Nano skimmers? (Prizm any good?)

[autofish]

Folks,

20g long tank here. Are there any decent, small skimmers? I'm looking at the Red Sea Prizm Deluxe.

Current filtration consists of a CPR Aquafuge and a HOT Magnum. I use the magnum for water flow and to drop media bags of carbon & phosban in. I don't like it, though; replacing the media is painful. I decided to replace it with an Aquaclear or similar, which would make media changes much easier (just reach in & pull the bags out while it's running), and throw in a couple of powerheads for flow.

Then I saw this Prizm skimmer that has a media basket and thought that might be a good idea. I could easily use whatever media I wanted and get a skimmer all in the same amount of space.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Thunderpants]

Prizm skimmers arent good at all. Check out the aquac remora or diy one. There was a simple one on here yesterday a pvc one. Search for it.

 

[BlakDuc]

As long as the tank isn't too big, the Prizm can be dialed in pretty good. I have 1 on my 30g and it works fine. It produces good skimate, and is pretty reliable as long as I clean it every couple of days. You will hear most saying that they are crap, but once you get them tuned in, they are decent for the money. You can usually find one on here used for around 30-35 bucks.

 

[salty3]

IMHO The prizim is a wounderful skimmer if you do the mods to it, however, there are better ones out there. If your not wanting to spend alot go with the prizim and mod it. I'm curently useing the prizim deluxe on my 30 gal reef and I love it since I did the mods, before the mods it was ok at best.

 

[zma21]

Was it simple to do the mods?

 

[salty3]

Very easy give me a couple a minutes and I will find the thread I got the mods from and post it.

 

[Rosseau]

check out the Tunze Nano DOC skimmer.

Small, inexpensive and has worked really well for me.

 

[salty3]

mods for prizim

mods for prizim

Here is the link on the mods I found here on this site.http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=9015926#post9015926
Here is the thread I started on another site in it it shows what I used.http://www.livingreefs.com/forums/l...ews-biff-dfrench-everybody-else-w-prizim.html

The mods were started for the top prizims but it works great for the others as well. The one thing I was scared of was shaving the impeller down but the mods more than doubled the performance. My prizim is always more than half full of dry foam.

 

[autofish]

Thanks folks. Is the media basket implemented well on these -- if I lay a bag of phosban in there, will the water go through it well? That's the biggest reason I'm considering the Prizm - that media bag is a necessity for me. I don't think I could get along without my phosban and carbon and I don't have room for a phosban reactor.

So, if the thing skims even halfway decent, I'm happy so long as the media chamber is as good as an Aquaclear type filter. As far as I'm concerned I'm buying it for the filter part and the skimmer is just a bonus.

The Tunze and Remora skimmers put a lot of equipment in the tank - I'm not real excited about that. I want a true "hang on back" type that isn't in my tank much.

 

[salty3]

Yes water goes through it very well, the only prob with the basket is you have to use a filter sock or big media because the slots are alittle too big. I have put the round short sticks of carbon in mine and it has done well, however, I put the crushed carbon and phosban and it just falls out. If you use smaller media just use a filter sock to keep it in the basket. Good luck.

 

[salty3]

Also if you get the deluxe it will have a media basket and a surface skimmer on it. I do like mine very much I think for the 75. I paid for a new one I got a very good skimmer.

 

[jakesgvr4]

Ive been running a remora for about three months now and it seemd to do a pretty good job. Pulls out a lot of nasty crap. Noise isnt much of an issue either, I can hear it a little, but not annoying at all.

 

[autofish]

Yes water goes through it very well, the only prob with the basket is you have to use a filter sock

Not a problem - I already use filter socks. Much easier to maintain, I can yank one out and drop a new one in at will without having to clean the basket.

Thanks a lot for your input, Salty3, & everyone else who replied. I think I'll go with the Prizm Deluxe (not pro - too big), the true hang-on-back bit (very little stuff actually in my aquarium) and the media chamber have won me over. I know the Tunze and Remora are bound to be better skimmers, but since I was originally only looking for an Aquaclear type filter - if the Prizm skims at all, that's just bonus.