40 g fowlr tank...protein skimmer?

[Jringo101st]

Hi guys..im going to have a 40 g fowlr, still getting re-set back up...i just bought 600 gph koralia evolution...no plans on corals.. just fish and live rock.. thinking 4 fish..clown..fire fish..damels... wondering if i would need a skimmer and was thinking of an in tank one of needed..hydor or fluval maybe.. just getting thoughts of ppl who are better in the know... read they can limit water changes... any help would be appreciated Thanx

[Tanthaitrung]

Welcome to Reef Central. Many members here are running without skimmer. But you need a quarantine tank.

Best of luck

[Timfish]

+1. I stopped using skimmers n '97. The two oldest corals farmers in the US, Tropicorum and Steve Tyree, stopped using skimmers in the mid '90s

[RobZilla04]

If you can control nutrient levels w/o a skimmer then there is no need. You could always add one later if you determine a benefit in having one.

[Cliving1]

I have one on my 40 gallon, I use the hydor slim as it fits in the back compartment. Its not a necessity as those above have mentioned.

[Goatonfly]

I have a 40 breeder with a HOB filter and a Koralia Nano 565. Had 4 fish witth no issues, recently got rid of one. As long as you don't overfeed and change water you should be fine.

[Jringo101st]

Thanx for the advise guys..Just going to do bi weekly water changes.. not getting more than 4 fish so at least this saves me some money

[604reefer]

I just setup a 20g w/ 17lb liverock and 20lb live sand with a hydor slim skim nano (23-35 gal) and a koralia 425. Between the skim and powerhead there wasn't enough circulation to keep a film from building on the surface!

I fixed it by adding a Voyager nano 530 gph and pointed it to the surface. All of a sudden the protein skimmer is DIALED IN and the surface cleared in about 48 hours. I would suggest you buy a 2nd power head or exchange for one with higher flow rate based on my limited anecdotal experience :P and my LFS advice. If you buy a 2nd and pull it out you could also mix salt with it for your WC.

I got my protein skimmer 2nd hand and saved a fortune. Keep an eye out on local/state classifieds... you might not need it at the start but it would be really nice to have!

[rjjr1963]

Use a poly filter and do the water changes. A skimmer is a waste of money. I have a 40 breeder and the skimmer doesn't pull much out if anything. Four fish in a 40b.

[Zik]

Use a poly filter and do the water changes. A skimmer is a waste of money. I have a 40 breeder and the skimmer doesn't pull much out if anything. Four fish in a 40b.

I'm fairly new to the hobby, but I have a 55g with only 2x small clowns in right now. Bioload is extremely low as you can imagine. I doubt my skimmer will pull any brown out for a while, but for what its worth:

When I test the water, amm = 0. When I test water in my skimmer (runs a bit wet), amm = 1ppm. It does also have a unpleasant smell
This could also be due to that water missing the nitrofying bacteria, but I'm still observing for now!

Cheers