Skim now or skim later?

[Oakes1523]

I have a 75 gallon fowlr with only 2 clowns in it, should I buy my reef octopus 2000 now? Or should I wait till I get to about 5-6 fish to buy my skimmer? Or should I just buy it now and get the tank clean for the new arrivals. The 2000 is rated for 125 gallons and it's not quite doubled my tank but just about. Can I over skim?

[Mark Bianco]

IMHO I would not bother with a skimmer for a FOWLR as long as you have a sufficient amount of liverock and good flow thru the tank.

[Oakes1523]

Why not? I thought they would help me with the nitrates and other stuff like that?

[Mark Bianco]

If your tank is not overloaded with fish and everything I stated above the natural filtration will handle the load and keep nitrates in check. Will skimming hurt anything no, but will it have any benefits for a well balanced fish only system no. Balanced system. and regular water changes should be all you need. If you were going to do SPS corals then by all means I recommend a good skimmer.

[Oakes1523]

Bump

[Realposition]

I would say it's extremely unlikely that just live rock will be enough filtration. I think you should buy the skimmer now, it certainly won't hurt to start skimming now before you build up a bio load.

[nmotz]

I would say it's extremely unlikely that just live rock will be enough filtration. I think you should buy the skimmer now, it certainly won't hurt to start skimming now before you build up a bio load.

I agree and I think it's good planning for the future because even though the bioload is low right now, you'll most likely want to add more fish. A skimmer will make your life easier. Can you keep a FOWLR without one? Yes, but a protein skimmer will certainly lower the risk of nuisance algae problems, helps oxygenate the tank, etc.