[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Beverly

I'm with boB on this one.

A few years ago, we ran a Precision Marine HOT skimmer on our first two reefs for about 2-3 years. Produced great skimmate! But fiddling with it to remove micro bubbles, fiddling to get the skimmate not too wet or too dry, and coming home to at least two floods was just too much freaking work! Now that we live in a second storey condo, floods are a major no-no

I know we do exta work to compensate for the lack of skimmers on our three reefs, but we don't have any more floods and don't have to fiddle with extra machinery. IMO, our reefs look great.

Rory and countless others have seen our skimmerless reefs. Anyone care to comment on how our reefs are doing without skimmers?

Yes Bev, but how much extra work has not having a skimmer cost you? mind you I think you have a little bit of Obsessive/compulsive going on anyways with your water changes and tank maintenance so it probably works for you, but for normal people who don't want there tanks to consume there whole life.....

Sorry Bob, I can't back you on this one.. I tried your "skimmer-less" ideal for the last 6 months as I figured what the heck I am building a new one anyways.. anyhow.. algae ran out of control, water changes went from 10% a month to about 50% a week personal maintenance went to a daily thing instead of every month.. sorry I don't have the time to not run a skimmer.

to replace a skimmer you need more than just 1 thing up there for example a Skimmer will:

remove dissolved organics = Carbon
remove undissolved stuff = mechanical filter
remove nitrates by removing the stuff that causes them in the first place = mechanical filter + live rock/sand bed/fluidized filter

OK now you still have other benefits that you will be missing.. a all in one solution, aeration of the water with out air stones or excessive surface movement which leads to salt creep, extra water flow.. ect..

for what it is worth there are ways to stop a skimmer from putting bubbles into a tank so that should never be an issue. and sense a skimmer is basically a closed loop there is no reasons for floods if you use some common sense and chose your skimmer and set up with what you want to achieve in mind.

Steve