Skimmers

[havefun]

Question on skimmers... If I do decide to put a skimmer in my FO tank, are there models that can go in the cabinet or must they hang off the back? Are they noisy? Smelly?
As I said in my other post, this will be my first SW tank and I want to do everything correctly. A couple of questions on cycling, one book I have frowned on using fish to cycle the tank and said to just put in a small amount of food each day - from your experience will that work? Also, do I run the filter(s) during the cycling period?
Sorry for all the questions by my tank will be here in a week and I'm getting excited!!!

 

[born2chill]

Do you have a sump or a fuge for your aquarium? How big is your main tank? If you have a sump, I would recommend an aquac Urchin or a EuroReef Skimmer. If you don't have a sump or fuge you need to get a HOB skimmer. If your tank is under 50 gal I recommend a Aquac Remora. If larger, I recommend a Aquac Remora Pro.

I am using a Remora pro on my 75 gal tank and am amazed by how efficient it is. It took about 5 days before it slimed up enough to skim well, but now that it is broken in I get almost a full cup of skimmate a day. I ordered my Remora pro from Captivereefs.com and I recommend you do they same since they have excellent customer service and offer a 6% discount for AA members. Just post in the Captivereefs forum in the sponser section or PM Darin and he will answer any question you have.

As for cycling, I added 55 lbs. of LR from my LFS, but I didn't have much dieoff to cause a big ammonia spike so I got a jumbo shrimp from the grocery store and dumped it in my tank for a few days. The raw shrimp gave me enough of an ammonia spike to cycle the tank in about 2 weeks. I absolutely do not recommend using fish to cycle as it is inhumane and very stressful for the fish to live in water with concentrations of nitrites and ammonia.

BTW, welcome to AA!!!! These forums are great and full of tons of people that are willing to help you!

 

[havefun]

Sump or Fuge?
I don't know - the LFS has me lined up with a Filstar XP3 canister filter, it says "Efficient 3-stage filtration: mechanical, chemical & biological" - thats all I know about it. So which is it, a sump or fuge? And with the XP3 do you still recommend a skimmer?
Tank size = 75 gal
What is the purpose of LR? Just to speed up/help the cycle process?

Thanks, I've already gotten a bunch of info here.

 

[born2chill]

A sump or a fuge is basically tank that is in the cabinet underneath your main tank and contains all your hardware. For example: plumbing, wet/dry filter, heater, skimmer, live rock rubble, etc.

It sounds to me that you do not have a sump or a fuge which is fine since I don't have one either. You need a HOB skimmer. The one that is most recommended on this board for a tank your size is the Aquac Remora Pro. You can look up its specs at proteinskimmer.com or captivereefs.com.

Live Rock is used for many things in a marine setup. The bacteria on the rock provides biological filtration which will work to maintain better water quality by dissolving the nitrites and ammonia in the water. Many forms of algae will grow on the LR which can be used as a food source for some types of fish and inverts. LR will also contain a lot of life on it other than bacteria. Hitchikers like shrimp, crabs, snails, brittle stars, and even corals can come on LR. Not all of the life on LR is great as mantis shrimp, some evil crabs, and aiptasia anemonies can come on the rock, but the good heavily outweigh the bad in lr. I got my rock from my LFS, but when I am ready to order some more rock I will order from liverocks.com since a lot of users from this forum have ordered from them and have been very impressed by the rock they have received from liverocks.com.

At least 1 lb LR per gallon of water is recommended in a marine tank. This can get very expensive in a tank like yours so you might want to purchase a mix of dead base rock supplemented with enough LR so that the base rock can be seeded with life from it.

 

[pmac0816]

I have a 75 gal tank with a filstar xp3. It has been running about 14 months now. The filstar is an easy way to clean filters but I found it is extremely limiting so I am working on putting in a sump with a refugium. Run a search on the threads here on refugium. You will find lots of help and information from this great group of people here. The link below should show you how a sump works. If you decide to go with a sump, be sure to leave yourself enough room to add equipment as you need it (or want it). Good Luck!


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http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

 

[havefun]

Thanks. Although I'm finding that the more questions asked/answered here I just end up with a bunch more questions.
OK - bottom line - I've already spent over $1000 on this setup and if I spend any more I may find myself inside the tank looking up at my wife with her hands around my neck !!!

Will I be successful by running my tank on just the XP3 filstar doing 10% water changes every 2 weeks? Then in a year or so adding a skimmer and/or sump etc???

 

[born2chill]

I will answer your question by posing some more questions. What type of fish are you looking to place in your tank? How many fish are you planning on having in total? Are you planning to get any corals or anemones? What type of cleaning crew are you planning on picking up?

Some fish are messier eaters than others and some fish produce more waste than others which will severely affect water quality without the use of a good skimmer. Some fish are more sensitive to nitrates and other dissolved organic material in the water and will not be able to survive without their removal. I have seen a few people that didn't invest in protein skimmers having their water turn yellow because of the buildup of organic material.

Do you absolutely need to get a protein skimmer? The answer is no but it is highly recommended. You will be forced to do a lot more water changes without one and water perameters will still be worse. In my honest oppinion, I believe a protein skimmer is almost necessary in a tank that is 75 gal. You could get away without one in a smaller tank. Some days I pull out 2 full cups of skimmate in my 75 gallon and am amazed by all the waste created in my aquarium. Like I previously stated, I recommend an Aquac Remora pro. I would not waste money on a cheap skimmer because you get what you pay for. My advice to you is just save up your money since you don't need a skimmer when the tank is cycling anyway and pick one up as soon as you can.

 

[havefun]

What type of fish are you looking to place in your tank?

Umm, pretty ones? Seriously though, I haven't even thoght about the fish yet. Probably smaller species but not positive. I've read that beginners do better with just fish so thats the plan for now.

OK, I've done some research on the Aquac Remora pro and now have these additional questions:

1) Would you reccommend an overflow box?
2) How about the surface skimmer?
3) How should I explain the additional $200+ expense to my wife? haha

Just kidding on the last one. Thanks for all of your advice!!!

 

[born2chill]

An overflow box is not necessary since the design of the collection cup on the protein skimmer ensures that the unit will never overflow.

The surface skimmer is supposed to remove any buildup on the surface of the water, but this is not necessary if you have powerheads in your aquarium that ripple the surface of the water. I did not purchase the surface skimmer since I have a maxijet 1200 powerhead rippling the surface of the water. It is also supposed to reduce the output of minibubbles into the aquarium, bu this is not really too much of an issue once the skimmer fully breaks in.

I would order from Captivereefs.com since he is a sponser of these forums and offers a 6% discount to all Aquarium Advice members. Just PM captivereefs with any questions and I'm sure Darin will be more than happy to help.

BTW make sure you get a Remora Pro with the Mag 3 pump as it is a far more effective pump and worth the few extra dollars.

 

[havefun]

Powerhead??? I don't think the LFS has one set aside for me. They don't look too expensive though. What is their purpose - just to circulate the water? Do they just lay on the bottom? As you can see I need all the help I can get

 

[pmac0816]

3) How should I explain the additional $200+ expense to my wife? haha

This is easy. Just let your tank get nasty ugly long enough and she will tell you to do what it takes to get it right! Seriously, doing it right the first time will save you time and money in the long run. I am completely redoing my system with the help of a friend who has been doing sw tanks for 20+ years. Are you using RODI water? Using it now will save you alot of headaches.

 

[born2chill]

Yeah all powerheads do is circulate water. It is recommended that all of the water in your tank ciculates 10 times an hour. This circulation is beneficial for your fish as well as aerating the water enough to prevent excessive algae formation in the water. I would recommend 2 maxijet 1200's or 2 maxijet 900's for a tank your size. I have the 1200s and I feel that the water pressure coming out of them might be a little too strong for my fish.

forgot to mention that you suction cup them to the sides of your tank.

 

[havefun]

Thanks for you input guys, you've been a great help!
As for the water type, see my post in the "beginner" forum (my apologies, I didn't realize there was a seperate form for us).

 

[havefun]

Just a quick update - Well I did it. I just bought the Remora pro, an RO unit, 2 maxi jet 1200's and some misc test kits from Captivereefs!!! Hopefully the water will look nice cause I wont be able to aford any fish now

 

[born2chill]

Nice purchase. I want to pick up an RO unit when I get the funds, but for now I need to save up for some Metal Halide lighting. Glad you decided to order from Darin at captivereefs, it's good to support the sponsers. The MaxiJet 1200s are great powerheads, but try not to aim them where any of your small fish congregate because it will take them for a ride. I think they're a little too powerful, but a lot of people with tanks our size use them so I guess they're not too dangerous.

The fish are actually the cheapest part of this hobby so I wouldn't worry too much about having enough money.

 

[havefun]

I think they're a little too powerful

Actually I PM'd Darin and he said I should go with the 1200's.