Nano - smaller tanks and no need for skimmer?

[RaymondL]

Why is it that the consensus is that for smaller tanks a skimmer is deemed optional or not even necessary? Almost everyone I spoke to say to me, why bother or save your money. The answer seems to be do water changes and all is fine. Well, maybe I"m not understanding things as I thought, but no matter what size the tank is, water changes should be done anyways periodically, and just as well the benefits of a skimmer delivers the same no matter what the volume is of the tank? So why smaller tanks don't require a skimmer?

 

[Garf]

Why is it that the consensus is that for smaller tanks a skimmer is deemed optional or not even necessary? Almost everyone I spoke to say to me, why bother or save your money. The answer seems to be do water changes and all is fine. Well, maybe I"m not understanding things as I thought, but no matter what size the tank is, water changes should be done anyways periodically, and just as well the benefits of a skimmer delivers the same no matter what the volume is of the tank? So why smaller tanks don't require a skimmer?

Bubble / water contact time is minimal with tiny skimmers, it's prolly just a size thing. Saying that I've got a 60 gallon that's not skimmed.

 

[happyreefer1]

From what i’ve seen most of the nano skimmers are pretty **** and most people keep their nanos at a low-bioload compared to larger tanks. Also larger % water changes doing a 50% change on a 10 gallon a whole lot easier than one on a 100 gallon.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The skimmer is a tool, and its main purpose is to remove dissolved organics (docs')
The other 2 ways that I am most familiar with is- water changes and activated carbon. Water changes being the most effective.

The other benefit a skimmer provides is to oxygenate the water, which can also be accomplished by aiming powerheads at the water surface to agitate it.

There is no one way to run a tank, thats part of what makes this hobby so interesting. 2 of my tanks have skimmers and one doesn't, I run all 3 tanks in different ways.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

So you can put skimmers on a pico even. But, skimmer helps remove nutrients that are building up in the tank. Larger tanks are more difficult to water change. So dosing skimmers and other methods maybe necessary. With smaller tanks it is easier to change a larger percentage of water. So you can export the same nutrients using a water change and dose less elements so to speak. Sps heavy small tanks may still require heavy dossing. Larger tanks are also harder to get to certain spots where things collect and breakdown sometimes. Some nanos you can usually just pick up the rock and set back down as well lol.

You can apply large tank care to small tanks and vice versa. There isn't a wrong way with either option. It is just what is easier/ cost effective or even aesthetic.

Nothing wrong with a skimmer or gear in smaller tanks. Especially depending on how you care for it.

 

[OrionN]

For small tanks I use skimmer more for oxygenation and air exchange rather than the waste management function. These tank lack overflow that often also handle oxygenation. Lack of overflow or skimmer may result in fish death at night due to hypoxia.

 

[Tamberav]

Because it is easier to do a larger percent water change on a nano or pico.

I would change 90 percent of the water on my 5g every 2 weeks. I am not doing that on my 150g

They can be good for gas exchange on a nano but since my nanos are all AIOs, they just become ugly noise machines in the back chambers so I stopped using them.

 

[Dom]

Why is it that the consensus is that for smaller tanks a skimmer is deemed optional or not even necessary? Almost everyone I spoke to say to me, why bother or save your money. The answer seems to be do water changes and all is fine. Well, maybe I"m not understanding things as I thought, but no matter what size the tank is, water changes should be done anyways periodically, and just as well the benefits of a skimmer delivers the same no matter what the volume is of the tank? So why smaller tanks don't require a skimmer?

Because in smaller tanks, water changes easily do what protein skimmers in larger tanks do.

 

[RaymondL]

Because it is easier to do a larger percent water change on a nano or pico.

I would change 90 percent of the water on my 5g every 2 weeks. I am not doing that on my 150g

They can be good for gas exchange on a nano but since my nanos are all AIOs, they just become ugly noise machines in the back chambers so I stopped using them.

Thanks - I'm interested to know what you keep in your 5 Gallon. Please share.

 

[Tamberav]

Thanks - I'm interested to know what you keep in your 5 Gallon. Please share.

I moved states and no longer have this tank, ran it about a year and a half and the coral had grown enough I could no longer scrape the glass when I took it down (birdsnest kind of a pain to keep up with).

Anywho, nothing to it really... 90% water change and heavy feeding before the water change... ran floss in the back. That's all. I used some expensive salt that mixed fast and very clear and close to natural sea water parameters, it is a tiny tank so it's not very expensive to do so... I definitely didn't use that $ salt on my 80g.

I used direct live ocean rock from KPA, it had lots of tunicates, sponges, dusters and things I could not ID. I am sure this contributed to the quick success of the tank and I added SPS not too long after setting it up.

Tank had 3 small fish, two tiny blennies and a goby. Also a saron shrimp.

The tank also got plenty of sunlight which people say blah blah will give you algae but I have had so many tanks in front of windows or next to windows and I have never seen that myself. I suppose there is more than one way to limit algae besides light. Not like we can't grow algae with our reef lighting

I don't think it was important to keeping the tank but it looked cool to see it natural under daylight in the morning and just figured I would mention it. It basically would grow the green microalgae on the glass and I couldn't get the scraper to the bottom near the sand hence the green down there but the blennies liked to pick at it anyways.

I used a turkey baster on the sand to blow it around before the water change. I left enough water in the tank to keep the blennies just under water.

No dosing, No testing. Never bothered because the large water change would replenish everything.

Bescause it was a tiny tall column tank, shading with SPS is an issue but that is just a problem with a skinny tall tank itself. A different shape would have been better for SPS.

I chose corals for faster growth, this was a "contest" pico tank so goal was to have it grown in by the end of the contest. I had some acro's and while they did grow, they grew too slow and I removed them and replaced with the faster easier SPS.

Downside is eventually the tank eventually got too overgrown with birdsnest