to skim or not?

[twisted]

ive recently downsized mybsump and moved my skimmer outside. then turned off the skimmer a few days ago. i run a cskim 1800. my wcs are 5 gal weekly .and total of 50 gal tank /sump. with the skimmer off, polyp extension is incredible, corals are even more vibrant. do i need to skim constantly? should i downsize the skimmer? im just confused as to why the tank looks better. i feed oyster feaast 3 times a week and coral vm twice a week, 1 cube mysis daily and sometimes a few pellets for the 4 fish. 2 clowns, melanarus wrasse and a cardinal.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

you're getting polyp extension because you aren't skimming out the zooplankton anymore. Skimmers are like UV they take out everything good or bad. As long as you're vigilant with your water changes and don't over do it on the feeding you should be fine skimmerless. I don't run one either, just a few tablespoons of carbon in a filter sock in my sump.

 

[twisted]

thanks! im gonna take a crack at it. ill do 10 gal weekly instead of 5 and cut back feeding the corals some. ill give it a month and see what hppens

 

[NikkiT]

I ran my 20G for years with no skimmer. I did not keep coral, just anems, bubble tip and sebae. If you have the room, you might want to try modifying a HOB filter to hold chemipure; i had great luck running my little tank with a HOB filter, carbon and filter floss.
Our 12g does not have (and has never had) a skimmer. I would suggest scaling back the oyster feast, though.

 

[twisted]

I ran my 20G for years with no skimmer. I did not keep coral, just anems, bubble tip and sebae. If you have the room, you might want to try modifying a HOB filter to hold chemipure; i had great luck running my little tank with a HOB filter, carbon and filter floss.
Our 12g does not have (and has never had) a skimmer. I would suggest scaling back the oyster feast, though.

i run chemi elite in my sump. great product! im gonna cut way back on oy fst for sure. ill probably just feed weekly and fish once a day. i built a magrove tube to fit above and behind my tank. basically its a salt water hydropnic loop tied from the closed loop. it feeds the 3 in pip that has 1 1/2" holes in it with baskets for mangroves. good for export and once they grow, will look really cool. ill get pics up once its all tied in. i think it might become contagious

 

[twisted]

Twisteds 40 breeder

 

[twisted]

the baskets support the plant and allow the roots to be in the water flow. the dam at the end give the pipe water level..i maybswitch to ffeed from the sump and return to it depending o how it drains to the tank.

 

[Classklown90]

That's pretty cool

 

[twisted]

I dropped the ball on finishing the tube and put the old sump back in and turned it into a fuge with liverock and halimeda. Still going skimmerless and the tank is doing awesome. No oil slick on te surface and no issues. Params are even more stable



Twisteds 40 breeder