decades if not centuries but to do so the right microbial processes have to be maintained. (Just like sustaining our our own health or sustainable farming.) It is true some coral species can become sexually mature in a few years but many may take decades. We think keeping a ssytem for a few years is a success but it's more like keeping a puppy of kitten a few months. We still are a long way from understanding the microbial cycles in our systems but using techniques that have been proven to skew these microbial processes dosen't strike me as wise or sustainable.

The cryptic zones and sponges on reefs have been shown to process the labile DOC 1000X faster than the bacterioplankton. This DOC they process is put back into the food webs in forms we can't test for. In light of this I can't help but think the success attributed to skimmers and their removal of bacterioplankton is actually due to the sponges in a system which are working so much faster.

 

[X-37B]

I prefer oversize skimmer and minimal live rock.