It depends on what you want to have in terms of if you need a skimmer or not. If you go reef you will almost be required to have one, the degree of success depends on what type of corals and inverts you want to have, how big your aquarium is, and how much Live Rock it has.
My objective is certainly have a reef tank, I think its something i will purchase in the near future, but for the time being i think what i have will do the trick.
The tank is 75 gal, there is about 65lbs of LR (another 65 or more to come in the comming weeks)
wish list is
well it keeps changing. I think i will be looking at what corals/inverts i like and base my fish descion around that.
i never used a skimmer and i have a successful reef
theres no hard core proof that a skimmer is needed, its suggested in over 99% of internet sites but its not absolutely neccessary to have a thriving healthy tank
my nitrates are zero and i never used a skimmer. keep up with water changes, ph, salinity, calcium check etc. for those are the key elements not a skimmer
so do you 100% need one? then the answer is no
What you need to realize is that if you want to go to the lengths of having perfect water, even using tap water, and you want to be able to put whatever inhabitants you want to, without thinking about your restrictions, then get a skimmer. I turned off my Bak-Pak for a couple days and my water got cloudy(with a penguin 200 bio wheel and 40 lbs LR). I have a few points
--Skimmers do not remove beneficial nutrients from your water, as reef inhabitants do not feed nor thrive off of what the skimmer pulls out.
--Never take your LFS's word for it.
--With 1-2lbs LR and a skimmer you can hold ANYTHING in your tank.
--Canister filters CAN be useless.
--If you are worried about nothing but "ugly skimmers" hanging on your tank, then get out of the hobby, this is fishkeeping not interior decorating.
--And finally, GET A SKIMMER AND PROVE ME WRONG.
"With 1-2lbs LR and a skimmer you can hold ANYTHING in your tank"
live rock is crucial however with a skimmer that doesnt mean you can "hold anything" in your tank
i skimmer doesnt make up for using bad tap water and making no water changes
never ever use tap water in a reef system, it has no place in a reef setup.
use RO water only
tap water has nitrates and phosphates something you want to erase from a reef tank not add.
a tank is alot easier to maintain when you start with pure water, with or without a skimmer
tanks have often crashed when skimmers malfunctioned. i wont use equipent that can be a potential danger in the long run
this i do not agree with, i have done so much reading on this suburb i have done so much asking also and 90% of people, forums and reading i have done suggest they do. if you put yourcalcuims etc in it will take some not all but it will certainly consume some of the nutrients.
I will get a skimmer because it is suggest that one is a good addition not because its a must. However am going to leave the tank with out a skimmer for a few months as an experement. I have had reading of 0 for nitrates nirites and ammonia for quite some time, never have i ran into any problems within my water conditions. I just keep my weekly 10-15% changes up this is all with no skimmer and some large fish with resonable bioloads.
if your worried about over skimming then get the seaclone i like them on tanks up to 75 gallons they work fairly good and are cheap. they dont over do it though.
only thing bad about them is the new design makes micro bubbles.
The reason you have good water quality is because of those 10-15% weekly water changes. With a skimmer, you save money on salt. I do a 5% water change every saturday and my parameters are the same. It's a good idea to experiment, that's how you get experience.
Well.....like Bob Fenner says in his book(and you should have his book!!), ........"Once you see what a skimmer pulls out of your water, youll never want to be without one!"
