Actually, you DON'T need a skimmer on a set up of that size. I am sorry to burst your bubble Canuck, but as long as you are on top of your maintenance and do an appropriate sized water change weekly/biweekly then you can actually keep ahead of a skimmer. There is no need to put on a filter for a SW nano, due to the fact that your LIVE ROCK is your filtration, and so is the sand. Tho I do agree that to use the rock as your filtration you should have more rock unless you are not thinking of putting in the corals. You do however want to have a 19X turn over rate going through the rock mainly. The HOB would be decent if your looking to polish the water, I would add a little floss just to pull the fine particles out. But it may not be necessary.
Some questions on tank setup
- Thread starter Aneno312
- Start date
Didnt say you needed a skimmer.
You need a filter unless your going to have the correct rock to tank ratio.
Beating a skimmer by doing water changes actually is very hard and more work than buying a skimmer.
My bubble isnt burst. I ran a 125 pred without a skimmer.... i took the correct precautions though.
I was making sure you knew what it took to run your tank without a filter and without a skimmer, which is a lot of work.
Protein skimmers help maintain low nitrate levels by retarding nitrate buildup. They remove organic waste before it has a chance to break down and release nitrogen compounds. The use of a protein skimmer is essential in reef aquariums where a very low nitrate level is crucial for coral health
Seems you already know everything. Good luck
You need a filter unless your going to have the correct rock to tank ratio.
Beating a skimmer by doing water changes actually is very hard and more work than buying a skimmer.
My bubble isnt burst. I ran a 125 pred without a skimmer.... i took the correct precautions though.
I was making sure you knew what it took to run your tank without a filter and without a skimmer, which is a lot of work.
Protein skimmers help maintain low nitrate levels by retarding nitrate buildup. They remove organic waste before it has a chance to break down and release nitrogen compounds. The use of a protein skimmer is essential in reef aquariums where a very low nitrate level is crucial for coral health
Seems you already know everything. Good luck
I hate to disagree with my buddy TheCanuck, but you even need a skimmer in a reef. An algea scrubber is much better at maintaining zero level nitrogen compounds, though if you over feed way to much then you could still get an ammoinia spike, unless you have been overfeeding since the start. As he said skimmers remove before breakdown but breakdown still occurs, hence the need for waterchanges, but with a scrubber waterchanges can be cut down to almost none if done right.
Kevin8888;3962257; said:
LoL a scrubber pimp. I am about to be a pot scrubbie pimp with my new 800 pot scrubbie sump
