Red Sea Reefer 250 Protein Skimmer

[Canadianeh]

Is anybody running tanks without protein skimmer?

what’s the best option for Red Sea 250?

I plan for reef tank with minimum amount of fish and mostly corals

 

[Jason Bell]

I have run two without a skimmer, one I switched back to using a skimmer. I still run my 130D Red Sea without a skimmer, I use carbon, purigen, chemipur and floss. Typically I change 10% of the water weekly, the floss every other day. I do have a good amount of live rock in the tank, fine for leathers, zoa's, mushrooms and the like. On the bagged items mentioned, instated with 2 of each them cycled 1 of each out every 4 weeks. It works for me, but I am diligent with my schedule.

 

[Canadianeh]

I see some tanks don’t do WC and run no skimmer.

 

[Jason Bell]

That is rare for success, I've been involved in saltwater since 13 yrs old and now at 48 the basic principles are the same. Live rock can really help, bio filtration etc, but often now people don't use enough to have an impact. I know that water changes make a difference, I can see it in my coral and that is a small task to perform.

 

[Canadianeh]

Then I can use your expertise down the line

I plan to go bare bottom on my tank and slightly under the rock to water ratio. What do you think?

 

[Jason Bell]

One thing I've learned and the hard way is flow really matters. Bare bottom will help with not allowing particles to hang around. I recently changed my pumps in my 40 to FX330 Gyre, I think that's what they are called, the Maxspect product and couldn't be happier, even the soft coral are more open.

So bare bottom, flow, change your floss or clean filter socks regularly and that will help.

Of course depending on coral selection then you get in to the wonderful world of dosing, but honestly at the start focus on getting a routine you can stick with....PS love the red sea tanks.

 

[Matt1997]

I can honestly say a skimmer has been a piece of equipment that never let me down regardless of brand. I do love my vertex 200I though.

 

[TORX]

I see lots of large tanks that run without WC or skimmers or this or that equipment. The majority of which all only run for 1-3 years then tear it down due to a crash or the husbandry has gotten so much that they can not keep up with it. Do you NEED a skimmer? Well first ask what the skimmer is for. They remove organic waste before it has a chance to break down which helps maintain low nitrate levels by slowing the nitrate buildup.

Now the question is, what other ways will remove organic waste to do the same thing? Well you can use filters, which will need to be changed and cleaned often do remove it from the water and stop it from getting too small. You can also do water changes to remove it as well. The size of water changes is where it flat out sucks. I was doing 5 gallons a twice a week on my nano which equated to a 30% water change. I still ran very high nitrates. In a 65 gallon tank, that would be around 20 gallons a week for water changes or more to keep you levels within check. That is a lot of water to tote around, a lot of water to mix and a lot of salt to buy.

You could also start up a refugium to compensate. Most people recommend a large refugium if you are replacing a skimmer. Typically the same water volume as the tank. Many have their fuge in a different room or even set it up as a macro tank that is even pleasing to look at.

In the end, you need a way to export those nutrients. Via skimmer, large water changes or fuge. Honestly, a skimmer is the absolute easiest way to go. It takes up little room, is minimal on maintenance and better then breaking your back on water. Ultimately it is what you want to do though.

 

[Canadianeh]

What’s the rule of WC? I thought rule of thumb is 10%? It should be around 20 gallon per month, not per week. No?

 

[TORX]

What’s the rule of WC? I thought rule of thumb is 10%? It should be around 20 gallon per month, not per week. No?

Yes...but that is really a fresh water thing though. It can be true with SW to if you have proper nutrient export aka skimmer or refugium. Without those then you may need to do more and larger water changes to keep nutrients at an acceptable level.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[Canadianeh]

My plan is to run full Apex system with Trident so I can automate testing and dosing

 

[Winks]

I have a 110 gallon tank with a 50 gallon sump on it. I run about 30 gallon fuge section with a skimmer that have black coffee coloured skimate in it and harvest the fuge at least once a month because it grows so much. I still have issues at times with high nutrient levels. I also run the Triton dosing system which helps with the water changes but they are still needed. A skimmer, IMHO, is the least that a person should run to have long term success.