LFS said to not use skimmer to start?

[Been_There8]

I went to my LFS and told them how i was starting a new biocube 14. I asked them how i should start it, they said to not run a skimmer for the first 2-3 months. He said the reason is that the skimmer takes out good and bad bacteria, and you want to give your tank time to raise its "good bacteria", so when the skimmer takes out the good and the bad, its not like you will be taking out too much of the "good bacteria" and the "good bacteria" will be so abundant, that it really wont matter.


Is this true? Im having second thoughts about it because i always see people starting up tanks and they use it from the start.

[justsomeguy]

I've used my skimmer since day one and haven't had any major problems. "If you don't run a skimmer, you may not pull out enough of the bad stuff and get an algae outbreak." That is what my LFS told me.

[MRN]

When we started our tank, LFS said that we didn't have to have a skimmer, but if we were going to keep corals we would need one. We started without one, but as soon as we added it to the tank, the water looked a lot clearer IMO.

[D to the P]

Yeah you don't have to start with one. Fish will do fine without it, but it does help keep the maintenance down. Even if you plan on adding one down the line, the tank will still cycle fine without it. I cannot say for certain as to whether or not it slows down the cycling process because I haven't done and don't know of any tests that actually show if the protein skimmer removed a significant number of bacteria, but I feel that it is possible that the skimmer could remove bacteria from the tank which would include the "good" bacteria and that may slow down the cycling process. But you CAN run a tank without a protein skimmer and it will cycle fine.

[prime311]

I'm not sure how a skimmer could remove bacteria. Bacteria doesn't live in the water column, so unless the skimmer is somehow getting chunks of your rock or substrate it shouldn't have any effect on bacteria. A protein skimmer removes solid waste from your tank, preventing the breakdown of said waste from becoming Ammonia, Nitrite, or Nitrate. This might prevent bacteria from forming to handle the transition of ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate, but I would think that would be a negligible amount.

[xJake]

It doesn't really matter. Some do and some don't. I never see any major difference between the two. Personally I'd start out from day 1 with a skimmer. It will reduce organic compounds in the water column and keep the tank from breaking out in algae during the initial cycle. As to what your LFS said about good bacteria and bad bacteria, skimmers, no matter what the design, aren't efficient enough to pull out all of the good bacteria so there will always be some floating around. Good luck and happy reefing! :D

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12667194#post12667194 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prime311
I'm not sure how a skimmer could remove bacteria. Bacteria doesn't live in the water column, so unless the skimmer is somehow getting chunks of your rock or substrate it shouldn't have any effect on bacteria.

Bacteria initially begins by floating around the water column before attaching to rocks and substrate. You don't have to be concerned about the skimmer removing all the bacteria as skimmers don't have the ability to completely filter 100% of the water passing through them.

[D to the P]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12667194#post12667194 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prime311
I'm not sure how a skimmer could remove bacteria. Bacteria doesn't live in the water column, so unless the skimmer is somehow getting chunks of your rock or substrate it shouldn't have any effect on bacteria. A protein skimmer removes solid waste from your tank, preventing the breakdown of said waste from becoming Ammonia, Nitrite, or Nitrate. This might prevent bacteria from forming to handle the transition of ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate, but I would think that would be a negligible amount.
Protein skimmers remove dissolved organics from the water, not solid waste. Mechanical filters (eg a sponge) remove the solid waste.

[xJake]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12667610#post12667610 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by D to the P
Protein skimmers remove dissolved organics from the water, not solid waste. Mechanical filters (eg a sponge) remove the solid waste.

Actually they don't remove solely dissolved organics. If you ever look closely at the foam head in your skimmer you'll see small particles that are not dissolved in the water column.

[prime311]

Ya I was going to say, I see solid particles in my waste container all the time. I see your point though they also remove the dissolved organics.

[Rockhead21564]

This is not an always and don't thing. If your changing out 20-30% every two weeks, a skimmer isn't really a must, IMO. Now with systems where removing that much that often isn't reality, yeah a skimmer is okay. I've never used on my 285 gallon reef, and I have approx. 30 fish and 50+ corals. I'm adding a skimmer now as the tangs and trigger have gotten much larger, 8"+. On a 14g nano, forget the skimmer and change 5 gallons every two weeks, keeps water in balance just fine.

[ricks]

I would like to see some pictures of a 285 with 30 large fish, 50+ corals and no skimmer...

I would never run my 500 without a skimmer and I still do weekly 50 gallon water changes.

Happy Reefing