Skimmer Or No Skimmer

[barker_23]

Hi,

I have been doing loads of research, i am planning a 30ish gallon tank. I have been looking around and some people say to have a skimmer and others dont.

Just wondered what everyone thought and if there are rules as to how big would you need a skimmer?

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

Richard

 

[N1z]

Tbh most people say you dont need one at that size due to its at the limits of being nano. So they wont be too much organic matter to take out in a small tank. Best thing to do is put LR in and skip the skimmer IMO, or if you decided to get one just get a basic wooden air diffuser one.

 

[andywg]

A skimmer does a lot of good and is almost always recommended.

It is often not thought necessary on tanks under 20-30 gallons as you can still do water changes frequently enough without costing an arm and a leg in salt and still keeping the nitrates down.

From 30 upwards they are really essential for maintaining good water quality (it is possible to go without, but is often more hard work and long term cost).

Tunze have some good guides on what size skimmer to use:

Tunze skimmer guide

Select DOC skimmer and then Tunze DOC Skimmer and you should get to a good page which includes:

In addition, due its biotope composition, every marine aquarium has a different sensitivity with respect to the organic load. Based on a standard marine aquarium with soft corals, the data on the suitable skimmer size may differ in other biotopes. For this reason, the aquarium volumes recommended for the skimmer should be reduced in case of sensitive biotopes:

Low sensitivity
In soft coral aquariums with long-polyp corals and anemones, for example, the share in dissolved organic matter may be higher, sometimes it may even be vital. In this type of aquarium, the recommended aquarium volume can be used without deduction.

Medium sensitivity
A medium organic stability is usually found in mixed aquariums inhabited with soft and stone corals (LPS). Filter-feeding animals, sponges, et cetera, are found there frequently as well. For these aquariums, a reduction of about 20 per cent of the skimming capacity is calculated. A skimmer for 1,000 litres (264 US gal.) should thus be used for an aquarium of about 800 litres (211 US gal.) which has this kind of reef design.

High sensitivity
Aquariums with primarily small-polyp stony corals (SPS) require an especially high degree of purity. They should have no load of phosphates or nitrates worth mentioning. Good oxygen saturation and very clear water are the pre-requisites. Comline DOC skimmer is also often used as a “stand-alone” solution in these aquariums. This type of aquarium should be reduced by about 40 per cent in volume for the skimmer volume mentioned.

High sensitivity and high load
Hard coral aquariums with a high population of fish require an extremely high skimming capacity. The skimmer has to ensure the degree of purity for the hard corals at an above-average high fish load. If the Comline DOC skimmer has to operate as a “stand-alone” solution here, a high performance is required. This type of aquarium should be reduced by up to 60 per cent in volume for the skimmer volume mentioned.

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, 30g is pretty much the dividing line. Above that and you should skim. Below that and you shouldnt. Right at 30g, its a tossup.

 

[barker_23]

Cheers Guys, that helps.

I might just go bigger and go for the skimmer, dont really want to cut any corners.

Thanks

 

[andywg]

Agreed, 30g is pretty much the dividing line. Above that and you should skim. Below that and you shouldnt. Right at 30g, its a tossup.

It's not that you shouldn't skim, it's just not felt as necessary. I can see no detrimental effects to skimming a 20 gallon tank, and it is heavily recommended when keeping smaller predatory tanks (such as dwarf morays or smaller frogfish).

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, I should watch my words more-closely