Do I need a protein skimmer.

M

Mac73

New member
I set-up my 46 gallon tank about 3 weeks ago and it has cycled nicely. I have two clowns, one royal gramma, 2 peppermint shrimp, a clean-up crew and one photosynthetic coral. My Ammonia, PH, Nitrites, Nitrates, PO4 and CA are all in order. The only real problem I have had so far is a small outbreak of cyano (red hair algae which bubbles) on one rock. Also, only half of my coral is not opening fully. I have plenty of Live Sand and Live Rock.

I filter with a Penguin 350 - Dual BioWheel, have two air stones and one Maxi jet 600 powerhead. Will I eventually need a protien skimmer?

Thanks to all who have answered my many questions thus far. I am very new to salt water tanks and there is a wealth of knowledge here on RC.

-Mac73
 
I would say that you will eventuallyneed one if you plan to keep a large number of fish in that tank. Protein skimmers are just good all around, they put oxygen into the water and help keep the tank clean. For that size tank I would recommend either a coralife super skimmer or a euro-reef.
 
Mac,

Take this from someone who has kicked themself in the A#@ a few times over equipment.
- Buy the best skimmer you can! Not only a skimmer that fits your tank but one that you can use on your next tank (which will be 2x the size).
- Euro-Reef, Aqua C, Deltec...
- Also if you made the same beginner mistake I did... The water you are using is not RO/DI water.. Get yourself a filter and throw in some snails and crabs and the hair will be gone in days..
 
This sounds kind of Geeky but I am usually want to know what I am paying for. I am in the market for a new skimmer.. Because I didnt buy the right one first.. I have been going to fish stores and looking under thier tanks to see what they are using for skimmers, and what kind of sludge they are pulling.
-Coralife's seem to do well but run very liquid and teas green
-ASM's (euro-reef knock off) Run well for the money
-Euro Reef's , I have never seen better looking sludge...(I think that is a oxymoron) Seriously, it is dark, thick and smells worse then anything I have had to take a whiff of..
 
Thanks for the info...JJmati regarding point # 3. Is distilled water from the grocery store ok for evaporation offset?

Mac73
 
yes distilled is fine, it is nothing but pure h20, no tds (total dissolved solids) distilled is created by evaporating water and then allowing it to condense and be collected.
 
If you donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t have a sump get a hang on skimmer. I have seen them for around a hundred dollars.
 
Do I need a protein skimmer?

No you don't, but then you have to provide other ways to export fish wastes and nutrients.

You can try the eco system by growing lots macroalgae, DSB, LR's in the sump, you probably don't need a skimmer in that system. But as a beginner, a skimmer either in the sump or HOB is very easy to install, and very effective.
 
No.. No.. No... not a seaclone 100, you want at least one of the new Coralife CSS skimmer's or a remora skimmer. Make sure you are not using the biowheels in that filter and change your carbon/filter media at least 1 time a month or every 3 weeks. The biowheels will eventually be a nitrate factory in a reef tank, so just run it without the biowheels in it.

Being your tank is only been cycled for 3 weeks, you probably should not be puting any corals in yet becasue your going to be having all different kinds of Algae bloom or the dreaded cyano like you have now which is a bacteria. You may have to much of a bioload for your tank to handle and the excess nutrients cause this cyano. The cyano could also be forming because of not enough flow through your tank, you need at least two Maxijet 900's in there pushing water around. If you don't have enough flow, the cyano can easily attach and spread like it is doing.

If your nutrients are out of wack, then the cyano can come no matter what, but the first 6 months are questionable for all new tanks, except for those that really know what they are doing. You should wait on corals for at least a month or two, to at least get things rolling along and in a positive direction. Everyone has different kinds of problems in the first 6 months and you just never know what they are going to be, which is why you don't spend a lot on a coral that can be questionable whether your conditions will sustain it.
 
All:

I just finished hooking up my new skimmer...A Prizm 100. It seems to be bubbling away rather nicely so I'll see what it pulls out tomorrow.

Another question...Now that I have the filter and skimmer which "hang on the back" moving a fair amount of water my airstone bubbles are getting caught up in the return flow and broken into micro bubbles which are then spread throughout the tank....Will these micro bubbles cause any problems, other than being a visual distraction?

Thanks...Mac73
 
remove the airstone, with increased skimming and aeration, you don't need it anymore, it will also reduce the salt creep.

Also watch out for the surface water scum, as it will reduce the rate of gas exchange.
 
asm skimmer is the way to go. Great price, and really work well. Do a search and see what others think about this skimmer. I am very happy with mine.
 
I don't have a skimmer on my tank and everything is running great! I have a cascade 700 canister filter on a 29 gallon tank with 2 Rio 600 powerheads and 40 lbs of excellent lIndonesia live rock. I think that if you have really good live rock then that can be your filtration. That is just my opinion, but I am new to this too. I am just telling you that it is possible to go skimmerless.
 
A skimmer is just a great tool for maintaining better water quality and in a smaller tank like a 46-gallon tank, it gives more assurance that the stability of your water won't tip in the direction of leading to an algae outbreak. Those are more difficult to deal with once they start than they are to prevent and they can choke off some of your nice coral in the process leading to their demise. Get the best skimmer you can. It's just better for your reef, all around.
 
more flow

more flow

Mac73,

I hope that Prizm works well for you. I don't have experience with them, but have read much criticism. Anyway, I wanted to chime in to suggest you get more flow in that tank. In my humble opinion, this is one area we beginners almost always underestimate. Just by way of comparison, I've got 3 of the 900 series Maxi-Jets in a 40 breeder, granted they are on a wavemaker (also highly recommended) I think all three are never running at the same time. Skimmer's are great for aeration, but I wouldn't count the output as "flow."

Cheers,
Ben
 
I agree with fambrough here above, and this is something I mentioned earlier. I had a 55g tank with a return pump and 2 MJ900's pushing water around, which between the 3 gave me 500+230+230 and that is 960 gallons per hour for water movement. This is about 17 times my tanks volume for water movement and I would say that you want at least 15 times as a minimum preferably 20 times as a minimum.

Mac73: You are only pusing around 400gph which is less than 10 times and you really want to double this by getting 2 MJ900's to add to your flow. You can buy them at www.reefgeek.com for $17 each and you really need this. If you don't have enough water movement which is key in a saltwater reef tank, you will get dead spots where waste can settle and build up which is really bad. The more water movement the less likely waste will have to settle in somewhere and cause a problem later, which is also why you do a good LR scaping and not pack it in to tightly. The loose LR structure will allow water to flow around and through you LR and this makes for a happy reef tank in the long run.
 
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