Protien Skimmer pump down - how long do I have?

[zap999999]

I have a 65 galon tank with about 100 pounds of live rock. Last night, my protien skimmer pump went out (investigating why - only 2 months old).

My main pump to return water from sump to tank is functioning fine. Question is how long can I go without skimming?


I have one Yellow tang (3-4 inches), one Chevron Tang (3 inches), oen clownfish (2-3 inches), one goby (2 inches).

Coming into this nitrites were 0

[andyjd]

Ive just had mine off for 48hrs while treating the tank, you should be fine.

[eboonaman]

had to move my tank while my floors were being done. My skimmer has been off the tank for 3 weeks already, I do a 15 gal water change every 4 days (55 gal tank) my corals are doing fine.
so far...:p
chuck

[merk1_99]

Just do more frequent water changes. Many people run skimmerless tanks.

[Hal]

You should be fine. Your biggest issue should be whether you need to add an airstone to compensate for the loss of oxygen in the water that was being added by your skimmer.

[Reistroffer]

First off, Sorry about your skimmer. I would try and fix it as soon as possible....its pulling waste from the water...so the longer you wait the more problems you'll have...if you have any macro alege in your tank it will give you more time.

My only concern is the tangs you have in your tank. Please do not take offense...or feel as im flaming you..because im not. But those fish are not right for that small of a tank...even when they are small...they are not actully reef fish...the reason they are shaped like they are is because they are disigned to swim EXTREMELY fast for LONG distances...smallest tank they should be in is a 125 imo.


Please upgrade for there sake :) ...and because its addicting :)

[Tu Ku]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7607903#post7607903 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reistroffer
they are not actully reef fish...the reason they are shaped like they are is because they are disigned to swim EXTREMELY fast for LONG distances...smallest tank they should be in is a 125 imo.


Please upgrade for there sake :) ...and because its addicting :)

What in the hell are you talking about? That is a giant load of made up crap.

As for your skimmer, you're fine, leave it off for good if you want. Nothing will be hurt, I PROMISE. I used to be very adament about running my skimmer strong and all the time. Then one day I got tired of the noise it made and shut it off. Haven't turned it on since and my gorgonians have thanked me for it. It's been about 8 months since I have run my skimmer with some noticeable improvements in my corals, and yeah sure I give alot of that credit to my tank being as old as it is, but if you're established, no skimmer on your system will be fine. If you're afraid you're not getting enough oxygen just add some carbon, that's half of it's job. Airstones are for ornamental freshwater tanks!

[zap999999]

ok, so far this doesn't seem THAT bad. I can replace the pump if need be.

Don't get me started on the LFS, they sold me 3 tangs, one of which I returned because of fighting. They even did the initial setup of the tank, with tap water (I didn't know better). Then 2 months later sell me a small coral (phosphates in the tap, never was tested, and they treat for phosphate in thier tap at the LFS which is about 1 mile away). I've since treated for phosphate, and purchased an RO filter which is on it's way.

The tangs are healthy, but with space it's going to be hard. At best I may trade for a diff fish with the LFS, first doing my own research now.

[goda]

my skimmer is off right now ( tunze doc 9010) works great but the pump i use to deliver the water to the skimmer sump quit ( making the tunze useless)

its been out for about 2 weeks and the tnak is fine. just a lil more algae then normal

[Reistroffer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7608071#post7608071 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tu Ku
What in the hell are you talking about? That is a giant load of made up crap.

As for your skimmer, you're fine, leave it off for good if you want. Nothing will be hurt, I PROMISE. I used to be very adament about running my skimmer strong and all the time. Then one day I got tired of the noise it made and shut it off. Haven't turned it on since and my gorgonians have thanked me for it. It's been about 8 months since I have run my skimmer with some noticeable improvements in my corals, and yeah sure I give alot of that credit to my tank being as old as it is, but if you're established, no skimmer on your system will be fine. If you're afraid you're not getting enough oxygen just add some carbon, that's half of it's job. Airstones are for ornamental freshwater tanks!

What do I know I only worked in a public aquarium for 4 years.

Total load of crap...

Tangs need atleast 75gallons. And that is to small most will agree. 2 tangs in a 60 gallon tank is down right dangerous. The animals as they grow will start swimming in circles much like a wolf will in a zoo. Except you can see where the wolf is walking because he will wear a path in the grass. A tang will not for obvious reasons. After time the tang will a. stress itself out and die. b. became so agressive you are forced to remove it because it will kill everything in its path.

Having 2 tangs doubles the problem.

I'm not trying to be a jerk or sound like a know it all...but please read up before you tell someone what they're saying is a load of crap. I know what im talking about.

[Travis L. Stevens]

Reistroffer. I agree. You are definitely right, and in fact, wrong. In a sense. My personal opinion is larger than that as a minimum, but then no one would be able to keep a tang :D

[mikeatjac]

I have to agree with Reistroffer.

Also, I believe that a skimmer is an important element to good reef keeping. Water changes will help until you get it back up. Cut back on feeding too.

[Reistroffer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7608519#post7608519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
Reistroffer. I agree. You are definitely right, and in fact, wrong. In a sense. My personal opinion is larger than that as a minimum, but then no one would be able to keep a tang :D

Standard reading books say 75 gallons is the smallest. Personally I feel bad having tangs in my 125. I'll soon be upgrading to a 500 gallon within the next year. Making the perfect amount of room for a few tangs.... But honestly thats STILL to small ...

[technoshaman]

You should be fine but I'd add some other method of oxygenation in the meantime. I waited a month for a replacement uniseal for my Euroreef 8-2 and although I got some ugly film algae and some cyano my animals were ok - I did add an extra couple of powerheads in the interim. An airstone would be fine but just be aware of salt creep!

[xtrstangx]

Tangs in the wild swim for hundreds and hundreds of feet.

As far as the skimmer goes, you are fine without one forever.. I wouldn't go longer than a week.. Just maybe do a waterchange in a day or two.

[Travis L. Stevens]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7608827#post7608827 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtrstangx
Tangs in the wild swim for hundreds and hundreds of feet.

As far as the skimmer goes, you are fine without one forever.. I wouldn't go longer than a week.. Just maybe do a waterchange in a day or two.

It's always nice to have a skimmer, but it isn't necessary. All I run is a refugium on my 29g tank. I have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates and I even use treated tap water with a heavy bioload of two medium chromis, two black ocellaris, and a yellow tang.

Hypocritical, I know. It's staying in there until my friend comes back from Dallas. :)

[Zaxxon23]

Bottom line, just measure your phosphates and nitrates often.

As long as you have no reading, you're okay not having your skimmer (at least for the short term, some may argue that you want one for other reasons that phos. and nitrate).

If you're phoshpate or nitrate start to go up, just start doing frequent water changes.

It is true you may want to add some method of additional oxygenation. Yes, you certainly can use airstones somewhere to do this, although it may not be the most desired method in a reef tank. Also, you can add macro algae, or just do something to make additional breakage of the water surface -- i.e. a powerhead in the sump making large ripples in the surface.

I agree that you don't NEED a skimmer for a reef tank. I've done some with and some without. In some ways it can be better not to have one as protien skimmers are indiscriminate to some dedgree on what they remove from the water. The do remove lots of wastes, but they also remove beneficial things like trace elements. (not to mention if you are doing deep sand beds and refugiums, you may actually want some of those wastes to stay in the water provided they are consumed)

If you were to opt to go skimmerless do a lot of reading and find out what you need to do to compensate for not having the skimmer. Refugiums and magroves are a very good start.

[TWallace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7608532#post7608532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mikeatjac
Also, I believe that a skimmer is an important element to good reef keeping. Water changes will help until you get it back up. Cut back on feeding too.

My skimmer hasn't been outputting any waste for months. My nitrates have been at zero during that time and I feed my fish 1-2 times a day (2 anthias, hawkfish and a neon wrasse). I don't think skimmers are as integral as many people believe. My refugium on the other hand is growing chaetomorpha extremely well. In my system, I definetely value the refugium more than the skimmer.

[futrtrubl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7608071#post7608071 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tu Ku
If you're afraid you're not getting enough oxygen just add some carbon, that's half of it's job. Airstones are for ornamental freshwater tanks!

Never mind the preamble but.... Carbon filters stuff out, unless the water is trickling with air through it it's not putting any oxygen in the water (where'd the oxygen be coming from?) Then why do researchers here use airstones in tanks that are away from our running seawater?

Edward

[Reistroffer]

You need an air stone.

For example in my tank I do not need an air stone, because I have an over flow where water drops around 3 feet before it goes down a drain...when it falls air mixs ...after it flows down the pipe it falls again onto bioballs putting more air in the water...hence why i dont need an air stone, plus when the water has surfrace space it can have a gas exchange...but its not as much as an airstone/my style of over flow.


hope this helps.

~Chris

[jnb]

If you are planning on booting the skimmer back up - you should probably first replace the water in it that has not been part of circulation while down - smell it, it will start to rot and your tank doesn't need that.

Since you didn't ask if you needed a skimmer or not, I will not address that.