Do I need a protein skimmer

[jaylam]

Guys,

My tank will be arriving soon which I plan to make a saltwater tank now some people have told me that I MUST have a protein skimmer and some people have said not.

Can anyone advise?

Jay

 

[thincat]

Yes, we can, but first we need to know more about your tank. Size, filtration and amount of LR or what ever esle you can tell us.

 

[jaylam]

Yes, we can, but first we need to know more about your tank. Size, filtration and amount of LR or what ever esle you can tell us.

Thanks, ok its a 4ft tank, I have 1 external Ehiem Professional 3 fileter and one internal filter that comes with the tank which I plan on using just for water flow.

What skimmer would you recommend and how do they connect to the setup?

 

[thincat]

I'm thinking that your tank is at least a 55g. Before I say you need a skimmer, what do you want to keep in lit...fish, fish with LR (FWLR), or reef? If reef what kind of lights do you have? Also do you have a sump?

 

[jaylam]

I'm thinking that your tank is at least a 55g. Before I say you need a skimmer, what do you want to keep in lit...fish, fish with LR (FWLR), or reef? If reef what kind of lights do you have? Also do you have a sump?

Ok to start im just going to have fish and some live rock at a later date I want to add some corel etc but not for some time.

Lighting im not sure to be honest they lights are coming with the tank.

I assume LR means live rock but im sorry I dont know what FWLR means.

Thanks for your patience im new to saltwater and obviously want to make sure everything is in place before I put fish in and risk harming them.

 

[melosu58]

You dont have to have a protien skimmer. I recommend one as they are good for removing DOC`s from your tank. I know several folks that dont have one but the make it up in extra PWC`s.

Also moving this to the General hardware and equipment discussion forum.

 

[jaylam]

You dont have to have a protien skimmer. I recommend one as they are good for removing DOC`s from your tank. I know several folks that dont have one but the make it up in extra PWC`s.

Also moving this to the General hardware and equipment discussion forum.

Ok cool thanks I will add that to the list of things I need, do you recommend any. I would like external not hang on and also how does it connect, are the external filter pipes split and this joined in between that or will it have 2 seperate tubes going to the tank.

 

[rogersjw]

If you want an external, non HOB, you'll have to run it in a sump and do some plumbing. If you go to the DIY forum, you can look at a lot of threads on the subject of DIY sumps/refugiums.

If you don't want to mess with plumbing it and gettings a sump together, the AquaC remoras are nice HOB skimmers... You would just the regular (I think it skims up to 75 gallons). I got mine through craigslist in pristine condition for $80 rather than spending the $225 online but I had to wait for 3-4 weeks for it to come up (I got the Pro version, regular is ~160ish I think).

 

[melosu58]

As mentioned above you`ll need a sump if not a HOB. As far as brand name I believe Octopus brand is the best from what I`ve heard.

 

[jaylam]

As mentioned above you`ll need a sump if not a HOB. As far as brand name I believe Octopus brand is the best from what I`ve heard.

Damm, I was hoping to find an external one that does not need a sump so I can save some space, looks like HOB is the way forward.

I have been looking at the Deltec MCE300 which looks pretty good, just reading up on the Octopus ones now.

Thanks.