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Dear Todd:
Thanks for the insight. Let me also precurse my message with this- I am a firm believer in "if it aint broke, dont fix it". This setup works for you, stick with it.
I think the quote you gave from Calfo and Fenner is bit misleading, to be honest. I am not saying it is untrue, but I think it give aquarist some "false hope". The quote says "aggressively filtered and skimmed" would lead to potential problems. This is where I believe the misinterpretation lies. This is quite subjective. While overfiltered tanks (with ORP near 600) are way too sterilized, I think the problem described would be an issue. However, without massive, intensive efforts to do so, I dont think this is a common or prevalent issue. Most tanks have ORPs near 250 to 350 running standard equipment- well within the range of common oceanic waters. Running a skimmer would not cause the massively overfiltered conditions to detriment the animals, unless there was never any nitrogenous input, or the skimmer was severely overrated for the tank. Why I think skimmed tanks doesnt sterilize the water too much is because, we, as aquarists, are constantly adding concentrated nitrogenous sources to our tanks (in the forms of food, additives, etc.) You yourself claim to feed your tank at least 4 times a day. Perhaps you have hit the magical sweet spot where your animals are consuming exactly what you are adding. Unfortunately, I feel this is not the case for the vast majority of aquarists. I do not have the literature in front of me to cite either, but I have read numerous times also that EXCESS nutrient in the water will cause coral to brown. I think this is a far more certain outcome in the vast majority of cases, rather than the water being too clean.
I, too, agree that our seawater should not be totally clean. But I also feel that skimmers nowadays are not nearly effecient enough at stripping the water of these nutrients to make it sterile. Furthermore, I still will argue that people think clams and corals are nutrient sponges. If this were the case, lighting would not be important, they would get all of their metabolic requirements from this nitrogenous consumption. This, we know, is not true. While they will still absorb some nutrient, they are not an efficient nutrient export mechanism.
Overall, as I mentioned, I personally feel it is a bad idea to run a marine tank without a skimmer. It works for you, so to you, I say continue running skimmerless. However, I can cite the hundreds, if not thousands, of fellow reefers tanks that run skimmers and other filters, and can keep corals and clams for extended periods. More to the point, I can cite many failure of tanks without skimmers, where the waste just skyrocketed out of control, as there was no effective export system.
Good luck to you,and perhaps, if you are at the meeting on Tuesday, we can meet.
Thanks for the insight. Let me also precurse my message with this- I am a firm believer in "if it aint broke, dont fix it". This setup works for you, stick with it.
I think the quote you gave from Calfo and Fenner is bit misleading, to be honest. I am not saying it is untrue, but I think it give aquarist some "false hope". The quote says "aggressively filtered and skimmed" would lead to potential problems. This is where I believe the misinterpretation lies. This is quite subjective. While overfiltered tanks (with ORP near 600) are way too sterilized, I think the problem described would be an issue. However, without massive, intensive efforts to do so, I dont think this is a common or prevalent issue. Most tanks have ORPs near 250 to 350 running standard equipment- well within the range of common oceanic waters. Running a skimmer would not cause the massively overfiltered conditions to detriment the animals, unless there was never any nitrogenous input, or the skimmer was severely overrated for the tank. Why I think skimmed tanks doesnt sterilize the water too much is because, we, as aquarists, are constantly adding concentrated nitrogenous sources to our tanks (in the forms of food, additives, etc.) You yourself claim to feed your tank at least 4 times a day. Perhaps you have hit the magical sweet spot where your animals are consuming exactly what you are adding. Unfortunately, I feel this is not the case for the vast majority of aquarists. I do not have the literature in front of me to cite either, but I have read numerous times also that EXCESS nutrient in the water will cause coral to brown. I think this is a far more certain outcome in the vast majority of cases, rather than the water being too clean.
I, too, agree that our seawater should not be totally clean. But I also feel that skimmers nowadays are not nearly effecient enough at stripping the water of these nutrients to make it sterile. Furthermore, I still will argue that people think clams and corals are nutrient sponges. If this were the case, lighting would not be important, they would get all of their metabolic requirements from this nitrogenous consumption. This, we know, is not true. While they will still absorb some nutrient, they are not an efficient nutrient export mechanism.
Overall, as I mentioned, I personally feel it is a bad idea to run a marine tank without a skimmer. It works for you, so to you, I say continue running skimmerless. However, I can cite the hundreds, if not thousands, of fellow reefers tanks that run skimmers and other filters, and can keep corals and clams for extended periods. More to the point, I can cite many failure of tanks without skimmers, where the waste just skyrocketed out of control, as there was no effective export system.
Good luck to you,and perhaps, if you are at the meeting on Tuesday, we can meet.
