Protein skimmer for sumpless tank

[chris1985]

Hi I was wondering if any1 could point me in the right direction I have a 5ft tank roughly 300litres been running for 5 weeks no live stock yet, 31kg of live rock 50lbs of live sand the tank is fully cycled 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate and 0.1 phosphates as the title says no sump but am running a 2000lph canister containing phosex ultra bionitratex and some filter floss (changed weekly) and also a uv steriliser my problem is where to put a skimmer that isn't an eye sore the tank is currently 2inchs from the wall so HOB skimmer won't fit il add a pic so u all can see, any replys I'll be grateful for cheers

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[mcgyvr]

You have 3 faces of the tank left.. pick one..
I'd suggest you avoid the front face...
Now you have 2 faces of the tank left..

or don't run a skimmer..

 

[RobZilla04]

Don't run a skimmer. Keep up with frequent water changes, especially early on, as you add livestock and the system increases in bio load. As you get down the road you can adjust the frequency of water changes.

 

[derektedrow]

Not running a skimmer sounds like a lot more work in the end. If it were me I would drain the water down until I could safely move the stand and tank out from the wall a few more inches and then put the skimmer on the back.

 

[RobZilla04]

Not running a skimmer sounds like a lot more work in the end. If it were me I would drain the water down until I could safely move the stand and tank out from the wall a few more inches and then put the skimmer on the back.

Many successful reef tanks don't have skimmers. If the bio load is relatively low the filtration can handle removing what the skimmer would.

 

[James404]

I would look into running at least a small sump. I'm assuming your doing manual top off now? Running a sump you can run a skimmer, get your heater out of your DT and run an ATO.

 

[derektedrow]

Many successful reef tanks don't have skimmers. If the bio load is relatively low the filtration can handle removing what the skimmer would.

Why limit yourself on livestock if you don't have to? Why not keep that option available? Going skimmerless you either limit yourself on livestock or are committing to doing a lot of extra work by doing much more frequent water changes. Why not do just a little more work now by moving the stand out from the wall and giving yourself the option of having more livestock down the road?

 

[derektedrow]

I would look into running at least a small sump. I'm assuming your doing manual top off now? Running a sump you can run a skimmer, get your heater out of your DT and run an ATO.

Couldn't agree more. Sump is ideal way to go. If you are worried about eye sores this is the route to go.

 

[ATATT]

Tune 9012 DC

 

[saf1]

You can vinyl the back tank blue, black, white, something like that so you won't see the wall or HOB skimmer. A good skimmer that works well is the CPR Bak Pak. Small enough, not too loud if you make a muffler for it, and don't use the media it comes with. You can place a heater inside it also. That is what I have used on my 29 gallon bio cube and also on my 40 breeder.

 

[moondoggy4]

Since you do not have any livestock you could drain it and put in a overflow and a sump.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

My approach in order of preference:

1. Drain, put a damp towel on the rock, drill the back, and install an overflow and sump. Put a skimmer in the sump.

2. Leave as-is and put a taller stand/cabinet next to the tank. Put a 10g-ish tank on that stand and run it as a display refugium with macro algae. Plumb it into the display tank (put an overflow on the small tank and use a powerhead in the display to pump water up to it.)

3. Leave as-is. Add another canister filter and use appropriate media to fight nutrients. Adjust the configurations of the canisters based on testing and observation. I know a lot of reef people these days look down on canister filters and will label them "nitrate factories" but with the right approach they can be perfectly successful.

4. Leave as is and solve nutrient problems with frequent water changes. Expensive in the long run and a lot of work.

 

[tthouston]

I have been here before. Do not buy HOB skimmer, too expensive and not efficiency. Just buy the Overflow box to setup the sump then purchase the internal skimmer, you have a lot of options to choose the skimmers and you can adding more reactors in the near future.

Notice: you need the skimmer for more oxygen and canister filter is not use for saltwater tank (too much clean up time for that, not worthy).

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[tthouston]

Cover the blue or black color on the back then setup the overflow box and the sump under the tank...perfect for beginning.

 

[showmebutterfly]

Tunze? That looks like a nice streamlined skimmer. Thank you for answering the OP's question.

Tune 9012 DC

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