Skimmers, do I need one?

[deejay]

I've had my tank for 6 months. I have a 75-80 gal tank w/ 70lbs of rock, currently looking into buying more. I have yellow tang, blue eyes tang, hlaf-black angel, niger trigger and 2 clarki clown and a lunar wrasse. I have only lost two fish so far, but I tried my best, but they wouldn't eat for me. They were a dwarf zebra lion and a coral beauty. I have a over flow for it with a skimmer in the overflow wet dry filter, but I don't know how to get it to work, so I was wondering if I should go out and buy a hang on skimmer for my tank. I've had pretty good luck with my tank. I keep a stable salt level and all the chemical levels where they should be.

 

[loganj]

I think a skimmer would benefit you. Is your wet/dry a HOB or is it under the tank? Are you using biomedia in it? If so, what are your nitrate levels?
If you have a wet/dry that sits under the tank, you'll get better performance from the skimmer if it's in there. The skimmers that come with most wet/dry filters are not very good anyway so I wouldn't be too upset about not being able to get it going. If you can't put a skimmer in the wet/dry, then a good HOB skimmer would be a good investment.

 

[deejay]

My wet dry is under my tank. What brand of skimmer should I look for or does that matter? I found the seaclone on ebay and that's what most people are bidding on, but I read reviews and they are not so good on it.

 

[biotoxin]

seaclones can be tolerable if your willing to do the modifications. Depends on your budget and size of your tank. If you have the money go with aquac or euroreef. I dont know if a seaclone would handle a tank over 60g.

 

[loganj]

I need some idea of how much room you have in the wet/dry. I agree that the Seaclone isn't going to handle a tank that size very well although it would be better than nothing. Also, what are you willing to invest in a skimmer? The better ones are fairly expensive. Some skimmers can sit outside with nothing but the pump in the sump or wet/dry. So, let us know how much room you have and what your budget is and we can recommend something.

 

[deejay]

I don't have very much room. The water come down through the bioballs and then another compartment, which has my pump running back to my tank and then the skimmer, which is small and no clue how to work. There isn't much room, I can barely fit a pump with a filter on the end. What about if I went and bought a new one of these? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2362734484&category=20758. I'll spent up to 200 bucks. Or do I need a better filtering system, cause my tanks gets dirty and stuff settles at the buttom and it doesn't stay very clean, the fish are always stirring up stuff and gets the tank a mess and it never goes into the over flow and through the wet dry. What should I do? I bought a prizm skimmer from the petstore. Got it working but it leaks like a mad man! I paid 160 for it. I think I might take it back and get something else.

 

[loganj]

If you can take it back, I would. A Prizm isn't enough skimmer for your tank. If you can't take it back, where is it leaking? If you have the flow adjusted too high on a Prizm, they will leak where the collection cup sits on the skimmer body. I have to run mine choked down almost all the way to get it to work right. On that size tank, your best bet for a HOB skimmer would be an Aqua C Remora Pro with a Mag 3 pump. Next choice, IMO, would be a Berlin HOB using either a Mag 5 or Mag 7 (preferred) pump.