Mark, you know we love ya
... but you're
talkin crazy again!
I will start off by saying you are 100% right when you say a skimmer is not neccesary to run a saltwater tank.
However - and this is a VERY BIG however - the way most hobbysists (including me) like to stock their reefs, it just makes alot more sense to run a skimmer than to try and do without.
And I don't think choosing to run a skimmer has anything to do with being "lazy"
. You have to set the thing up correctly, adjust the output so that it doesn't overflow or underskim, then you have to empty the cup every couple of days, clean the cup and sometimes the whole skimmer from time to time, check it somewhat often to make sure it is operating properly, etc. And since skimmers are somewhat dependant on a stable water height, you have to be even more diligent on your water topoffs and keeping your water level stable than if you run skimmerless. So I'm not seeing anything that would indicate a pattern of laziness when it comes to skimmer operation and maintenance.
Now, my first tanks (probably my first 5 or 6 tanks, actually) didn't have skimmers, because basically there was no such thing available to the home hobbyist back in the 1970's
(Yeah, I'm old - get over it!)
My first skimmer was a "Lee's" brand airstone driven hang-in-the-tank skimmer (which, believe it or not, they still make!) and, if you ran clean wooden airstones with enough (air) pump pressure, and fiddled with it alot, and had it just the right height in the tank... it pulled out what looked like a very watery tea colored skimmate. By today's standards we would say it was a very crappy skimmer.
And since then I have used many different skimmers; ASMs, Coralife, Nautilus, Remoras, Reef Octos, Bubble Magus.
To me, my tanks always look 'cleaner', with clearer water, when running a skimmer. This also means better light penetration and (IMO) better coral growing conditions for those corals that like more light (most LPS and SPS corals). A skimmer oxygenates your water as well.
And (again, IMO) you can certainy grow SPS w/o a skimmer... HOWEVER, the more delicate, more colorful, and (of course) more pricey LPS and SPS pieces run a far greater risk of "browning out" due to excess nutrients in the water, or nutrient level fluctations in the water, in a skimmerless setup.
Now, If I take my fish - filled reef tank and put this into it
I sure don't want it to turn into this because of excess nutrients in the water
And running a skimmer helps to ensure it doesn't
(Now, if you can tell you me that you have some of this
and it still looks like this in a
skimmerless setup that is stocked with more than 1
small fish for every 50 gallons of water...???)
Then you will have my attention.
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Adam Blundell wrote:
