Skimmers, are they really necessary?

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There was some super good information in this thread, thank you for sharing!
 

NanoBoxes

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Nope. As long as you have great filtration or time to do weekly water changes. I quit running one on my 20g and do weekly water changes and it looks way better than before with the skimmer.
FD61FB06-9C44-4D68-9C40-745A8A1CD156.jpeg
 

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So I'm seeing two arguments in favor of skimming (which doesn't establish their necessity, BTW):

1. Nutrient export
2. Oxygenation

I wanted to address #2.

Unless one has a small system (eg. 10 gallons or less), I fail to see how a skimmer oxygenates significantly.

I had a large air bubble trapped under my overflow tank for over 2 months when it was a newly filled tank. The bubble didn't shrink or dissolve in the water, it simply sat there until one day it went to the surface and broke. I've read that an airstone or an air driven sponge filter oxygenates not because it is somehow injecting air into the water (what some people seem to think), but because they agitate the water surface, thus breaking surface tension at the water-atmosphere interface and thus allowing gas exchange there.

My skimmer would therefore be allowing oxygenation in a very small area- the diameter of the skimmer chamber. Furthermore, the volume of water where this happens will depend on how much water is passing through my skimmer.

Wish there were more data on #2.
 
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Nope. As long as you have great filtration or time to do weekly water changes. I quit running one on my 20g and do weekly water changes and it looks way better than before with the skimmer.
FD61FB06-9C44-4D68-9C40-745A8A1CD156.jpeg
The tank looks awesome! I honestly don’t do water changes either. I’m about to hook up a macroalgae reactor which I think will help
 
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So I'm seeing two arguments in favor of skimming (which doesn't establish their necessity, BTW):

1. Nutrient export
2. Oxygenation

I wanted to address #2.

Unless one has a small system (eg. 10 gallons), I fail to see how a skimmer oxygenates significantly.

I had a large air bubble trapped under my overflow tank for over 2 months when it was a newly filled tank. The bubble didn't shrink or dissolve in the water, it simply sat there until one day it went to the surface and broke. I've read that an airstone or an air driven sponge filter oxygenates not because it is somehow injecting air into the water (what some people seem to think), but because they agitate the water surface, thus breaking surface tension at the water-atmosphere interface and thus allowing gas exchange there.

My skimmer would therefore be allowing oxygenation in a very small area- the diameter of the skimmer chamber. Furthermore, the volume of water where this happens will depend on how much water is passing through my skimmer.

Wish there were more data on #2.
That was as excellent and detailed response. I see where you’re coming from and I feel as if the surface is being broke by a return nozzle 24/7 then there is good enough oxygenation. Just my thoughts anyway. Although, I will be installing a DIY algae reactor soon and I’m sure that will help with some oxygen release as well
 

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Wish there were more data on #2.
Follow the link in post #17:
 

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@schuby thanks though I did read that over before I posted.

What I mean is that I wish there were a lot more information about skimming and oxygenation.

Absent such science, I'm skeptical a skimmer typically makes much difference for that to be a factor in choosing to use a skimmer or not. But I could see reasons for thinking it does oxygenate significantly, and so I wish there was more information.

In the meantime, I'm much happier knowing I have an overflow with a good sized weir, a sump with at least one vented drain heading down to it, the drain crash chamber, and all of the chambers in the sump that break surface tension at the water/air surface and thus allow for good gas exchange (eg. water pouring into the filter sock, etc.). To date, I haven't had powerheads or returns that do a lot to the surface on my DT, but I would assume that's a good way to help gas exchange as well.
 
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vlangel

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Are skimmers really that necessary on all reef tanks?

I personally don’t think they are. I never run skimmers and I can keep any type of coral you can imagine, to include SPS corals.

I think that as long as you have a strong enough and diverse biological filtration (bacteria) your reef tank is set! I always stress it is key to a successful reef tank.

what are your thoughts on this matter of if skimmers are an absolute necessity or not?
I agree. I too have run several tanks with a skimmer including the tank I have now. In fact the only reason I bought a skimmer was when I kept seahorses. That would be a specie specific tank that I would strongly recommend a skimmer, (in fact an oversized skimmer) due to seahorses vulnerability to bacterial infections. However, most tanks can run well without a skimmer if there is a diversity of bio life flourishing in the system.

My tank is even overstocked by most folks standards but the nutrients are kept in check by ornamental macro algae and maintenance is only a 5% weekly WC and cleaning the glass once a week.
 
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oh so this thread is just a ploy to get more IG and YT followers eh? J/K but not really if its that easy why not post em here?
LOL not the whole intent Devaji, but why show one when I have hundreds to scroll through for an actual representation of what I am saying?
BUT here ya go:

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F6E8E414-05A8-42CF-9AA4-0BB1752002B8.jpeg
 

dvgyfresh

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LOL not the whole intent Devaji, but why show one when I have hundreds to scroll through for an actual representation of what I am saying?
BUT here ya go:

53D6CDAC-D14C-4AED-A25E-A6DC4006D1AC.jpeg
DA4764BA-4E43-4DE1-8A1F-04681FE1F0DA.jpeg
6528DF77-DDC9-4367-92F5-057EBDAB29CF.jpeg
68505154-4055-4A6F-9B9B-A2F8A6BAEADE.jpeg
CC1005C4-3787-4EAB-BD5B-E36CCD6B6ED3.jpeg
F6E8E414-05A8-42CF-9AA4-0BB1752002B8.jpeg
Skulll island is dope af , also jealous of the coralline lol I just bought an aqua max hob skimmer for my 40b and now I’m thinking I shouldn’t - also fighting Dino’s
 
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Skulll island is dope af , also jealous of the coralline lol I just bought an aqua max hob skimmer for my 40b and now I’m thinking I shouldn’t - also fighting Dino’s
Thank you! Only had this tank up and running for almost 1.5 years now. It’s also the build in my bio thing if you wanted to check it out.

I wouldn’t use a skimmer with dinos, from my experience it fueled them even more and made the situation worse! Dinos usually come from the lack of nutrients in the tank so I would up those and keep testing for them.
 

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Thank you! Only had this tank up and running for almost 1.5 years now. It’s also the build in my bio thing if you wanted to check it out.

I wouldn’t use a skimmer with dinos, from my experience it fueled them even more and made the situation worse! Dinos usually come from the lack of nutrients in the tank so I would up those and keep testing for them.
Wow that’s nice ! Yea I beat them earlier in the year and had nice back wall of coraline but then I moved / cleaned all glass and they are back now.. hopefully for not too much longer I’ll probly remove the collection cup when I’m home , thanks for the tip !
 
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