Skimmer 24/7, part time or no skimmer?

[Krissu]

Hello everyone, and first, thank you all for making this forum such a wonderful place to be!
...have to say, english is not my first language, so please, bare with me, i try my best...

I have a nano reef, 120litres (33 gallons?), only just beginning, few months in. Live stone to start. Few beginner corals, like green star polyp, kenya tree, birdsnest. All took some time and effort but finally now are fully open and happy looking. 3 blue leg hermits. One banded coral shrimp. Two fether dusters from the very beginning, still alive, though it seems the shrimp have had some moutfuls of their tails. No fish yet. Some green algae burst for last week, all corals are ok through it and so are the shrimp and hermits... Also some green hair algae, just tiny spots here and there... Oh, well havent used any chemicals for it, only olde plain patience to let it burst and wipe itself out (thinking of it as new tank syndrome)

Forgot what my question was now

Right. Atm i have no sump, but planning to get one in... few months, maybe a year.
Small budget. VERY small budget really :/
But needing a skimmer, i think? And was hoping someone would have patience to read through all this post and have some suggestions.
The tank is in my bedroom, so has to be quiet. Very quiet. Would be nice if suited in tank for now and in sump in the future... I live in remote corner in European Union, so international selling in amazon/ebay would be great (i think most people here are from States). Any advice would be greately appreciated!

(Geez... Posting for first time is really scary... but ok, will hit the button anyway )

 

[cromag27]

keep your nutrients in check and you don't need a skimmer. don't over feed and perform water changes on a regular basis.

 

[Krissu]

Well. I "try" not to overfeed, but my tank is fully open from top, so theres some dust, maybe a fly falling etc going in this way -would skimmer pull all that stuff out?
Doing about 5% water changes weekly, adding liquid coral food and reef elements daily, feeding my shrimp also with tiny pieces of fish/clam/shrimp daily, what she doesnt eat, the crabs will, but some food is left on the bottom (small pieces seen every now and then, still trying to find the right size for pieces of food), but planning to get some small fish in the future, so what about then? Will need skimmer? Or no? Inner feeling says Yes, but...?

 

[Factory909racer2]

If you want a skimmer that won’t require a sump, you could get a hang on the back skimmer. When i had a regular tank that was not drilled with overflows i used a Reef Octopus HOB classic1000 it worked really well. I still have it in the basement for use in the future if needed. I believe eshopps also makes a good HOB skimmer. When i ran that skimmer, it ran 24/7. Same with my current skimmer in my sump, it nevers shuts off. I am also curious what others say about how long to run the skimmer, ive heard mixed things but i think most people either run 12 on 12 off usually at night or just go 24/7.

 

[cromag27]

for all intents and purposes, a skimmer is still not needed - good husbandry or bad. testing your water will tell you if you're over feeding (no3, po4). everyone has dust in their tanks so i wouldn't worry about that.

 

[Krissu]

So its rather "no skimmer needed" from first replies, and thank you for your opinion!

But searching at the same time i found this "Another positive influence of protein skimmers in a reef aquarium is that they serve to oxygenate the water and assist with gas exchange, creating a healthier overall reef environment." thought from "uniquecorals" here and similar from some other people, and it kind of rings true?

 

[Factory909racer2]

Yeah if i don’t run my skimmer the PH is lower. Running the intake line outside keeps the tank at 8.2 all the time. No skimmer its like 7.6 or lower.

 

[chefjpaul]

Is your tank drilled?

If so, you don't need a fancy sump, a rubbermaid bucket will work fine.

Great investment is a quality skimmer.

Most of us run one 24/7. I am even running one in a fishless tank, still pulling gunk.
It does help with oxygen, 100% necessary. No, but it is a great tool, expecially once you get fish.

 

[Mark Waltermire]

If you do end up getting a skimmer I would think that you would not need to run it 24/7. I will say that although the tank is only a 33 gallon I have found that it is a lot easier to keep nitrate and phosphate in check with a skimmer or you have to be very consistent in 15-20% water changes every week. The cost of a skimmer for a tank that sized will be considerable compared to other equipment for that tank. It will likely be rather oversized for the tank.
I have a Reef Octopus 90 HOB on my 40 breeder so the skimmer is rated for tanks up to 2.5 times the volume of my tank. I turn the skimmer off at night. I just find it's loud and haven't seen any adverse effects yet.

 

[cromag27]

although water needs proper oxygenation, it can be achieved using other methods such as powerhead pumps.

So its rather "no skimmer needed" from first replies, and thank you for your opinion!

But searching at the same time i found this "Another positive influence of protein skimmers in a reef aquarium is that they serve to oxygenate the water and assist with gas exchange, creating a healthier overall reef environment." thought from "uniquecorals" here and similar from some other people, and it kind of rings true?

 

[Rakie]

in my opinion, skimmers are essential. They help drive up pH, oxygenate water better than just surface agitation alone will, and can be tuned to work specifically with your system.

Skimmers offer stability, in a hobby where stability is the most important aspect.

Nothing is truly necessary. You can have a great tank without a skimmer. you can have a great tank without enough flow. you can have a great tank without enough light. And iguana's and turtles can live many, many years on iceberg lettuce.

But that doesn't mean it's proper.

 

[Krissu]

Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughs i desided it wont hurt to have it, and so will look into getting one, hoping that using part time (in case its too loud for night) will still give some good effect. Thanks!

 

[Chris Villalobos]

Yeah if i don’t run my skimmer the PH is lower. Running the intake line outside keeps the tank at 8.2 all the time. No skimmer its like 7.6 or lower.

Couldn't you just use an air pump and bubble stone sourcing outside air?

 

[Krissu]

So a little update i have skimmer now, and it does make a difference, see all this dark brown stuff that comes out and water movement is bigger, so happy to have it.
Using from morning to evening, turning off for night, since the water flow is somewhat noisy to sleep with, other than that, was really good thing to get
Thank you all for your thoughts and input!

 

[Bingo]

So a little update i have skimmer now, and it does make a difference, see all this dark brown stuff that comes out and water movement is bigger, so happy to have it.
Using from morning to evening, turning off for night, since the water flow is somewhat noisy to sleep with, other than that, was really good thing to get
Thank you all for your thoughts and input!

check your nutrient levels. remember that skimmer are one of the nutrient export. and most of your LS are LPS. if skimmer is very effecient then you can feed more than your routine.

 

[Krissu]

Im sorry, english is not my first language, hense the possible misunderstanding i didnt really mean my skimmer is pulling out gallons of murky stuff, only that i see it gets visible amount of brown "stuff" out. I clean the collector about once in maybe 4-5 days, when its about half or 3/4 full of "tea brown" liquid, not pich black tar. Assuming its not what could be called skimmer being too efficient?