Are skimmers overrated?

[J_G]

If you read articles that talk about reefing today and how it came about in the home environment they talk about it has only become successful after the skimmer was invented. Remember this...old tires run at the same speed as new ones...are they reliable? How much money do you have in livestock and are your seat belts fastened.

John

[Bill S]

Have you LOOKED at what a skimmer takes out? Would you intentionally dump that into a tank? I don't CARE if Borneman runs no skimmer - he's an expert. If, by chance, I were to ever be in his league, then I MIGHT try it... That being said, my daughter's nano has no skimmer, but I replace 1/2 of the water every other week...

[aggie4231]

Have you LOOKED at what a skimmer takes out? Would you intentionally dump that into a tank? I don't CARE if Borneman runs no skimmer - he's an expert. If, by chance, I were to ever be in his league, then I MIGHT try it... That being said, my daughter's nano has no skimmer, but I replace 1/2 of the water every other week...

But have you seen/heard what a skimmer takes out, that could be good for your tank? Beneficial planktonic fauna, snail larva, copepods, etc. Yes I know it takes out other bad stuff too. I don't run a skimmer, CA reactor, or other expensive equipment. I put more work into my tank when I ran the skimmer. Always had red turf algae, hair algae with the skimmer. Now, I do a 5-10 gal water change on my 58 once or twice a month. Run the refugium with C. prolifera. I don't have any problems. I did have some residual hair algae that took off, put I lost alot of snails due to temp issues. An argument can be made for bothe sides.

[captexas]

Yes, arguements can be made for both sides just like any other aspect of saltwater/reefkeeping. Everyone has different experiences and outcomes. There are way too many factors involved in having a successful tank to say this one thing does it all. You can have 100 different tank all with skimmers and they will all be different in how well they do. You can also have a 100 different tanks without skimmers and they will all be different in how well they do.

I don't think skimmers are over-rated. They have long been proven useful tool for the majority of people in this hobby for many years now. I also think you don't need the biggest most expensive skimmer on the market to have a successful tank either.

[Flushdraw]

Well, this is turning out to be quite an informative thread. Thanks for all the opinions. As far as the water turning yellow, didn't you guys try carbon?

I don't like the vodka idea. Vodka belongs in a martini. I did put a couple of shots of bourbon in my cube last night...it solved all my problems! Who
would have thought?

Flushdraw

[tony]

small world, my tank looks better after a few shots of bourbon and/or vodka as well