Necessity of a Skimmer?

[reefraiser]

How important is it that you have a skimmer? I am starting to think my skimmer has crapped out and I don't know if I really want to spend the money on a new one. As of now, it rarely gets used and today I set it up and it doesn't seem to be sucking anything out.

I use the wet/dry filtration system on the following site Model 3 MegaFlow Sump - for 65, 75, 90, 110x Gallon, 92 Corner and 95 Wave | Wet/Dry Aquarium Filters | Filters | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com . Would I be safe to just run that filtration system and grow some chaeto in it?

I honestly doubt the skimmer has been run for more than a few days in the past 3 months and nothing has gone wrong.

 

[Smitty]

A skimmer is not 100% needed...if you decide not to have one, you will need to do good scheduled water changes...on my FO tank, I don't have a skimmer at all, but I do weekly 10% water changes...and on my reef tank, I only run my skimmer at night. So if you don't have one, you could still get by. In the meantime, save your money up to get a good one later on.

 

[yote]

You can get by without a skimmer.But you'll have to be anal about the water changes and cleaning.

 

[dcantucson]

Save yourself the trouble, now. Get a good skimmer.