Do i need a protein skimmer?

[cichlid7646]

I was thinking of setting up a small saltwater tank (not a reef) and i was wondering if i could use a normal canister filter and if i needed a protine skimmer? All advice would be helpful

[coralbandit]

Most believe under 30 g you don't need a skimmer as you can make enough weekly water changes to keep nutrients in line .

[Jesterrace]

Originally Posted by cichlid7646

I was thinking of setting up a small saltwater tank (not a reef) and i was wondering if i could use a normal canister filter and if i needed a protein skimmer? All advice would be helpful

Ditch the canister and go HOB (ie Fluval or Seachem Tidal) and you won't regret it. Canister filters become nitrate factories very easily in marine setups since they are difficult to get properly cleaned out. As for the skimmer, I would skip it and stick to weekly water changes. Save the money for the upgrade.

[eatsomepopcorn]

You can use a canister. I did for my 44 gallon which was fine and I ran it for 6 years. No protein skimmer needed.


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[54seaweed]

I run a canister on my 60g FOWLR , I do maintenance every 2 weeks the only thing different is I added LR and use pinky poly filter pads I cut to size , the cheapest way to run a canister with out that nasty sponge that will hold those phosphates and release them back into your tank .

[Jesterrace]

I didn't say you couldn't run one, I just mentioned they are the most problematic mechanical filtration method in a saltwater tank. I don't see anywhere near the number of complaints and issues with sumps or HOB that I do about canister filters.

[Elude82]

Hi Cichlid! As for a protein Skimmer or no protein Skimmer. When I set up my 25 Gallon Lagoon, most advice was that I wouldn’t need it, and that water changes would be all that I need. As I respect everyone’s opinions, because in this hobby “to each their own”. This was my mindset, at first I did not run a protein Skimmer. Then I saw on a friends tank (who had the same IM 25 Gallon Lagoon) that he had tea color water and dark skim in his collection cup.
My stance is this, we run all these fancy equipment on bigger tanks. With the small tanks, I feel it’s a bandaid to just do water changes. A tank is a tank, just things should be shrunken down. Same toys, just smaller. Once I added the Ghost Skimmer to my tank, the water was clearer, the parameters were constantly better, and this is still while doing 3 gallon water changes every Sunday. Yes, Sunday is my Sabbath for Saltwater. Lol

[Dary421]

After having run a saltwater tank for years, my opinion would be to use anything at your disposal to keep your water as clean as possible ,.... sure you can do water changes and prob take care of some of the suspended gunk , but for MY money if I could afford it ,I’d get the best skimmer that is suitable for your situation .
You never hear people posting that their water is too clean.

[Elude82]

Originally Posted by Dary421

After having run a saltwater tank for years, my opinion would be to use anything at your disposal to keep your water as clean as possible ,.... sure you can do water changes and prob take care of some of the suspended gunk , but for MY money if I could afford it ,I’d get the best skimmer that is suitable for your situation .

You never hear people posting that their water is too clean.

Amen Brother!