Poll- Skimmer or not on Nano

[Xx_de_xX]

Okay... I wanna know. How many of you run skimmers on your nanos, and how many of you don't. If skimmerless, how is your tank doing, and what else are you using for filtration?

[Xx_de_xX]

21 views, not a single reply.

[lefou]

Okay... I'll bite. :rolleyes:

I'm currently NOT running a skimmer on my 10g nano. I had a Prism on it for a short while, but I got tired of mucking with it all the time and just put a HOB filter on it. I also rigged up one of those cute little Tom's surface skimmers onto the intake of the filter so I don't suffer the "oily water" problem. Between that and a MiniJet 404 for extra circulation, I have more than enough flow.

Tank has been up for 8 months now, skimmerless for 6 of them. I do a weekly 1 gallon water change for nutrient export, and I run carbon in the filter on alternating weeks.

Now... mind you, I have no fish in this tank. It's a softies only! :D

[jjmg]

I run a seaclone on my 20 gal. I couldn't see paying a couple hundred dollars for a tank that was going to be so lightly stocked. I have 3 or 4 hermits, around 5 snails and I just added two banded coral shrimp this weekend along with some mushrooms, zo's and some stare poylps.

It pulls out around a 1/4 cup of skim in a couple of days.

[PaulCab]

I have a 35G tank with no skimmer. I use live rock and sand for Biological filtration. Floss for mechanical and carbon for chemical filtration. I have a relatively low Bio Load 2 Percula Clowns, 1 Blood Shrimp, 1 Candy Cucumber , 1red leg Hermit Crab, assorted soft corals, 1 Hammer Head Coral + 6 turbo snails. Everything is healthy and growing well.

[Agu]

Two ten gallon tanks, one is 14 mo old and one is two months old, and the bakpak is laying on a shelf in the garage. Tried it for about three days but didn't like the equipment in the tank or the noise.

Weekly water changes are done on both tanks. The newer tank also has a sump with a macroalgae refugium.

'.....rigged up one of those cute little Tom's surface skimmers onto the intake of the filter so I don't suffer the "oily water" problem." Tell me about that surface skimmer as I do get protein slicks that I have to remove during water changes.

Agu

[pws]

I got a bakpak 2R on my 10g nano. I only had it setup for a week now put it does pulls out alot. The shrimp I put in( large cocktail shrimp uncooked) is almost all the way gone already.

[tng2538]

I just started a 7 Gal bow and purchase a Supreme aquafilter 400. It has a built in skimmer and uses charcoal pad and a floss pad combined. I figure once the filter needs replacing, I will just replace the filter material with some phosphate and charcoal filtering pad and reuse the filter pad housing. I'll have to wait to see how good it works.

[TooncesLoki]

i just picked up a skimmer for my 10 (5 snails, some hermits, pep shrimp, porcelain crab, 2 PJ cards, GSP and ricordia) and I am amazed at the poo that comes out. Its just a cheapy Berlin Air-lift from petsmart ($17 on clearance!) but it seems to be helping alot.

[Pebbles]

I had/have a Prizm on my 10 gallon. I run it on my sump. It seriously cut down the number of water changes I had to do on the tank. Just had to make sure I had a regular trace element/calcium dosing session and phytoplankton feeding for my corals.
I actually took the Prizm off for awhile since I am switching from a CPR overflow to a Lifereef overflow to my sump and even with routine water changes I wasn't as happy with the water quality so now I've put the Prizm back on my tank. Although it may not be the best skimmer out there it has served my need very well and I have had no trouble.
The first time I put the skimmer on it pulled a lot of water out but once the water quality stabilized everything was fine.

[Xx_de_xX]

Wow guys, thanks. I just recently got back into a reef tank. This time, instead of doing the 100 gallon like I did before (damn it was expensive) I went and bought a brand new 15 gallon AGA designer tank. I'm rockin' it with a 175w MH 10k and wasn't planning on using any filtration other than my sand bed, and my rocks. No flosses, no skimmer, no HOB, nothing. I have a cpr skimmer that's been mod'd to accept an airline and airstone, along with the venturi it already comes with. The tank has been set up for 4 days now, and although it's too early to tell for sure, but I don't think I'll have to run a skimmer.

[Chondro]

I also rigged up one of those cute little Tom's surface skimmers onto the intake of the filter so I don't suffer the "oily water" problem.

Is this the surface skimmer you are referencing or is it something different ?

LINK (http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22133;category_id=1721)

[gregmoeck]

i run a skimmer

[lefou]

Chondro: Yes, that's the one! Mine came with another used tank so I didn't have all of the little adapters... but a short piece of 1/2 " flex tubing slipped over the end of the HOB intake (taking the usual filter screen off, of course) and fitted over the end of that little black flex tube on the surface skimmer worked out great! Wouldn't run without it now. :D

[wetworx101]

I have used skimmers on nanos...but currently I stay away from them. It seems that the general problem is that almost sny skimmer small enough for a nano is usually too small to be worth it...and often crap. Think about it. If you are a skimmer mfg...you are going to make big skimmers for big tanks. I can think of a mfg out there that makes a decent skimmer for tanks under 20gallons...or under 10 for many. The best option seems to be a small countercurrent air driven skimmer. Prisms, bakpaks, seaclones, and most others are really crappy. Recently at nano-reefs.com, we have been experimenting and swapping ideas on nano size DIY injection skimmers...nanoremoras if you will. BTW, the AquaC remora seems to be the only good skimmer for a nano...but they are rated for slightly larger tanks...not a perfect match. Yet a smaller version...if only AquaC would make it...Im sure many would buy. Also, on a small tank like a nano, it seems the extra water volume and nutrient export that a refugium can provide...as well as curbing waste from fish food (due to the natural supply of pods a fuge makes) seems to be more practical for a nano. I prefer a fuge over a skimmer on a nano any day.

[jh775396]

no skimmer here and fine with weekly water changes. water params are good and tank inhabitants are happy.

jason

[JG1]

For those going without a skimmer or fuge...just relying on WC's...what % of the tank volume of water are you changing every week?

[Panch]

Wherdo I get a cute Tom's surface skimmer?

[jh775396]

JG1: I have a 10 gallon tank with 14lbs of LR and about a 3" deep sandbed. I do a 1 gallon per week water change. If I remember correctly, my tank holds a little less than 8 gallons of water which means that I'm doing about a 13% water change, weekly.

[tonkadawg]

I have an 18 gallon with LR/LS only. Been running for about 18 months now. I do a 3 gallon weekly WC (roughly 15+%) - parameters are all in line

Originally posted by JG1
For those going without a skimmer or fuge...just relying on WC's...what % of the tank volume of water are you changing every week?

[cliffrouse11baseball]

No skimmer on my 7 gallon minibow and no skimmer on my 2.5...

[Panch]

If I'm not going to use a skimmer in my jbj nano. How deep should my sandbed be?

[Clay]

I don't use a skimmer, and I don't do water changes. I have a HOB aquaclear, adn all of my stuff is thriving. I'll post a pic this evening. It's been up since August.

[MarksReef]

Originally posted by Chondro
Is this the surface skimmer you are referencing or is it something different ?

LINK (http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22133;category_id=1721)

So this surface skimmer think works well ?
I set up a 29G no sump or skimmer and have a oiley or sand particals on the water surface.

Is this the Tom's surface skimmer?

[Medaka]

I don't use a skimmer, sump, or refugium on my heavily fed 20G tank (feed fish 3x a day, plus corals like sun polyps every 2 days).

I use about 25-30 pounds of LR for filteration and do about a 2 gallon water change every 5-7 days. Sometimes I run a hob filter with a micron pad/carbon for maybe 1 week a month or so.

I never have had any problems with my tank yet (over 1 year now)

I suppose all the xenia I have on one rock acts as a fairly ok way of nutrient export..

[Xx_de_xX]

It's been a week since my tank has been up and running (maybe a little longer.) My glass was green, my water was green and nasty, and it smelled like ***.

I slaped a cpr skimmer on it (the tank is a 15 gallon designer) and holy crap did it make a difference. It's pulled out over half a cup of skimmate, in it's first 8 hours running. I think I'll stick with it :D

[bin04]

seaclown (seaclone) skimmer on a 10g. Just added it about two weeks ago, and i have to say, it does definitely pull out gunk. And if it is pulling out gunk, who am i to argue, or take it down?!?

[Nano's Rock]

I put a small air stone skimmer in my sump and I think that got rid of my hair algae problem. It really pulled out a lot of nasty stuff for the first few months. I hardly get any scum out of it now because my razor macro in my fuge out competes the small skimmer.

[Dionaea]

I had a 10 for a couple years with no skimmer, now I run a Turboflotor 1000 on my 29.

-James

[robitreef]

My 16 gal came with an integrated skimmer which I always run. Tank has been running for almost six years with no major problems.

[biomekanic]

I use a Berlin on my 10g pistol shrimp/goby tank. Pulls some nasty green gunk out, about 1/4 a week. I've also got my Ecosystem40 on the back. No hair algae, but f'in aiptasia have reared their ugly heads. I've got a bad feeling the peppermints I put in to eat the aiptaisa are now pistol shrimp chow.

[Vincerama2]

I have a 10g "Overkill" tank, with a 10g sump on it, a DIY CA reactor, a DIY Kalk reactor and ... an AquaC EV-120 skimmer!

Why? Because my Prizm died and I was sick of looking at cyano bacteria. Now with the EV-120...I get even more noise, just as much cyano, and a $300 lighter wallet! But seriously, I'm hoping the skimmer will keep the cyano in check...but so far, it's not!

Once I finally got the EV-120 tuned...it's is pulling out a lot of crap. It's also good insurance just incase something dies in the tank while I'm away, whatever the nassarius snails don't eat, I'm hoping the skimmer will pull out until I get home!

(Yeah, it was overkill and $300, but the corals are living creatures and deserve to be kept in clean conditions!)

V

[want2reef]

Originally posted by Dionaea
I had a 10 for a couple years with no skimmer, now I run a Turboflotor 1000 on my 29.

-James

Does your turboflotor work good for your 29?

I was thinking of using my turboflotor for my 29.

Thanks.