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Thread: What happened when you ran with and witout a Skimmer Thread!

  1. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by greenmachine View Post
    ok sorry for the de-rail! lol but thanks for all the help guys!
    No problem. It all about getting answers to the help out fellow aquarist. Keep us posted...

  2. #32

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    Green. You should have mentioned you were planning a skimmer.

    Anyway. I turned my lights back on today and tank looks much much better. Still have algae seems to be some dead just lying on the bottom. Should vacuum it out. Without a way to maintain a constant level where my skimmer is, it's hard to tell of it's actually having an effect on system.

    Before changing out sumps. I need to brace stand in order to cut out center brace to fit longer sump. I've been just adjusting skimmer manually. When I remember of course.

  3. #33

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    Needs Carbon too!

    Man I don't know how you guys that run with just a ATS do it.

    My 20g Fag tank is running with a L2 and only one Wrasse fish. I feed about 1/2 a cub a day and the one rock in it is full of algae. The corals look okay. I clean one side of the screen a week and get a good solid 1/4" of dense dark green algae on it. Oh and no PWC Still.

    My 180g SPS tank Is running with a L4 and a Skimmer and gets a 10% PWC every 6 week or so. If I go more then about 7 days without running carbon (rox8) I get a green slim start to build up on some of the rocks. This also happens if I run the skimmer part time as well. The corals are still looking good with good color. Better then the Frag tank.

  4. #34

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    Going with no skimmer for well over a year. My ATS took a very long time to reach equilibrium. Now it does a good job, my N and P has been 0 for over 6 months....well 0 as far as test kits are concerned. now SM doesn't have to post that there is still some there.

    Anyway, I only clean mine about 1 time a month, when growth gets really thick. I also still have cheato which continues to do well in spite of predictions otherwise. The beauty of ATS for me is that once the equilibrium is found the scruber grows faster or slower as needed.

    However, I am plagued with a problem of bad polyp extension on my SPS...which I can't quite case. Thinking of trying a skimmer to see if it helps.

  5. #35
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    Never owned a skimmer.

    Started reefing 3 years ago and have only ever used live rock & scrubbers (of different designs).

    The only water changes I have done in that time have been when I changed my tank and once when I had a flood due to a blocked overflow each of those were perhaps 10%

    Nitrate always tests zero. Phosphate usually tests zero and the highest test result I have had was 0.03 (Hanna meter).

    Have had issues with display tank algae but pretty much have that clear now.

    In three years I have lost 2 fish. One clown which was killed by another fish and a dwarf angel that jumped out. No corals lost (although I only keep softies)

  6. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rumpy Pumpy View Post
    Never owned a skimmer.

    Started reefing 3 years ago and have only ever used live rock & scrubbers (of different designs).

    The only water changes I have done in that time have been when I changed my tank and once when I had a flood due to a blocked overflow each of those were perhaps 10%

    Nitrate always tests zero. Phosphate usually tests zero and the highest test result I have had was 0.03 (Hanna meter).

    Have had issues with display tank algae but pretty much have that clear now.

    In three years I have lost 2 fish. One clown which was killed by another fish and a dwarf angel that jumped out. No corals lost (although I only keep softies)
    I'm interested in seeing pics of tanks run long term like this!

  7. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabbath View Post
    I'm interested in seeing pics of tanks run long term like this!

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...2023.13.12.jpg


    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...2023.13.37.jpg

  8. #38

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    Nice, Looks very clean! The corals look a little brown though. I wonder if you would benefit from more light or more hours a day.

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabbath View Post
    Nice, Looks very clean! The corals look a little brown though. I wonder if you would benefit from more light or more hours a day.

    Most of them are Kenya Trees (spreads like weed, have to keep pulling it out) which are always brown. The finger leathers have both been moved recently so they're adjusting and not at their best - usually they are much more extended and a lighter cream colour. Other than that it's mostly zoas and green star polyps which are their natural colours. The green stars have started to spread about recently, little new colonies popping up at random. No idea why, they never have before.

    Been getting a load of coralline growth lately & the tank's taking a lot more calcium than it has before. Again, no idea why.


    My T5 tubes are getting on a bit. Been considering assembling my own LEDs to replace.

  10. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by mess7777 View Post
    Going with no skimmer for well over a year. My ATS took a very long time to reach equilibrium. Now it does a good job, my N and P has been 0 for over 6 months....well 0 as far as test kits are concerned. now SM doesn't have to post that there is still some there.

    Anyway, I only clean mine about 1 time a month, when growth gets really thick. I also still have cheato which continues to do well in spite of predictions otherwise. The beauty of ATS for me is that once the equilibrium is found the scruber grows faster or slower as needed.

    However, I am plagued with a problem of bad polyp extension on my SPS...which I can't quite case. Thinking of trying a skimmer to see if it helps.

    Just a little update here. I put my crappy skimmer back online, and almost immediately saw improvements for the whole tank. After just two week I am starting to see some polyps were there has been nothing for months. Also some LPS are starting to look more vibrant, and zoas look better too. This is only my experience....and possibly an air stone would do the same work...but I won't go skimmerless again.

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