Consensus on Protein Skimming

[Unarce]

I'm pretty sure that none of my SPS feed directly from DT's. I just use DT's to maintain the meiofauna population that produces the larvae that my SPS feed off of.

 

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever seen any pictures of Borneman's tank anywhere? If you have, could you post a link so I can see it.

I run a skimmer 24/7 and a Ca reactor 24/7 too. I do agree that with some corals, poor skimmer is better than good skimming. Maybe even skimmerless is best for them. However, most, if not all, are soft corals and some LPS. I think the idea of overskimming is unrealistic to most of us. Can you over skimm a tank? Sure, connect the RK2 mammoth unit at the National Aquarium in Baltimore to a 20g tank and you will over skimm it. Most of us don't have that kind of power to water volume ratio, so I say we can't skim snough. I keep SPS corals only, so that is even more of a statement.
As far as DT, I would only use it if I had corals that would benefit from it. Are you sure what you ahve does benefit from it? If you have enough fish in your tank, you are probably already feeding your corals more than you'll ever know.

he said he kept clams i am sure they benefit from the DTs.

 

[Anonymous]

in light of the recently changing views on DSB methodology, i wonder if some of the tanks E. Borneman describes will have short lifespans.
i recall an article of his describing a thick DSB in one of his tanks that would generate a lot of heat apparently from breaking down nutrients that would otherwise be removed by a skimmer in a typical berlin system.

 

[taikonaut]

>... i recall an article of his describing a thick DSB in one of his tanks that would generate a lot of heat

By any chance, do you have the link to this article, Podman? I am interested.

 

[dgasmd]

I never said he was wasting his time using DT. I don't even know what he has in his tank.

"As far as DT, I would only use it if I had corals that would benefit from it. Are you sure what you ahve does benefit from it? If you have enough fish in your tank, you are probably already feeding your corals more than you'll ever know."

I said that because I see so many people feeding DT to tanks and not only do they not know what they are feeding it to, but they think it is the ultimate fod everything in a tank will eat. That is all I meant.

So, what change in methodology regarding DSB does he have? Does anybody have pictures of his tanks or links to it??

 

[Anonymous]

>... i recall an article of his describing a thick DSB in one of his tanks that would generate a lot of heat

By any chance, do you have the link to this article, Podman? I am interested.

http://www.reefs.org/library/members/e_ ... 20898.html

 

[Unarce]

"Advice to those considering pulling their skimmer offline? Sure, why not? Just do it.

But make sure your system and your abilities are "up to snuff." I think skimmers or "ATS" filters provide a safety net for beginners, immature tanks, or ones that started off without much thought."

-Borneman

That explains a lot. I think it allows less experienced reefers to have a larger margin for error.

 

[Anonymous]

I think even experienced reefers need that safety net as well. Skimmers bring a tank closer too or at supersaturation, help maintain high PH, and remove organics before they become a problem. I'm not bashing those who do not use them, but I would not go skimmerless myself.

 

[Unarce]

but I would not go skimmerless myself.

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend it for most either. I imagine you'd need a certain amount of control and understanding, plus a stable and well-balanced system to pull it off (in regards to SPS only). I just feel lucky enough to have achieved that.

 

[psiico]

I have no skimmer, but my tank is only 29g and is fish and inverts only at this point. I do a 5 gallon water change per week. But my water is still a little yellow so I'm buying a skimmer in the next couple of weeks. I'm going to plumb my 29g to a 35 g and run them side by side, one FO and one reef so then I'll probably really need to skim.

 

[Unarce]

one FO and one reef so then I'll probably really need to skim.

If it's a decent bioload, the skimmer will be handy. I'm content with having one fish with my corals, so it's definitely one of the reasons why I can go skimmerless.

You do have a good WC regimen. A regular schedule of carbon or good old Chemi-Pure would take care of the yellow tint.

 

[Modo]

>... i recall an article of his describing a thick DSB in one of his tanks that would generate a lot of heat

By any chance, do you have the link to this article, Podman? I am interested.

http://www.reefs.org/library/members/e_ ... 20898.html

This article is almost 6 yrs old. A more recent Borneman article and his views on skimming would be from his "Myth" series in the January 2004 issue of Reefkeeping magazine (www.reefkeeping.com). I'm not saying that he does or doesn't skim. But, his advice on skimming seems to have been a little more refined towards skimmerless vs. that 1998 article.

Here is a quote:
If I were asked what a solution might be (to overskimming), I would propose the following. Use the most efficient skimmer possible and one that is capable of maintaining high water quality when used constantly. Assuming that they do provide some amount of oxygenation, even if minimal, I would then begin shutting off the skimmer during the day for a few hours and measure tank condition visually and through testing for several weeks. If water quality is maintained, I would increase the number of hours the skimmer is off, and wait again, continuing this process until the maximum number of hours is reached where water quality and tank health remains the same without the use of the skimmer. I would also opt for daylight discontinuance since oxygen is less of a problem when photosynthesis is occurring, and since most aquarists tend to feed fish and other products like phytoplankton during the day. This way, residual foods will not be removed for at least several hours. Some aquarists may even find that they can discontinue skimmer usage entirely (I think this likely, especially if activated carbon is employed).


The entire article can be found
here.