what brand skimmer?

[crage34]

i have a 30 gal and will have 2 maxijet power heads what kind/brand skimmer do u recommend? and do u recommend another type of filtration instead or an additional filtration device?

 

[MT79]

Considering this thread is in the reef forum I'd recomend an aqua-c remora skimmer and about 45 lbs of lr for biological filtration. You could add something to polish the water like a hob filter, etc. A ls bed will also help filtration.

 

[Atari]

Ofcourse if you plan on just having a fish only system then you don't need any of those What kind of aquarium are you planning?

 

[captivereefs]

The remora with the maxi jet 1200 qill be your best bet. It is the easieast skimmer to operate and has no air venturis to clog and is very quiet once broken in. Of all the remoras I have sold I have never once heard a complaint!

 

[loganj]

I agree...go with the Remora.

 

[crage34]

its gonna be a fowlr for now....with sand (im not sure how deep)? and 30 lbs of live rock also if i get the skimmer am i gonna need 2 power heads still or just one?

 

[evenings]

i own an Aqual C.. and it works great.. how powerful are your maxi jets? you said you have two of them. two in a 30 gallon should be enough.

 

[crage34]

well i dont have the maxi jets yet but im planning on 600's + a skimmer...should i just get 1 ph + skimmer or stick with my plan of 2 ph + skimmer?

 

[crage34]

or will i need a skimmer at all?

 

[Atari]

Get a skimmer and 2 Maxijet 900's at least.. go for 1200's if you want enough for if/when you go full reef.

 

[srgetz]

"or will i need a skimmer at all?"

Simply put, no. If you are frequent with water changes and careful not to overfeed, you can get away without one for months. But save for a good one, like the aqua-c. Better to wait for a quality one than fuss with cheap junk immediately![/quote]

 

[captivereefs]

2 1200's may be overkill in a 30. You may want to stick with 2 600's

 

[Atari]

By my calculations (famous last words) 2 1200's will give 20x flow, so that's why I said if you want them to be enough for a reef. I still think 900's should be the minimum if there's going to be LR in there.

 

[MT79]

I'd recomend 2 maxi 900s plus a 1200 running the skimmer. 30 gal. are fairly long tanks and w/ lr you need circulation in order for it to push the water through the rock. In my 29 gal. reef I have an emperor hob filter rated at 280 gph, a maxi-jet 1200 powering my skimmer plus a maxi-jet 600. HTH

 

[crage34]

is the cpr backpak 2 anygood? i found one for about 40 dollars cheeper than the remora if it is as good as the remora....ive heard a few ppl on here talk about them...just wondering what u guys think...also how deep should my sand bed be? about how many lbs

 

[MT79]

Sand beds are personal so to speak. Some swear by a DSB, where other say a DSB is only a problem waiting to happen. I went in the middle, I have about 3" of sand. It only took 40lbs for my 29, so I'd say you need about 50-60 lbs for a 30 gal. It's up to you how deep you want it. Read some articles on "DSB crashing" and decide. The remora, from what I hear on these forums, is better than the cpr hands down. Also if your getting GOOD lr, then there is no need to buy LS, your rock will seed it.

 

[crage34]

right...i was planning on buyin like 30 lbs of live rock and just dry bagged sand to let my rock seed the sand....from what i see i will probably just start my tank off with out the skimmer and save then eventually get the good skimmer after i get everything else going

 

[Atari]

If you're not adding any live sand at all then it might be a good idea to crush up some of your live rock rubble and mix that in with the sand bed.

 

[captivereefs]

bak paks are OK; but they are alot more maintanence oriented than the remoras. They need monthly cleaning of the air venturi. The remora needs about 2 cleanings a year.

 

[MT79]

crush up some of your live rock rubble and mix that in with the sand bed.

That is up to you craig, I see no need for it , I like the look of a clean sand bed. Just be sure to add some sand stirrers like nassarius snails, bummble bee snails, maybe a pistol shrimp, etc.