15 Gallon tank.

[fishboy]

Hi all,

I'm setting up a 15 gallon reef tank for my daughter :wink: . Would it be recomended to run a skimmer on such a small tank or can I get away with weekly water changes?

[Bob I]

From my experiences, I would be inclined to say no. I personally do not run a skimmer in any of my tanks. I am a great fan of DSB's. In addition I have refugiums with Caulerpa for nutrient export. I also do not change water very often. It works for me. :D

[EmilyB]

Oh, nevermind....
:lol:

You can probably get by with some water changing, however skimming as you probably know, provides increased oxygenation to the tank, and my view is, any skimming is better than none. Non skimming tends to catch up over time...........IME anyway.

The skimming principle is nutrient export. This can be accomplished (apparently) with macroalgae (regularily pruned and removed) as well.

The amount of bioload, of course, seriously contributes to the need for skimming.

Watch the O2 and nitrates if you don't skim.

[fishboy]

I think I'm going to start with a 2-3" DSB, 15-20 lbs. of live rock and see how it goes without a skimmer. I'll seed the DSB with some sand from my other tank.

Lighting will be 2 55W PC's that I have leftover from my other tank.

What would be the best way to add O2 to the tank? The air adapters that come with powerheads or an air pump? Or will it be required if I keep a large amount of flow in the tank?

[EmilyB]

Rippling across the surface of the water (powerhead), this will not deal with the crud on the surface when you are not skimming, but it will provide good 02 exchange. :)

[AJ_77]

I have a small powerhead aimed at the point where the return from the Aquaclear filter enters the water. So there is surface agitation and then a bit of "chaotic" flow where they meet. It seems to work OK, the problem I have is getting the right amount of flow directed to the right places in such a small space.

HTH,

Aj :D

[Bob I]

Rippling across the surface of the water (powerhead), this will not deal with the crud on the surface when you are not skimming,

Interesting point about the surface crud. I at one time thought skimming would cure that. It did NOT. and further reading implied it would not. :(

The only thing I ever found that would get rid of crud was to simply run an Aquaclear of any size. Even without filter material. :D

Not to start an argument, but merely reporting what happened to me.