Skimmerless eel tank?

[jc]

Well, my 125 gallon discus experiment has failed. I just can't seem to keep discus alive. I'm giving my remaining freshwater fish to my dad. Since I've always had better luck with saltwater I'm going to keep the tank. I wanted to get your opinion on my idea. Since the tank is not reef ready and I don't want to use an overflox box I was hoping to go skimmerless. I have two canister filters, an eheim professional II and an eheim 2215 with Turbo Twist UV connected. I also have about 60 lbs of Live Rock ready to use. I definetly don't want it to be another reef tank. I'm thinking of a fowlr with some nitrate reducers such as Xenia or Caluerpa. I will do a 10-15 gallon water change once a week. Do you think this would work? In my experience with my reef tank having a skimmer only makes things easier and is not a necessity. I've gone skimmerless in my 180 reef for months at a time and nothing crashed. I would like to have either an eel tank with a snowflake and zebra or a mixed tank with a trigger, wrasse and lionfish.

[hobogato]

my tank has been up for over a year without a skimmer. i just do 5 gallon water changes twice a week and skim the top surface of the water at that time if it is needed. i do have a very deep sand bed and mangroves growing out of the top of the tank to help keep the tank clean.

btw, it is a reef with a lion, eel, and triggers

[RayAllen]

If you are like Ace and willing to do the water changes weekly, You will be fine without a skimmer. If you tend to skimp on water changes id buy a skimmer to pick up the slack.

Eels depending on species can make a big mess and anything thing that eats a lot is going to poop a lot.

[jc]

I think the canister filters will do a good job of catching the solid waste. I can then rinse them out when I do the water change. Up until recently I was doing weekly water changes until I pulled a muscle in my abdomen. I think at the most I might skip a week, but I would double the volume on the next week.
Ace, have you ever had the eels climb out of the tank?

[RayAllen]

JC im on my 3rd eel now and ive not had one escape the tank, but in most cases they say to ad a tight fitting lid. I was just using eggcrate but now I have nothing covering but my canopy. I do think some species may be more likely to flee the tank than others. Especially larger more aggressive species of moray.

[Scream311]

I had a 2ft Long SnowFlake eel for 2yrs and for the first 1 1/2 I had Egg Crate Tops. After I took them off He decided To Jump and I found him Bloated under My Stand. Very Sad.... he will be Missed. You build a bond when you have to hand feed an Eel

[hobogato]

never had an issue with the zebra, but they are supposed to be less prone to jumping than other morays.