Skimmer Necessary?

[Richieexd]

Was just wondering if a skimmer was necessary. I'm currently running a 26 gallon tank with an external canister filter with 5 damsels, 1 red hermit, 2 blue hermit. I bought a skimmer and realized .. I'm out of room ! I don't have any space to attach this skimmer. Is it really necessary for the welfare of my fishes or perhaps.. should I upgrade my tank to a 46 gallon or larger?

 

[Crazy fishes]

What type of marine setup is it? Reef, fish only with or without live rock?? An external filter emmm....... may be you could have a refugium, ever thought of that? I have a 24g reef set up and don't bother skimming in such a small volume. REGULAR WATER CHANGES ARE THE KEY TO SUCCESS!!! 10% every week is sufficient to maintain water chemistry at 'textbook' values. Although saying that 5 damsels is a fair amount of waste production which brings me back to the refugium. If you had say a 2.6g (10% of your tank volume) or possibly larger tank then you could use that as your refugium; a small light unit, some macros and you have a nutrient export system. Alternatively you could upgrade to a larger tank if you have the time and financial resources. Final note on the skimmer NOT essential (you get by fine without one) but more helpful.

Hope this helps

Regards

 

[SkiFletch]

Skimmers don't really help fish... They do help prevent nuisance algae, and reduce dissolved organics that SOME corals and invertebrates do not get along well with. If you don't have nuisance algae problems and you don't have any sensetive corals/inverts, a skimmer is NOT necessary.