Advice for a sumpless tank

[Spongebob20]

Current tank is a 75 gallon sumpless mixed reef. All of my parameters are in check and stable and having no major problems with the tank.
salinity- 1.025
temp- 79
Nitrate- 0

Right now my system runs on a Aquatop cf500uv canister filter- rated to 175 gallons, and AquaC Remora HOB skimmer max rated to 75 gallons. Links below for all the specs

The canister filter
http://www.truaqua.com/aquatop-canister-filter-cf-500uv.html

The HOB skimmer
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&catargetid=1570172011&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla


I would like to upgrade to a CPR Aquatics Bak-Pak HOB protein skimmer- max rated to 100 gallons.

http://www.reefproteinskimmer.com/cpr-aquatics-bak-pak-dual-pak

My question is, if I upgrade to this skimmer, do you think I will be able to stop using the canister filter and still have enough filtration? I have about 125 pounds of live rock as well. The canister filter is a pain to do maintenance on and results in a lot of tubes etc visible in the tank.

Hoping for some thoughts or suggestions on this.

 

[montiman]

I would get rid of the canister filter even without upgrading the skimmer. Im not a big fan of canisters as they do more harm than good unless they are cleaned regularly, and cleaning them is no easy task. I do think that a bigger skimmer would be a good idea. I am not a fan of the CPR skimmers. Its not like they don't work its just that I think there are better things for the price. If you like your remora I would recommend getting the remorapro. It is a little more expensive than the CPR but it is rated for a bigger tank and the build quality and ease of operating are better. I think they will probably produce similar skimate but in my experience the Remorapro is far easier to adjust and it will last forever. I personally have used one for 8 years that still works well.

 

[Devaji108]

I am in the process of a sump less 40br I am trying to keep it as simple as possible but look nice. I wanted the heater and other goodies hidden so I made a fale over flow box out of some nice stained glass looks really good. i'll be using an algae turf scrubber for my only filtration besides LR and sand of course. simple effective and cheap too.
there is lots of info of there on ATS even some TOTM tanks too.
just an idea for you be pretty easy to run one with your skimmer and sale the canister to built the ATS I think I have around $20 in mine.
GL!

 

[FlyPenFly]

Look into a Tunze 3163

 

[moondoggy4]

You will need good to excellent water circulation to keep the dietrus suspended.

 

[Spongebob20]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.
Montiman- good call on the Remora Pro. Didn't realize that was rated higher than the Bak-Pak. A little pricier but not too bad, I think that's now my frontrunner for when I upgrade.

Moondoggy- Thanks for the heads up. I have 3 Hydor Koralia powerheads up and running which give me excellent flow. I'm hoping that will be enough for when I remove the canister filter. I don't really have a problem with dietrus or algae currently. Just some basic brown algae on the sand sometimes, but that gets gobbled up quickly by the snails and sifter stars. I've got a pretty hefty CUC. Definitely something to keep an eye on though once I do make the upgrade

 

[ocellaris123]

Hey spongebob,

Not sure if you ordered the remora skimmer yet but if not I would look into the octopus series of protein skimmer. I used to run both the remora and cpr in past tanks but now run a bh2000 on an 80 gallon and it blows both out of the water. It is the same price as the remora I believe. I used an old BH2000 on a 60 reef to replace my bak pak and it outperformed the bakpak by alot.

 

[Dun Properly]

I have a used remora pro w/ skimmer box.

 

[j tavares]

Aquamedic multi My favorite hangon and I used remora, bakpak,octopus and still love the aquamedic over them all, German technology outlasts them all imo, Eheim is my also favorite 24 years and NEVER an issue. Good luck

 

[steelwrap]

+1 on the bh2000 this thing is a beast!!!! I like the fact that the pump is outside the tank also. Used to have a bakpak, the first time I emptied my bh2000 cup I couldn't believe how mush nastier the skimmate was!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[azjohnny]

I would remove the canister filter and get into the habit of vacuuming detritus on a weekly basis

 

[Spongebob20]

Guys, thanks again for all the advice, this is awesome. After doing a bunch of research I think I'm going to go with a Reef Octopus HOB! I've heard many good things about them and they have a solid rep as a company. My question now: Which model do I get?

I could get the BH 1000 that's rated for 100 gallons or the BH 2000 rated for 125. My tank is 75 gallons, I only have a handful of small fish (damsels, wrasses, etc) but feed my anemones and coral frequently as well. What is everyone's thoughts?

Also, anyone who has one of these Reef Octopus HOB skimmers, how much room do I need between the back of my tank and the wall?

Thanks

 

[bdsage]

check out ro-bh90 its rated 100-gal. iv had mine bout a year now on 40b works real nice...