under rated skimmer ?

Scots_art

Reefing newb
ok so it might sound like a stupid question , but i was wandering.

I am considering in buying a 130L tank ( when empty ).

and i am wandering if i could use a skimmer rated for tanks up to 100L.
the reason i am wandering is once you have added the rock and sand there is obviously going to be less than 130 L.
 
the general recommendation is to get a skimmer that is rated for twice the volume of your tank. Since yours is 130 Liters, you would ideally want a skimmer rated for ~260 Liters. A skimmer is one of the more important pieces of gear for a saltwater system, its generally not something you want to skimp on
 
hmm thats diff here in the UK , people dont usually get a skimmer rated twice the size of the tank , plus that would not be an issue if you have a sump to hide it in.
but i am not using a sump
 
A skimmer is not necessary (but it does indeed help). But in your case, a tank that's as small as yours (34g), you should be fine without it as long as you do regular water changes.

But also, any skimmer is better than no skimmer, really. So find the best skimmer that fits your setup. A good HOB kind.
 
yeah , i was just considering not running a skimmer and doing fortnightly water changes. i could save the money and put it towards an MP10. as i have just been informed that UK sellers have been told to increase the prices of all Vor Tech pumps.
it seems most stores have increased the price of the MP10 by $50 minimum. one store has increased the MP10 price by $96 lol.
 
Doh...that sucks. Price hikes suck.

Yeah, water changes alone will suffice for a small tank.

I couldn't picture not having a skimmer in my tank, but then again, it's a 125g (473L) ;)
 
If I were you I would use a skimmer.. I find it essential to all saltwater aquariums.. and do water changes once a week, instead of every night. With no sump I would opt for a Hang on the back skimmer, either an Aqua-C Remora HOB Skimmer or a reef octo bh HOB skimmer. Just my .02
 
If I were you I would use a skimmer.. I find it essential to all saltwater aquariums.. and do water changes once a week, instead of every night. With no sump I would opt for a Hang on the back skimmer, either an Aqua-C Remora HOB Skimmer or a reef octo bh HOB skimmer. Just my .02

Why would you have to do water changes every night?
 
Emily the first make of skimmer you mentioned is not sold here in the UK.
and the Octo skimmer is fairly expensive for the skimmer that is rated for tanks up to 100 L the next size up is far to big as it says its rated for tanks starting at 300 L - 500 L. some what over kill lol.

but i wont be using a skimmer any more , i will do without one and just do water changes every fortnight.
 
doing fortnightly water changes.

instead of every night.



Why would you have to do water changes every night?

LOL I think she misunderstood him. A fortnight (very shakesperian) is like, 2 weeks. She probably thought he meant every night ;)

Scots, I would ramp water chages up to every week, instead of every 2 weeks, since you won't have a skimmer.

People have successfully ran tanks w/o skimmers. Nothing wrong with it. But they make life SO much easier. They take out the excess food and poop out of the water column before they break down into ammonia/nitrites/nitrates.
 
wont , i have had marine aquariums previously and ran skimmers on them all . granted they were trash ( the skimmers ) but they were what i could afford.

Just this tank was originally going to be custom made and made as an all in one complete with skimmer that would fit in the rear chamber.
but the tank builder seems to be messing me around and i have waited 3+ months for a price and get told "" you will have a price by end of work today "".
so i have basically given up waiting and now going to be buying an off the shelf tank in opti white glass which is still cheaper than the custom made tank , speaking to his other customers and hearing what they have been charged for tanks smaller than mine.

ive been reading up on one tank here in Scotland where the owner does not have a skimmer and only does a 30 L water change every 2nd month , and his tank is over 200 L . though using natural sea water might help lol.

just here in the UK it is seen as only nano tanks should be attempted to be kept without skimmers , and the size of tank i will be running MUST have a skimmer , but i had thought about not running a skimmer as they do make the most noise and my tank is going right behind my headboard , and i have extra sensitive hearing so no skimmer would be great lol.
 
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I'm not sure how it is over there but, here under 30g (114L) is considered a nano. Yours is close enough to that that I'd consider it a nano still. I ran my 29g tank for a couple years without a skimmer and it was fine. You'll have no problems without one.
 
well over here it greatly depends on which forum you are a member off as to how your tank is rated lol..

the forum i am on classes anything from 21g -55g as large nano
then nano from 4g - 21g
and then pico anything less than 4g
but it all seems to be down to the forum owner as to tank class , size , gallons held .
 
I agree that you'll be fine without a skimmer as long as you keep up on doing a weekly water change. I run my ten gallon without a skimmer, although to be fair it doesn't do as well as my bigger tank with a nice skimmer on it.
 
I had a skimmer on my 10 gallon...actually worked pretty well...rio nano skimmer but was loud.
 
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