- Location
- Nassau County
I currentyl have the Lee's Concurrent Protein skimmer and planning to upgrade to an reasonalbly priced skimmer for a 45 gallon reef tank. I was thinking about the Prizm Deluxe or the sea clone skimmer. Any suggestions?
Protein Skimmer Upgrade
- Thread starter nick
- Start date
- Location
- Nassau County
oh ok I will keep the CPR Bak pak in mind
- Location
- Nassau County
Are wet/dry filter a big change from protein skimmers?
Killerdrgn
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Park Ridge, NJ
Yes wet/drys are something to stay away from in Reef aquariums. they are nitrate traps. Skimmers actually take the proteins/scum out of your system whereas wet/drys just turn them into nitrates.
And I'm guessing you can only have hang on skimmers, since those are the only ones you named. You should go with either an AquaC remora or one of the octopus hang on skimmers. stay away from the prism and sea clowns (clone).
And I'm guessing you can only have hang on skimmers, since those are the only ones you named. You should go with either an AquaC remora or one of the octopus hang on skimmers. stay away from the prism and sea clowns (clone).
- Location
- Nassau County
oh ok yea i have a in tank concurrent skimmer.
- Location
- Nassau County
i can go for either one hang on or on the floor. - i was just look to spend under $100 if possible.
Killerdrgn
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Park Ridge, NJ
Under $100 may not get you anything good. Maybe if you don't mind, buying something used from here on the boards. Plenty of people breaking down their tanks and selling old equipment and such.
IN MY OPINION AND EXPERIENCE
Nick, understand the basics of a reef aquarium. What wastes you put in must come out if you are to keep a clean healthy reef. A skimmer directly removes wastes in a tank before they have a chance to further break down further and pollute your system. Therefore, you can't skim too much (only a putz would argue this point)
Growing macro algae in a refuge, or relying on a sandbed or other biological filtration is a poor option. Yes these methods will work to some extent but you could easily remove much more wastes with a quality skimmer...........and you don't have to make separate contraptions or have additional tanks with lights to grow macro algae..
Lots of skimmer companies will have ridiculous rating for their skimmer, saying their skimmers will skim tank up to 100, 200, or 300gal tanks. In all reality most of these skimmers won't handle a 40 gallon tank with a light bioload. Why do they have these ratings? Because they can. No one has scientifically disproved their ratings, although user experiences have proved them to be inadequate.
When looking at a skimmer take a look as the amount of air it produces. This will be your best gauge to determine it ability to handle a tank size.
IME a good formula for a minimum amount of air a skimmer should produce to aquarium size is 1 LMP (liter of air per minute) 60 LPH (per hour) for 10 gallons of tank water. Granted, you will not get this info on a lot of skimmers out there, most quality ones will have this info handy.
ANYWAY, For $100 you will not find anything that will handle your system (new) but a used remora skimmer will remove some crud. Good luck!
Nick, understand the basics of a reef aquarium. What wastes you put in must come out if you are to keep a clean healthy reef. A skimmer directly removes wastes in a tank before they have a chance to further break down further and pollute your system. Therefore, you can't skim too much (only a putz would argue this point
) Growing macro algae in a refuge, or relying on a sandbed or other biological filtration is a poor option. Yes these methods will work to some extent but you could easily remove much more wastes with a quality skimmer...........and you don't have to make separate contraptions or have additional tanks with lights to grow macro algae..
Lots of skimmer companies will have ridiculous rating for their skimmer, saying their skimmers will skim tank up to 100, 200, or 300gal tanks. In all reality most of these skimmers won't handle a 40 gallon tank with a light bioload. Why do they have these ratings? Because they can. No one has scientifically disproved their ratings, although user experiences have proved them to be inadequate.
When looking at a skimmer take a look as the amount of air it produces. This will be your best gauge to determine it ability to handle a tank size.
IME a good formula for a minimum amount of air a skimmer should produce to aquarium size is 1 LMP (liter of air per minute) 60 LPH (per hour) for 10 gallons of tank water. Granted, you will not get this info on a lot of skimmers out there, most quality ones will have this info handy.
ANYWAY, For $100 you will not find anything that will handle your system (new) but a used remora skimmer will remove some crud. Good luck!
i run a aquax ev180 on my 46g and it has yet to underskim.. only loses bubbles if i put my hand in the tank. I bought that used with pump for $200 on these boards..
Think of it this way.. you buy a cheap $50 skimmer. It is always under skimming and overflowing. So you spend $200 on another skimmer that works perfectly.. you just wasted $50.
Seems in this hobby people are always upgrading so you can get great deals on a small skimmer that will work great.. also I go bigger so I have the option to upgrade and not re-buy equipment.
All I would need other then tank and live stock is a new sump to go to a 100g if i wanted
Think of it this way.. you buy a cheap $50 skimmer. It is always under skimming and overflowing. So you spend $200 on another skimmer that works perfectly.. you just wasted $50.
Seems in this hobby people are always upgrading so you can get great deals on a small skimmer that will work great.. also I go bigger so I have the option to upgrade and not re-buy equipment.
All I would need other then tank and live stock is a new sump to go to a 100g if i wanted
- Location
- poughquag, ny
spend once, spend correctly, as asked do you have a sump or do you need a hang on back skimmer, if a hob then a remora wait a extra month or so to save extra money to buy a good skimmer
- Location
- Nassau County
Alright cool, I will listen to you guys. Might as well spend the money to ensure that it does it right the first time around. I just have a regular in tank skimmer. That has done its job. But time to upgrade. I do a water change ever 2 weeks. I am thinking about getting a coralife super skimmer needle Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer. I'll get the 65 gallon one. Hope it wont clean too much waste. I want to leave some good bacteria.
- Location
- Nassau County
thanks everyone!!
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