I dont have a sump or a skimmer

[Damseluver]

Follow this link and second down from top left is Andreas reef tank video.http://www.reefvideos.com/

No sump, no skimmer, no calcium reactor, mixes sps and softies etc.

I am not saying that all of this equipment is not a good thing but it is definitely not mandatory.

Set up your tank on a budget that you are comfortable with and go from there. You don't have to spend a butt load of money to get in to the hobby and anyone encouraging you to do so should be looked on with suspicion. Present company on this forum of course is excluded. This is an nice small community and a forum I enjoy to visit pretty much every day.

 

[Melonbob]

Yup, you should see how much I get beat on the other forum I hang at everyday because I bought Octo skimmers, Catalina Lighting, mag pumps etc, etc, funny thing is, the guy whose done most of the beating lately had a total tank crash a few weeks ago. Everything completely wiped out and he has no idea why. I still feel for the guy though, I can't imagine losing everything at once

 

[Alexander]

Here is the deal... Yes you will not have to spend a bunch of money upfront, but to think you can just go about your daily husbandry techniques as you would if you had a sump and skimmer would be completely incorrect. There will be a HUGE amount of extra maintenance to be done to maintain that kind of water quality. So in the end you will still be paying lots of money and even more time.

 

[cthegame]

Its a matter of how much time & money you have to maintain the tank. You can get away with having no skimmer or sump, but IMo you;re only making it harder & more expensive on yourself in the long run. Having a sump which doesnt need to cost more than $50 vs. not having the sump to save that money, well there is just no question. a sump gives you more water volume which means less work on your part, hides your equipment and can act as another filter with a fuge inside. So if you count all the benefits a $50 sump can give you, why not do it.

 

[Alexander]

nobody can argue the benefits of a protien skimmer when staring down a cup of severly smelly thick substance. thats proof that there are some things we should have.

 

[ccCapt]

The only thing needed for a successful system is proper lighting, proper flow and proper water quality. What you use to get there depends on you.

You don't need any of that equipment you mentioned, but no skimmer means more water changes to maintain water quality. Ca reactor insn't needed, but if you have a high demand system, ca must be replenished. You can use DIY 2 part solutions, buy supplements or do more water changes.
I don't know where anyone ever said that all that stuff was needed, but the results you get from using them are needed for a successful system.

 

[defcon235]

I've seen people go without a sump with no problems, but no skimmer? In the first month or two of a tanks life, maybe. After that, i'd say you pretty much need it.

 

[yote]

I'd say that how well your tank does without a skimmer depends on how anal you are about your tank maintaince.Along with the bioload.

 

[lightcs4]

I've seen people go without a sump with no problems, but no skimmer? In the first month or two of a tanks life, maybe. After that, i'd say you pretty much need it.

I've had my tank since November '07 without a skimmer and parameters are great. It's light in fish and corals. I'm not saying a skimmer isn't a good idea, I'm searching for a HOB fuge / skimmer for my 46 gal. However, I do five gallon water changes almost every weekend and have about 90 pounds of live rock.

 

[cthegame]

ultimately water changes & proper lighting and decent flow is all you need. But will anyone really have this much consistent dedication? I don't think so. long term, a skimmer is like gold to me.

 

[Damseluver]

Personally and unlike andreas I have a sump and a skimmer. More the point of the post is to ease the sticker shock of entering the hobby which is more important these days than it usually is.

If a new comer can go without these items for six months to a year with out interest waning its a good indicator that they are in for the long haul and its time to start investing some more money in the tank. Just mho.

 

[dustin_P74]

yeah but what new comer is going to have the patience and the where with all to actually do weekly 10-20% water changes and be able to handle the die off that might occur from not running a skimmer

 

[sicklids]

I love this forum!

i would say a skimmer is a necessity, my tank is about 6 months old, and my skimmer pulls all kinds of crap out! when i first hooked it up a month ago i couldnt believe all the junk it pulled out. amazing how much crap was in my water that i apparently didnt notice! skimmers are gold IMO.

as far as sumps go, i dont have one on my 55g as of now, however, when i set up the 120 gallon tank, i will have one, its in the works as we speak!

more water = easier tank to keep up with!
protien skimmer + sump = lots easier tank to keep up with!

 

[Rcpilot]

I'm a believer in skimmers.

I run the 30g with a HOB refugium that has a built in skimmer. No sump--but my refugium kinda is my sump.

 

[daugherty]

you dont need them but they make your tank a lot more stable. if you want to have a great added maintence to a tank than by all means dont use them.with out them you will use twice as much salt because you have to do so many more and larger water changes to keep the water clean and healthy for the fish and corals JMTC

 

[yote]

When I first got into the hobby,I ran my 30 for nearly 8 months without a skimmer.And had 2 emperor 400s hanging off the back of it.But I was doing also doing 10 gallon water changes every week along the complete filter cleanings.
Now with my 75,I'm doing 25 gallon water changes every week while running 2 skimmers hanging on a 30 gallon sump/fuge.
Either way you look at it,it still comes right back to to husbandry and maintiance.

 

[Damseluver]

When it comes to new hobbyist I often hesitate to advise that they sink a lot of money into the tank until they gain experience. I usually suggest a fish only tank. Yep not even any live rock. There own personal interest level will dictate where things go from there. Some of us can remember when live rock was not even available but still some of the displays could come close to rivaling a modern reef tank.

Some will be content with just the fish and others will discover in there own time things like live rock, skimmers etc.

At any rate the hobbyist attrition rate for SW can be vary high. Most are in and out of the hobby within a years time but this is basically true of any hobby.

SW aquariums probably have a slightly higher rate of exit due to lack of quality equipment at the retail level and its high mark up along with poor quality livestock availability. These are the reasons I have personally been in and out of the hobby half a dozen times or so myself.

 

[lightcs4]

Still say it's highly recommended but not required. My DT is now ten months now without a skimmer, but consistent water changes of 10% a week on a lightly stocked tank. I'm just now saving toward a fuge and skimmer, but the corals are doing well, even the few SPS.

 

[Damseluver]

Re: I don't have a sump or a skimmer

yep; and from my experience water changes will beat the best skimmer and filtration money can buy.

Nutrient uptake can be achieved in many ways. Just having a lot of corals can help and a relatively small deep sand bed in a container hidden behind the rock in a sumpless system will export nitrates at surprising efficiency. Cheato can also be placed directly in a sumpless tank. No matter what water changes will still be needed to properly maintain trace element levels and is a good practice to get the newbie into. If the new hobbyist can not get use to the chore of regular water changes he should probably forgo haveing the tank whether there is a skimmer or not.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that there are actually two kinds of dissolved organics. One that is attracted to surface tension which is how our skimmers work and creates the unsitely oil slick on the surface of skimmerless tanks with a high doc level and another that supends in water column. If this is true a skimmer is only taking out a percentage of the DOCs no matter how good it is.