Skimmerless

[sagent3000]

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i am thinking about going skimmerless. i just built a sump but forgot to leave enough room for a skimmer and i don't like the way it looks and its helll trying to figure out how to keep the bubbles out the tank. i have one tunze 6000 on a controller and one nanostream 6045 both shooting water the same way. i am thinking that i will do a 20% - 25% water change every month. this is just till i get my new house how do you guys think that will work?


my current load

a few corals
1 - Regal Tang
1 - Kole Tang
1 - Peppermint Shrimp
1 - Skunk Shrimp
1 - Maroon Clown (another one soon to come)
1 - Strawberry Pseudo
a couple wrasse in the near furtue

 

[Oscarsdad608]

I would go with 10% a week. If you wait to do water changes it will let your nitrates build up. If you don't run a skimmer you have to keep up your regular water changes.

 

[yote]

I agree with Osca.Only I'd go 20% a week.

 

[Alexander]

I think you def need to do more than once a month... and I would also recommend a monimum 6 foot long tank upgrade for the tangs you have.

 

[Piggy]

I think Doc has a tank that's skimmerless. Check out his tank thread. It could be of help. I would at least test once a week to keep a eye on things.

 

[Bifferwine]

Yep Doc has a tank that's skimmerless too. It can be done, and I have seen amazing looking reef tanks that don't use skimmers, but their fish load is always low, and they keep feedings to a minimum. I would also do 10 to 20% water changes a week. Just monitor your parameters and adjust the water change schedule and amount as needed.

 

[cthegame]

Yes i agree, if you're going skimmerless, do 20% weekly water changes instead of 10% which is recommended for tanks w/ skimmers.

 

[reeffreak]

Do I need to get the tang police out?Why yes I do.......

 

[RyanG]

Reef just a newbie question, why the tang police? Too small a system???Maybe? Great photoshoping though

 

[reeffreak]

....but on to your question.Many people have suceess going skimmer-less but have to do more water changes to compensate for not having one.Most of people who do go without a skimmer keeps there bio-load to a minumum.Sorry,tangs are messy,pooping machines so I would include a skimmer someway somehow.

 

[reeffreak]

Regal(Hippo) tangs really should be in a minimum 6ft tank and 125g up.They grow huge,over a foot.Eventually it will need a bigger home.I'm not really ragging on you as much as I just wanted to post the ''tang police'' pic.

 

[cthegame]

i like the tang police, he keeps us in check.

 

[sagent3000]

reef i am getting a new tank when the new house is finished. i plan for it to be 6ft so they will have plenty of room to swim

 

[Alexander]

so how soon is the new house?

 

[sagent3000]

the new house is 3 months at most

 

[fatman]

The longer the tank has been established the greater your success is at running the tank without a skimmer. Your bacteria in the tank will develop based on what is present in your tank to feed it. Meaning different bacteria will develop different populations based on whether there are competitors for that food. If you have a skimmer and have been using it then all bacteria levels will be lower than if you had not. If you do not have a skimmer though you need to supply the conditions for those bacterias growth such as proper sand depths and percentage of volume of tank space in live rock or by using refugiums. There are lots of deep sand bed tanks and tanks with plenum type sand beds that do not require water changes, charcoal use, phosban or skimmers. They generally well established before water changes are stopped however. The greatest amount of good effect from water changes comes from small amounts frequently. Surprisingly more bad stuff can be removed from tank in doing a two gallon water change every other day for 10 days than in doing one 10 gallon water change every ten days.