protein skimmer problem

[joseramentol]

i have a 30 gallon tank with about 40 pounds of coralline algea (still adding) with a cpr bak pak protein skimmer (not the best) the problem im having with it is that the guy at the lfs told me for filtration all i would need is life rocks and a protein skimmer but my water always seems to be super dirty.is it because i need another type of filtration or because my protein skimmer is not working?, as soon as i hooked up a hobf my water got crystal clear

im going to buy the reef octopus 1000 protein skimmer but i want suggestions towards my filtration before i go spending more money on protein skimmers for no reason

 

[Saratj1]

I'd say your skimmer is fine, it may not seem to be doing much because there isn't much protein to skim in a 30g tank. I would add some type of mechanical filtration, like a small cannister filter where you can add some activated carbon, also what is the root cause of the cloudiness, it could be algae, bacteria, or other things, how old is the tank. What are the live stock ?

The reason I say about the skimmer is because I've figured out by constantly messing with my two skimmers on smaller tanks (26g, and 47g) is that these tanks just don't have that much dissolved protein in them and it will seem like your skimmer is inconsistent. Because with out enough dissolved protein your skimmer will not make a good foam.

But it could be other issues as well it's hard to say without more info.

I really doubt you need more slimmer on a 30g tank, I would bet that actually less skimmer would give you better results.

 

[paul87]

Yea I have an aquac remora hob Skimmer on my 35 and I don't get a whole lot of skimmate either. It is a very good quality Skimmer too. Besides that I run a hob power filter with carbon. Your Skimmer is probably fine. CPR isn't that bad.

 

[joseramentol]

I'd say your skimmer is fine, it may not seem to be doing much because there isn't much protein to skim in a 30g tank. I would add some type of mechanical filtration, like a small cannister filter where you can add some activated carbon, also what is the root cause of the cloudiness, it could be algae, bacteria, or other things, how old is the tank. What are the live stock ?

The reason I say about the skimmer is because I've figured out by constantly messing with my two skimmers on smaller tanks (26g, and 47g) is that these tanks just don't have that much dissolved protein in them and it will seem like your skimmer is inconsistent. Because with out enough dissolved protein your skimmer will not make a good foam.

But it could be other issues as well it's hard to say without more info.

I really doubt you need more slimmer on a 30g tank, I would bet that actually less skimmer would give you better results.

well the problem just is that the top of the water is always dirty and there always seems to be little white stuff floating, i think poop from the fishes as soon as i hooked up my hobf everything cleared out, in the protein skimmer i have some carbon

the tank is prob about 2 months old cause i changed it from a predator to a reef tank now so i had my lionfish (which i got rid of yesterday) octopus (still need to get rid of that 1) and a clown fish with a green bubble tip anemone

 

[joseramentol]

Yea I have an aquac remora hob Skimmer on my 35 and I don't get a whole lot of skimmate either. It is a very good quality Skimmer too. Besides that I run a hob power filter with carbon. Your Skimmer is probably fine. CPR isn't that bad.

well the reason i removed the hobf is because at my lfs they told me those werent good to run in a tank with corals in them.

is that a lie? or will it really damage or kill them?

 

[Racnakd]

I ran 2 emperor 400 filters on my 80g reef as well as a CPR bak pal dual pak skimmer. The filters had rite size e cartridges with carbon in them. I would recommend running a hobf if you do not plan on running a sump. That is my .02$ and from personal experience worked great for me.

 

[joseramentol]

I ran 2 emperor 400 filters on my 80g reef as well as a CPR bak pal dual pak skimmer. The filters had rite size e cartridges with carbon in them. I would recommend running a hobf if you do not plan on running a sump. That is my .02$ and from personal experience worked great for me.

i think im just gann leave the hobf as well as the cpr

 

[paul87]

Can't have too much filtration!

 

[joseramentol]

Can't have too much filtration!

so what do you suggest i do, i just want to have clear water, last night i turned off the hobf and when i woke up this morning it was the same thing the top of my water was all dirty and there was debris floating all in the water, i believe is mostly cause my octopus is shedding but for the most part the protein skimmer doesnt pick up anything as soon as i connect my hobf my water clears up

 

[Racnakd]

Do you have the surface skimmer for the CPR. Seems like you have organics floating to the surface and the skimmer is pulling from below the surface. almost seems like your not getting the surface agitation that you need to skim properly.

 

[Racnakd]

If the hobf is working to keep things clean then I would leave it running. Like the previous poster said "you can't have too much filtration."

 

[paul87]

I would run the power filter. Even with nothing in it it will aggitate the surface more. They do make surface Skimmers too but I don't use one and don't have a problem. I don't know anything about octopus's. Do you have powerheads and is your tank getting enough circulation?

 

[joseramentol]

I would run the power filter. Even with nothing in it it will aggitate the surface more. They do make surface Skimmers too but I don't use one and don't have a problem. I don't know anything about octopus's. Do you have powerheads and is your tank getting enough circulation?

im actually going today to buy 2 750 korolia or something like that idk how to spell it powerheads with a wavemaker

 

[paul87]

Those are great poweheads. I have the 750 one. If you didn't have any then this will help out ALOT! I don't know about the octopus though. It could be bad if he gets sucked up into one! I would get rid of him or put some fine mesh netting around the powerheads.

 

[Racnakd]

Agreed that adding some power heads will help. I'm not sure if 2 750's will be too much flow. I had 2 750's on my 80 and that was plenty of flow. As well as having to have the placement just right so it didnt blow the sand everywhere. Just my thoughts. Maybe one 750 or 2 k-3's. Just my thoughts

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Use the hob it won't hurt do your weekly maint. All will be fine. And clear water I have a 36 bow front with one 700 and a 250 korlia more than enough flow. You can buy one 700 see how it works then add from there.

 

[Ericwm]

I have a 30 gallon with a hob filter and everything seems healthy, I want to add a power head to help with flow so I can add some corals. Which is better, the pump style or the fan looking style?

 

[paul87]

Fan. That's the powerhead kind really it's best. The other are just pumps

 

[Ericwm]

Thank you, that just saved me hours of research. How much flow (gph) will my 30 gallon need to create moderate to high flow?

 

[Racnakd]

I believe it's 7-10 times the gallons you have