Do I need a protien skimmer?

[Glomgold]

I've read some threads in the General Discussion forums in which some people say a protien skimmer isn't a necesity. I'm setting up a 55 gallon FO tank, and was wondering if I really need a skimmer? Here's what I'm planning as my setup:

- 80 to 100lbs sand substrate
- 60 lbs. base rock
- 2 Maxi-jet 1200 powerheads
- Rena Filstar XP2 canister w/carbon
- 200W heater

I wont be keeping live rock, and I plan to have 3 or 4 fish plus a crab or two.

 

[ReefRaff]

I would say, can the filstar and get a skimmer. In order to remove DOC's you need either a skimmer, or a whole lot of water changes. just my .02

 

[nyghtone]

Here's the deal, the more DOC's get removed the less nitrates get produced, hence, the less water changes you need. Saltwater is pensive. At my lfs I can get a 200 gallon salt mix for 50 bucks, that is .25 a gallon, and the RO/DI water equals out to around 1 cent a gallon on average. So for arguments sake lets say .26 a gal for SW. If you have a good skimmer, you can usually do monthly 20% WC in a FO tank. at 55 gal this is a 10 gal WC. This adds to 2.60 a WC. Not that bad for a monthly keepup.

Now consider that without a Skimmer your likely to need weekly WC's to keep up, and possibly more than the 10 gal depending on your load. So 2.6 X 4 = 10.4 a month. At this rate you basically save a minimum of 7.80 a month. For a goof AquaC Remora at what, 100 bucks, it takes only one year for it to pay for itself monetarily, not considering labor, and that it could add up even faster.

So no, you don't need a skimmer, there's your answer

HTH, Joshua...

 

[Glomgold]

Yeah, that definitely helped. Thanks!

 

[Atari]

Every tank is different.. so it's pretty much impossible to generalize.

IMO you don't need a skimmer from the start.. it only becomes useful once your bioload increases. As long as you don't dump a load of fishes and corals in right away, you can maintain a healthy tank with the usual bi-weekly water changes.

I ran FO tanks for years without skimmers.. you just have to be diligent with maintenance. I don't think I'd ever go without one on my Reef though.

You can always get one if needed down the road.

 

[Glomgold]

OK, I got a AquaC Remora skimmer, but I have yet another question. If it were possible for me to return the Filstar XP2 and get my cash back ($140.00), do you guys think I should do it? Is there a huge benefit to running carbon through a canister filter? If I return the filter, I could use the money to buy my sand, powerheads and fish (which is all I have left to buy). What would you guys (and gals) suggest?

 

[ReefRaff]

well now that you have a aqua-c, you could always get a >>Skimbox<< and use it also to run carbon. would be a huge savings.

 

[Glomgold]

Right on! So then there would be no reason to keep this filter?

 

[ReefRaff]

not from my point of veiw.

 

[Glomgold]

That's great, thanks ReefRaff!

 

[nyghtone]

I second the can the filstar opinion!!

HTH, Joshua...

 

[Glomgold]

Well that works out great for me, because even though I don't have the reciept for the filter, I can still get store credit for it. Then I can use all that money to get my sand, salt, test kits and even some fish food.