Running skimmerless

[borderreef]

This is week 5 of running my 40b skimmerless, without gfo or gac. In week one I tested my parameters. Calcium 420, phosphates and nitrates undetectable. I did not measure alkalinity. Guess I should get a test kit. I then did a 10g water change. Week 2 measurements were stable, so I did a 5g water change. in weeks 3 and 4 measuresents were constant, so I did 5g water changes each week. Now in week 5 the measurements have remained constant. I am going to skip this week and see how it goes.
I am running a mixed reef. The bio load consists of a maroon clown, a lawnmower blenny, 2 chromis, a watchman goby, a clown goby, and a neon goby.
Is anyone else running skimmerless? I'd like to hear someone elses experiences.

 

[RMc]

Have you noticed any differences?

Do you have a refugium growing algae opposite of your main tank's photo period?

Do you have a strong circulation pump pointed at the surface?

Are you still using a sump? How is the water splashing down into the sump?


The reason I ask the questions above is that I feel that a skimmer serves two main purposes. Nutrient export and atmospheric exchange. Nutrient export can be managed through water changes, siphoning, and to a certain extent nitrate reducing bacteria in anoxic zones. Oddly enough, removing a skimmer can introduce more low O2 zones and potentially increase denitrifying bacterial content. What you want to be careful of in a skimmerless tank is low oxygen / high CO2 situations which may result from bacterial blooms, lights out periods, or areas with low flow. IE, if you're running a skimmerless tank be careful with - Overfeeding, Dosing Vinegar / Vodka / any product which claims to reduce nitrates or phosphates, dosing amino acids (which contain carbon readily available to bacteria), siphoning the substrate, introducing additional fish, removing a pump or changing the water circulation, removing the sump (if you currently have one). You can mitigate some of the risk by creating a vigorous waterfall in the sump (dumping water aggressively from the overflow), pointing any circulation pump up towards the surface to create a "plume", or running a macro algae refugium opposite your light schedule. That said - you might be able to get by without doing any of that and lightning may never strike.

 

[bonghapster]

I run two nano (40g & 10g) systems skimmerless. I do 10% weekly water changes, takes me 20mins. I like my tanks quiet and simple.

 

[KSC]

Yep, been running skimmerless tanks since the 90's. The antiquated skimmer has to be the most over rated piece of aquarium equipment used today. My current 90g sps tank has been running for about 8 years without a skimmer, and I've probably done every "you want to be careful with" items listed above.

I consider alkalinity the single most important test, you should get a kit. I do run gfo and carbon and change 10% of the water about once a week, or month, depending how busy I am. Also, my dsb is 8 years old and some of the "live rock" I grew myself....

 

[borderreef]

Have you noticed any differences?

Do you have a refugium growing algae opposite of your main tank's photo period?

Do you have a strong circulation pump pointed at the surface?

Are you still using a sump? How is the water splashing down into the sump?


The reason I ask the questions above is that I feel that a skimmer serves two main purposes. Nutrient export and atmospheric exchange. Nutrient export can be managed through water changes, siphoning, and to a certain extent nitrate reducing bacteria in anoxic zones. Oddly enough, removing a skimmer can introduce more low O2 zones and potentially increase denitrifying bacterial content. What you want to be careful of in a skimmerless tank is low oxygen / high CO2 situations which may result from bacterial blooms, lights out periods, or areas with low flow. IE, if you're running a skimmerless tank be careful with - Overfeeding, Dosing Vinegar / Vodka / any product which claims to reduce nitrates or phosphates, dosing amino acids (which contain carbon readily available to bacteria), siphoning the substrate, introducing additional fish, removing a pump or changing the water circulation, removing the sump (if you currently have one). You can mitigate some of the risk by creating a vigorous waterfall in the sump (dumping water aggressively from the overflow), pointing any circulation pump up towards the surface to create a "plume", or running a macro algae refugium opposite your light schedule. That said - you might be able to get by without doing any of that and lightning may never strike.

Forgive me if I don't answers all your questions. Back in the 90's when I first started, I was running a 20l with an undergravel filter. xenia loved it. Nothing else did. I ran my 45 tall without a skimmer for a month, only because the pump on the sea clown skimmer I was using died. On my 135g I was over skimming. I would never have thought of running that skimmerless, if only because of the cost of water changes needed.
Ok, lets see. I am still running my sump, and plan on growing cheto. I just have to take the time to partition off the return pump. I have 2 circulation pumps that agitate the surface. I also have a c2c overflow adding to oxygenation. I have never dosed in any of my tanks. I have a shallow sand bed which I have always syphoned and will continue to do. I am removing the clown. She is just too horny all the time, making a mess of the sandbed. I will be adding a couple of smallish fish once she is gone.

 

[Coffee with Mango]

I run my Innovative Marine 38g AIO without a skimmer. There is some surface agitation from the spin stream return nozzles and the water cascades an inch or two in the return chamber. Everything is great. I cannot, however, do a full 24 hours with lights out or it is trouble -- easily noticed in the Ph swing. I don't have algae problems these days so I don't have need to run without lights, but it caused me some grief when the tank was younger.

I am hoping to run my new 120 g without a skimmer (but I'm leaving room in the sump just in case).

 

[IPWitan]

My understanding is that we are all trying to create the oligotrophic waters of a reef (using my new word of the day...oligotrophic = nutrient poor and oxygen rich). So however you do it, you are removing waste while keeping oxygen levels up. A protein skimmer merely removes particulate before it breaks down into nitrate/phosphates. I think they also oxygenate the water, but I have no empirical study to support that belief. Perhaps extreme water changes could do enough nutrient export, but that sounds really expensive and time consuming.

I do believe the types of animals that survive well in your tank suggests the nutrient and oxygen levels of the tank. Some critters like the dirty waters of a lagoon and will thrive if that is what your tank is like. My more recent theories of reef keeping seem to focus on phosphate removal and preventing swings in alk. And to do that, I remove phosphates + nitrates with a refugium and a protein skimmer. For oxygenation, I use circulation pumps. For alk, I check every other day and use two part. ATO is in the works - then I will use kalk.

I think we can all agree that there are many ways to do this. Super clean water allows for certain things to grow; while dirty water permits others. Apparently even reefs grow in the mouth of the Amazon with all that nutrient rich water spilling over and around the reef. But the reef at the mouth of the Amazon doesn't support the same critters as the Red Sea.

Just my ramblings for the day...