protein scammers, blah. My LCS has a perfect alternative

[BeanAnimal]

You really should find a coral place that knows what they are doing and still vet that advice with the forum.

I my be in the minority here, but the knowledge of the staff at a store rarely have any impact whatsoever on my decision to patronize the store, even s specialty store. I don't go to stores looking for advice and don't trust it when it is given, be it the LFS, the garden center or the car dealership or grocery store. I find that more often than not, the advice is suspect at best and personal research is far more trustworthy.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Does your LFS Have a lot of turnover on the Fish, and other livestock? If so they are going through a lot of new saltwater every day. So naturally a Skimmer isn’t going to work. Any Medications, in his Aquariums are going to slow the Skimmer down. Also do they have the Bubble Sponge Filters in the tanks? A lot of fish stores here use them, and they are on a back up system for power failures, so they don’t loose everything. They will reduce the skim too. BTW, I laughed at a LFS in Los Angeles, he said he never does water changes. Yeah, but you’re exporting water every day, and your tanks aren’t dry.

 

[Evil1]

Let’s remember, if a skimmer is not producing skimate then there is nothing to produce. So it’s doing its job! At times you emptied more than other times. Depends on bio load.

 

[Seansea]

A skimmer or no skimmer depends on really how many fish you have in the tank. 2 fish in a 100g why bother. There is barely any waste. I have 17 fish in a 75 g. No skimmer will = major water pollution which = big algae problem even with my ats. I am heavy i. And heavy out guy so that means every bit of filtration i can get. My skimmer pulls out massive amounts of gunk every week. It also might save your tank if younhappen to put soapy hands or spill windex in your tank. I wouldnt run a tank without one personally but to each their own.

Here my tNk from a few months back. See lots of fish lots of waste. Best skim that ****

 

[Ballyhoo]

IDK. again, just that it is the largest piece of equipment I own second to the actual tank. I mean it's very large. Is it ms contribution to the overall system as large as it is in size? It was just nice to take it out and see how my sump looked being so uncluttered. But I know sump is not for appearances and why mine I actually have much more problem with so many wires and cables. It's gonna be a task to try to get them organized from all over the place.

 

[TeeJay87]

I my be in the minority here, but the knowledge of the staff at a store rarely have any impact whatsoever on my decision to patronize the store, even s specialty store. I don't go to stores looking for advice and don't trust it when it is given, be it the LFS, the garden center or the car dealership or grocery store. I find that more often than not, the advice is suspect at best and personal research is far more trustworthy.

This is such a good and true comment.

 

[Naekuh]

I need a good lawyer... protein scammed me and i need recourse....

On a serious note... does anyone else use the skim mate as fertilizer?
I dilute it with lots of water to keep the salinity down, and use it as liquid fertilizer for my plants.

Seems to work really really good, if you don't mind the smell, so i mostly use it outdoors.

 

[Ballyhoo]

I humbly ask if anybody can see by looking at the attached pictures whether my scammer if it seems to be working correctly? My concern is the water level is very low. The body of the skimmer are bubbles going all the way up into the cup.

 

[14 foot reef]

I just cleaned my skimmer cup, this is a 30" sink 12" deep.

I say my skimmer does something.... LOL. I did need a ladder to get to my cup though. HeHe

I think the only " Skammer " in your scenario is your LFS.

 

[Reefering1]

I humbly ask if anybody can see by looking at the attached pictures whether my scammer if it seems to be working correctly? My concern is the water level is very low. The body of the skimmer are bubbles going all the way up into the cup.

Back it down a couple inches and give it a month.. keep watching it, if it keeps putting clean water/ bubbles in the cup- back it down more. If only the neck gets dirty and it doesn't push the muck into cup- raise the level a bit. Small adjustments and check back in a couple hours

 

[Ballyhoo]

Back it down a couple inches and give it a month.. keep watching it, if it keeps putting clean water/ bubbles in the cup- back it down more. If only the neck gets dirty and it doesn't push the muck into cup- raise the level a bit. Small adjustments and check back in a couple hours

much appreciated

 

[Reefering1]

much appreciated

Your welcome. But, don't disregard the other posts. Re read the thread, they all have good points. Especially the ones about patience, research, reef mat, patience, and giving due credit to the decades before you. It is highly unlikely that you will debunk a tried and proven method, especially in these first few years..

 

[billyocean]

I don't run a skimmer and never have. Just socks and rocks with a heavy sps tank. But......I do have a skimmer should i ever need one. Bought it when I set up the tank thinking i needed one for later. It's been a few years and I'm trying a couple different things as far as feeding now so I may, in fact, use the skimmer. All depends on the tank and needs for each of us.

 

[Idech]

I humbly ask if anybody can see by looking at the attached pictures whether my scammer if it seems to be working correctly? My concern is the water level is very low. The body of the skimmer are bubbles going all the way up into the cup.

No, not enough air, too much water. The color of the skim mate should be like green tea.

It took me three months to adjust my skimmer. It was new to me and I couldn’t get it to work properly. Now it’s doing a great job and the amount of nasty stuff it pulls is incredible. My tank is 2 1/2 years old though.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Sounds like the lcs s the scammer, skimming your wallet/ bank account

is this the "Local Con Store" since we're discussing scammers??

 

[Reefering1]

is this the "Local Con Store" since we're discussing scammers??

Idk honestly(probably means lfs) but kinda sound like LCS could be a brand of wallet skimmer ;-) A new,ultra high tech, must have device for new reefers. Automatically cleans your wallet out for you!! Only $599

Taking orders. Lmk

 

[SpyC]

my scammer is back up and running, only because everything I've read on the Internet suggest they do more good than bad. But the place I went to yesterday was completely different place than I've ever ever been to. Its more a coral shop. i'm sure that this LCS is highly successful, it's owner is probably a bit ambivalent on skimmers. He's more into refuges and other forms of filtration.
Beyond that, I'm a little bit resentful of the amount of space that scammer takes up in my slump.
edit
also, I think he made very little money on the amount of bars he sold me, I was watching him for quite a while and he was making hundreds of dollars of sales on his corals. I should say at between $80 and $200 per head and people rolling in and out of there this guy did not need to sell me any bars.
he also taught me about how to assess healthy coral, by looking at the white fleshy part on each head. Guy knows his stuff.
I don't normally name names, but big thumbs up for kung fu Coral. This guy is like the kung fu dude of Coral. He is the coral whisperer.

Friendly reminder, it is a skimmer, not a scammer

 

[SpyC]

Idk honestly(probably means lfs) but kinda sound like LCS could be a brand of wallet skimmer ;-) A new,ultra high tech, must have device for new reefers. Automatically cleans your wallet out for you!! Only $599

Taking orders. Lmk

I think OP is calling it a LCS because they mainly sell coral,but it is confusing. I thought local coin store.

 

[Mwatts12]

LCS- local coral store?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Just for the record. I agree with taricha that I’d run a skimmer even if it accomplished nothing but aeration.

I don’t consider skimmers any great way to control nutrients, but they do help remove organics of various sorts that can be toxins, yellowing compounds, bacteria, and suspended particulates.