How Long Without Skimmer?

[fishlette]

three days ago, i noticed my multi skimmer had stopped working. i primed it up, off she went, and then 10 minutes later, nothin. this continued through the night until i decoded to go and get a new skimmer. i had run out at my shop so that meant i was gunna have to fork out $$$$ for one. even though i wanted to get a really good one, my husband had my purse in his car so could only afford to get a small-ish venturi skimmer. i thought it would do the trick for now and i would come back later for the better one. the venturi skimmer could then be a spare.

got it home, put it on the sump, turned the powerhead on...water everywhere. powerhead too strong. i tried everything i had and all too strong even a 1200 turned down. another day and night with no skimmer next morning i begrudgingly bought a 500lph. still too damn strong. i decided to go any lower was going to be a pathetic amount of skimming happening so i took it back and was going to get the one ii wanted.

because i know the people that run the shop, when i got there they said they could sell me the other one or i could have the old one from their quarantine tanks (they got new ones that stand about the same height as me 5'4"). its a weipro sa-2014. get it home powerhead too strong still. getting cranky lol then we look down...water everywhere...its just not getting any better. the bottom of the unit has a leak in the seal and we were too busy watching the water level in the skimmer that we didnt see water going everywhere.

so today i am going to get the one i want come rain, hail or shine

after all that, how long is it safe to not have a skimmer going?? i dont know if im over paranoid or not but i dont like not having one going

 

[AK77]

How big is your tank? If it eases your worries, some people do not use them at all. They are commonly not used on Nano tanks, as water changes do the same thing. You could try using active charcoal to absorb organic compounds in the meantime. Just keep an eye on your nitrate levels and perform a water change if necessary.

 

[drag]

ive had my 30 gal for 3 years without a skimmer

 

[SkiFletch]

Depends on the tank, its inhabitants, it's current chemistry, other filtration, and what you're feeding... As mentioned, some people run tanks for years without them while other's with sps farms would suffer without one for a few days.

In your case, I'd feed lightly and order a replacement pump/skimmer off ebay and install it when it gets in.

 

[fishlette]

Depends on the tank, its inhabitants, it's current chemistry, other filtration, and what you're feeding... As mentioned, some people run tanks for years without them while other's with sps farms would suffer without one for a few days.

In your case, I'd feed lightly and order a replacement pump/skimmer off ebay and install it when it gets in.

i got myself a new skimmer. my mum came for a visit and decided to buy a present for the tank i got a macro aqua as-300p

macro aqua

seems to be doing an awesome job

 

[SkiFletch]

Cool, looks exactly like a copy of the Coralife Superskimmer

 

[drag]

Cool, looks exactly like a copy of the Coralife Superskimmer

no lie, just very small differences

 

[fishlette]

Cool, looks exactly like a copy of the Coralife Superskimmer

is that good?

 

[SkiFletch]

they're the economical model I reccomend if you're in the states

 

[fishlette]

yay