Protein Skimmer Question

[crono_vivi]

Would it be a MUST for a 38G fish only tank? I was at a fish shop today and the owner said they are only a MUST for reef aquariums. What do you think?

 

[KMyers18]

I have 125 fish only no LR at all! And i have never ran a protien skimmer. I would say invest in a good UV sterilizer thoe. A protien skimmer wont hurt any thing if thats what your asking if anything it would help. I've just never bought one. Afriend of mine has 150 fish only and he runs a protien skimmer and allways has nitrite problems not to say thats what's causing it but then who knows?

 

[MattP725]

protien skimmers are a good investment. They remove alot of sludge that would possibly sit at the top of your tank hurting the gas exchange. I would say that even a smaller tank would benefit from one... besides the smaller the tank the more seseptable to problems from minor changes in chemistry. Why not do everything possible to prevent that. Get a small one when you can afford it.

 

[WarOrks15]

well a god skimmer remove stuff from the water before it can break down and turn in to no2 and no3.

kmyers18 what fish dose your friend have? it sounds like his tank might be over stocked or have some really messy feeders.

i would run a skimmer on every sw tank that is less then 20 gal. if you are going to get one dont get the cheapest. spend the $$$ on one now and it will payoff in the long run.

 

[seaham358]

IMO a skimmer is a needed item... Even before a UV light. I have a 55 fowlr and I have a reef devil in the sump. I also run a reef devil on my 125 reef. Less water changes and problems trying to keep water quality in check. If you have good water quality this is less stress on the fish so they won't get sick and need a UV. Been UV free in my 55 fowlr from the beginning.... 7/03 I have a SFE, DF Puffer, Toby puffer, yellow tang (ya I know), pseudochromis, wrasse, 2 clowns and a ember blenny and they are all happy. I also run a 20 gal fuge which keep my NO3 at 5ppm. they make some small HOB skimmers.....

 

[MattP725]

Don't let everyone sweat ya on the yellow tang thing... I have one in my 55g that is thriving fine. Yes he is active but he is also very healthy... I don't think there is any scientific research that says a yellow tang will live longer in a 75 or 90 gallon (which is the same length anyways as a 55) than a 55g.

 

[diverdown69]

FWIW, I just finished building two skimmers. One is a fairly small skimmer for my 10-gal tank and it seems to be working nicely. I haven't tested NH3/NO2/NO3 yet as I just put it into operation over the past weekend. The other one I built is larger and I am testing it out in a bucket of old water that I had. Both have produced foam. The smaller one started producing some really nasty-smelling, brown, gunky foam about 90 minutes after I started it up. My water clarity did improve some overnight after I started the skimmer up in the 10-gal tank. The larger one is foaming, but not as fast as the smaller one...I think I need to modify the design a little to make it work better. I'll post up measurements and such later if anyone is interested.

 

[malkore]

diver,

please do post your construction plans and instructions. a lot of people will benefit from it.

As far as a skimmer being a 'must'...it'll definitely make maintaining your tank easier, and provide cleaner water for a more stable habitat. In a fish only, it's optional, but a wise investment...something to buy or build down the road.
In a reef system, it's a must. In a FOWLR setup, I'd say get one.

 

[diverdown69]

Everything I have read says that a skimmer is a must in a smaller tank. After seeing the improvements in water quality in my little tank, I would have to agree.
I'll make up some nice drawings and instructions once I get the bugs worked out of the designs and make sure that both skimmers work as they are intended to work. I don't want to post up crap that won't work.

 

[crono_vivi]

What Skimmer would you guys suggest for a 38 gallon tank? I was thinking about getting the SeaClone 100, but I heard some bad things from various posters on it. Any suggestions?

 

[malkore]

cpr bak-pak2.
I found a place online that sells them for $104. They are 'factory seconds'...meaning the unit has scratches or other cosmetic blemishes in the acrylic...but still functions at 100% capacity and has the standard 2 year CPR warranty.
Mine doesn't even seem to be damaged...maybe a few scuff marks, but no cracks or anything like that. I just got it today and am hooking it up tonight.

 

[crono_vivi]

I don't know if I want to buy a scratched up one....

Any other ones?

 

[Sparky]

Why not? You could save quite a bit of money, has the same warantee (sp) as a new one. And after all the gunk gets on it anyway you won't see any scratches. Not to mention that it will be behind the tank. I mean it's your choice, I am by no means trying to make this sound bad in any way. This is an expensive hobby and if you can save a buck or two, it helps down the line.

Anyway good luck.

Mike

 

[crono_vivi]

So if you get one that doesn't work you can exchange? I actually might have to think about that. Are those skimmers good quality normally? Do you have the address for that site?

 

[malkore]

They work. They have little scratches, not fatal flaws. Its like going to a factory outlet store and buying a t-shirt with a messed up print on it...a mess up when they were silk screening the design. Nothing more.

http://amekaaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=_SECONDS

What you have to remember is that a bak-pak has no moving parts other than the pump. The pump is made by Rio, not CPR, so regardless of getting a 'premium' bak-pak or a factory second, the pump's always right off the shelf, and isn't covered under the CPR warranty anyways.

I checked mine out thoroughly last night, and except for a couple very light, very minor scuff marks, I don't see any other blemishes. I fired it up last night (took a whole 3 mins to setup) and this morning I had about 1/3 cup of skimmate. It's also a little quieter than my Prizm was.

 

[seacat]

Or since you said you dont want to buy a scratched up one you could always get this one right here. For 105.99.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4409&ref=3532&subref=AV&N=2004+113771

Hope that helps a little