FOWLR skimmer

[steve5520]

How important is a skimmer in a [acronym:c023683e26="Fish only with live rock"]FOWLR[/acronym:c023683e26] tank? Should I expect it to pull anywhere near the same amount of crud as in a reef tank?

I have a 55 [acronym:c023683e26="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:c023683e26] reef with a Remora Pro that I clean on a routine basis. It's a great skimmer, easy to set up and keep going properly.

My [acronym:c023683e26="Fish only with live rock"]FOWLR[/acronym:c023683e26] is a 40 long. I have around 40-50 lbs of live rock, some snails, hermits, 2 emerald crabs, one Flame Angel, one Yellow Tang and a Blenny. Water circulation is provided by two Maxi-Jet 1200s.
In the 40 long, I'm using an old "Bak-Pak style" skimmer. I never have been able to quite get it adjusted properly, even when I used it on the reef tank. That was partially why I upgraded skimmers to begin with. Seems like the air being injected into the powerhead (pump) is inconsistent.

Will I see much crud in the [acronym:c023683e26="Fish only with live rock"]FOWLR[/acronym:c023683e26] tank? Am I fiddling with the skimmer for nothing? Or would an upgrade be wise?

Thanks.

[reefrunner69]

How important is a skimmer in a [acronym:90ff58fbbe="Fish only with live rock"]FOWLR[/acronym:90ff58fbbe] tank? Should I expect it to pull anywhere near the same amount of crud as in a reef tank?

I would expect it to produce more unless you keep to reef type stocking levels.

Will I see much crud in the [acronym:90ff58fbbe="Fish only with live rock"]FOWLR[/acronym:90ff58fbbe] tank? Am I fiddling with the skimmer for nothing? Or would an upgrade be wise?

Not sure how "wise" it would be, but it would certainly do a better job Even a small amount of skimming with frequent regular water changes will maintain water quality. There are many who run skimmerless on their reef tanks.