My protein skimmer broke 2 days ago...

[DurTBear]

2 days ago, my protein skimmer broke but unfortunately, I was on my way out to Tahoe for a snowboarding trip for the weekend. I'm going to buy another protein skimmer but if I buy online, it probably won't get here until Wednesday. Is this too long? Will there be serious damage to the tank if I don't have a protein skimmer running for close to a week?

[Ziggy953]

I would do some water changes before you leave, and as soon as you get back. I would be worried about my tank if my skimmer was down for that long.

[MT79]

Not having a skimmer for a week or two will not be a problem. Just make sure your PH stays ok, since the skimmer mixes O2 with the water sometimes they help maintain high PH. If you have good flow otherwise, it will not be an issue. I recommend buying a "good" skimmer so it's your last.

[DurTBear]

Yeah, I'm going to go with an Aqua C Remora as I've heard good things about them. I'll definitely do a water change since I usually do my weekly water change on Mondays. Anyway, thanks for the reassurance. I've been really worried about my tank when my skimmer went down right before I left (why does it always seem like lightning strikes at the worst of times?!).

[tecwzrd]

You may see a minor increase in no3 but other then that I agree it shouldn't be an issue. You're not overstocked for your 20 gal and you have plenty of LR. I assume you have someone topping off and feeding every other day while you're gone. Might be a good idea to have 5 gal of mixed SW for emergencies while your gone also.

Have fun tearing up the slopes

[melosu58]

I agree also that you should be OK but I would do some PWC`s to make up for it.