protein skimmer

[cro55f1r3]

if i do not have a protein skimmer would it be best to get one?

[Psionicdragon]

yes

[raddogz]

Good answer, NOT!

All jokes aside - why don't you tell us a little about your tank?

[Lumamae]

If you are just wanting one for your 20g reef, don't really need one. Just do weekly water changes, but no less than every other week.

[happyface888]

It really depends, I think a skimmer is a safty kind of thing, But I have seen tanks with dsbs and they dont need a skimmer. For small tanks you can skip it.

[bookfish]

I strongly disagree. Smaller tanks need skimmers as well (if not more) because if something goes wrong in a small tank w/out a skimmer, things can go from bad to worse very quickly.

[delsol650]

smaller tanks = smaller room for error or changes in the tanks water quality.

[Lumamae]

cro has 2 years experience without a skimmer. unless he's experiencing problems, he can just continue what he's been doing all along... skimmerless.

[blink*]

Definitely should think about getting one. I'd characterize it as an essential piece of equiptment for my system and maintenance regime. As stated earlier, if nothing else, it provides an extra safety margin should a snail or something croak. I suppose you could run a system with nothing but mineralization as the way to deal with wastes, but just letting stuff rot away in the tank may be less than ideal for some coral species. That said, I do have a sand bed and have not noticed any horrible consequences in 2+ years.

[raddogz]

A skimmer affords you a little more room for error. If for example you're out of town, or just can't get to the water changes for the week .

Hey cro55f1r3 what's the stats on your tank?

[bookfish]

Originally posted by Lumamae
cro has 2 years experience without a skimmer. unless he's experiencing problems, he can just continue what he's been doing all along... skimmerless.

I totally agree with this as well. My concern is only that people who may be new to mini and micro reefing or reefing in general, might not appreciate what a delicate balancing act a small system can be. Anyone who's kept small SW systems for a while will acknowledge that a single, serious overfeeding or the death of a single large animal can be a huge problem. Moreso if the tank is less than a year old and especially if it is heavily stocked.

I'm a big proponent of people doing what works for them but I think a skimmer can be important, especially in a fairly new, small system so I tend to advise people in this direction.