Do You Need a Protein Skimmer in your Marine Aquarium? - It Is Essential?

Welcome to Simple Reefs. This is a brand new website dedicated to taking the complexity out of Marine Aquarium Ownership. Our goal is to show you how you can own your very own slice of the ocean without spending a fortune. As well as giving you tons of easy to digest information on all things marine. Today we are answering the question of do you need a protein skimmer in your marine aquarium?

We have been talking about protein skimmers a lot this week. In fact, you may just want to check out some of our previous articles to get caught up. Especially if you are new to the marine aquarium hobby and need to learn more.

• What is a protein skimmer and what are they used for?
• How does a protein skimmer work?
• What are the benefits of a protein skimmer?
• What are the downsides of a protein skimmer?

We explained all about how a protein skimmer works and what the benefits and downsides of adding one to your marine aquarium are. That all leaves one big question, though. Particularly when it comes to starting a simple marine aquarium on a budget.

Do I Need a Protein Skimmer?

Well, that really depends on what type of aquarium you are planning to purchase, or setup, and what you plan to stock it with. After all, different scenarios will benefit from different approaches. For example, a small aquarium with only one fish and a bunch of coral will have different requirements to a larger aquarium with both coral and fish.

This is a contentious subject, especially when you start digging deep into public discussions about it. Being perfectly honest; the marine aquarium hobbyist community is not the most flexible. In fact, the majority of people who are vocal are incredibly rigid on their beliefs. Meaning they will be the first to give their opinions when topics like this pop up.

This rigidity, and vocalising, of their beliefs means some other hobbyists get a bit drowned out. If you were to head onto certain communities and ask this question, you would be sure to receive a whole bunch of people telling you that a protein skimmer is essential. The truth is, however, that goes against actual people’s experiences. Especially people who have been in the hobby for decades.

That doesn’t mean that a protein skimmer wouldn’t be an advisable addition, though. As we spoke about in our article on the benefits of a protein skimmer. The vast majority of aquariums will be easier to maintain and healthier with the inclusion of one. But what situations may the opposite apply?

Which Aquariums Don’t Need a Protein Skimmer?

The truth of the matter is that there is a very limited selection of marine aquariums that don’t really need a protein skimmer. Even then, the argument could be made that they would benefit from the addition of one in the long run. Some of those aquariums would be.

• Coral only with 2, or less, small fish.
• Pico aquariums that are absolutely tiny
• Aquariums with substantial nutrient export like algae turf scrubbers and big refugiums
• Small Nano aquariums with few fish

Some of these are self explanatory. After all, who is making protein skimmers for pico aquariums that might only be 20 litres, tops? But what about some of the others?

The first type I am going to point out are very small nano aquariums. Take one of the most popular all in one, peninsula, marine specific aquariums in the business right now, for example. The Fluval Evo 13.5 Saltwater Kit.

A Case In Point

This aquarium comes with a pump, a hood, an LED light, and some filter medium. The aquarium is 13.5 US gallons (about 52 litres) and the idea is that the water flows into one chamber, then into the second where it meets the filter medium, and then out of a third chamber. Pretty simple, right? And the aquarium is incredibly affordable at around £150. Hell, the light is even good enough for LPS coral.

I own this aquarium and I, also, purchased the Fluval Sea PS2 protein skimmer made specifically for it. You may be wondering why I am bringing this up? After all, they made a protein skimmer specifically for it and I own it. What is my point?

Well, the reason is quite simple. People absolutely despise this Fluval Sea PS2 protein skimmer. I have never seen so much hate for a piece of marine aquarium equipment in my entire time in the hobby. People act as though it is skimming the crud in the water straight into their morning coffee for how much scorn it gets.

Personally, I don’t get it! I find it absolutely fantastic. It is easy to dial in, easy to clean, and it skims like nobody’s business. If I have this running quite wet, and am feeding the one fish in the aquarium heavy, I am emptying it daily. I can bet that it is half full, this second, if I were to turn around and look at it.

That’s besides the point; other people don’t like it and this is one of the most common aquariums you will find so there are a lot of examples. Most of them choose to skip this protein skimmer entirely.

People Skip The Skimmer

So what do people do to resolve this? After all, there are myriad protein skimmer options for nano aquariums and I know a few, off the top of my head, that would fit well in the designated skimmer chamber. Well, they simply skip the protein skimmer. Instead, they opt to use the chambers in a slightly different way.

Many 3D print media storage for chamber 1 and chamber 2. This allows them to layer up different types of filtration media. Say for example, filter wool at the top, bio balls in the second chamber, carbon in the third etc etc. I have done this myself for chamber 2.

Others go a step further and turn chamber 1 into a tiny refugium. Growing chaeto, or another macro algae, in there with an underwater light. I have done this too and it is surprisingly effective. There is plenty of flow entering chamber 1 and an underwater light is surprisingly affordable. Much more affordable than a protein skimmer that costs upwards of £50, anyway.

Nano Aquariums Have a Big Benefit

The truth of the matter is that nano aquariums have one perk that acts as both a benefit and a downside. They have a small capacity for water. Meaning that problems can occur rapidly but they can, also, be fixed rapidly via water changes. In a small nano aquarium, it is totally reasonable to think that you could simply forgo the addition of a protein skimmer and be more diligent with water changes.

If you changed 25% of the water in a nano aquarium once a week. I doubt you would ever have any need for a protein skimmer or, even, any kind of element dosing. As long as your bio-load is within the recommended limits. You could get by, perfectly fine, without one.

I would say, however, that if you skip a protein skimmer on a nano aquarium be sure to point your return pump’s outlet at the surface of the water to agitate it. This will help compensate for the lack of oxygen introduction from the skimmer.

Remember when I was talking about hobbyists with years of experience? This is one of those situations. Tons of people run nano aquariums without protein skimmers and have done it for years with massive success. There is evidence of this everywhere. This is why it is important to not be completely rigid in your beliefs when it comes to this hobby. There are many ways to achieve your goals.

What About Bigger Aquariums?

This is where it gets a bit more complex. I would say that a protein skimmer would be highly recommended, for big tanks, in most cases. There are situations where you may find some flexibility. If you are running a coral table, for example, or a coral only tank with barely any fish. You could opt to go without a protein skimmer. Don’t get me wrong, I recognise that this is a controversial statement and I can hear those rigid hobbyists getting angry but it is true.

Again, being diligent with water changes should be enough to stay on top of it. As long as you are only feeding your coral very small amounts of food, that is. Some people don’t feed their coral at all. In that case, you definitely won’t need a skimmer. Water changes will perfectly suffice and you should still be doing water changes with coral only to replenish lost elements.

I would say that invertebrate specific tanks, in some cases, won’t need a protein skimmer. Plenty of aquariums house only a pistol shrimp and a goby. I wouldn’t worry too much about a protein skimmer in these cases. Unless you have a ton of coral, of course. Water changes should, again, suffice. The same goes for tanks with certain shrimp. There just isn’t that much call for waste removal when the feeding will, typically, be quite light.

In Short

The truth of the matter is that most aquariums will benefit from the inclusion of a protein skimmer. If you have a nano aquarium with few fish then water changes will suffice. Some bigger, coral only, aquariums can also get by with only water changes if you feed the coral very light.

With all of this being said, protein skimmers are highly recommended, in most cases. They cut down on the need for water changes, stabilise your water’s PH, add oxygen to the water, and keep everything a lot cleaner. If you prefer to do less maintenance, put one on your shopping list. Thanks, as always, for reading and spending your time at Simple Reefs.