protein skimmer question
- Thread starter ellesea
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moondoggy4
Team RC
More info on the exact brand, are you going to have a sump?
I was considering a sump but I figure with the size of the tank the skimmer would be sufficient. Here's a link to the protein skimmer:
http://www.marinedepot.com/Hydor_Ko...n_Skimmers-Hydor_USA-HD00771-FIPSISNW-vi.html
Do you recommend a sump? Or any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Lauren
http://www.marinedepot.com/Hydor_Ko...n_Skimmers-Hydor_USA-HD00771-FIPSISNW-vi.html
Do you recommend a sump? Or any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Lauren
that little skimmer actually works somewhat well but really will not pull enough to reduce water change schedules. Now if it were me I would do the sump(makes reefing sooo much easier even with small tanks) and bare minimum get a reef octo NWB-110 or a seaside aquatics cs 3.5.. they will work great for your tank and be worth the money. They will keep the tank nutrient levels lower and help alleviate water changes some. Also, should you choose to go with a bigger tank down the line, they can handle a medium bioload tank up to say a 60 gal cube or so. Now there is a bit of a price difference between the two, so IMO the reef octo is the better buy for performance, but, the seaside aquatics does offer a little better pump with the sicce. Is the better pump and cone body worth the extra $$ ? Maybe, but, it is not like the reef octo pump is not tried and true as well and the reef octo has a great semi-cone body that will do the job as well as any cone. Now a lot of folks run reef octo sro 1000's, octo NWB150s, and larger skimmers on their 40 breeders with great success, so being just a few gallons less than the 40, another option is to oversize a little and get one of those or the seaside aquatics cs 5.5 or vertex in 100. This is where it becomes hard, because for about the same cost as the slightly smaller skimmers, it is easy to jump up a size. Should you make the jump in size, now your covered to upgrade to larger tanks up in the 75 to 90 gal range and anywhere in between.
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moondoggy4
Team RC
Is the tank already running?
Reeferz412
Coral Hoarder
Octopus, Aquamaxx, Tunze, Deltec, Eshopps have very reliable HOB skimmers. Warner Marine made the exact same skimmer as the Aquamaxx (Which I own) and that thing can pull some nasty junk. You have a lot to choose from but honestly all of these skimmers perform well.
azjohnny
Active member
I do agree with oversizing skimmers and a lot has to do with your bioload. Also getting circulation in the tank to stir up the detritus so it can get to the skimmer is just as important IMO. This would be done with powerheads and not your main pump, you want to just use the main pump to get water to the sump, if you have too much flow through your sump your skimmer will be less effective
yes
a note on sumps... don't bother buying a pre-made partitioned sump..good chance it will not have enough room for a good size skimmer... all skimmers I mentioned will fit and run nicely in a simple 10 gal fish tank. So, choose the skimmer you want, then get a 10 gal tank for a sump...next step... choose either an auto top off system to keep the water at a consistent level, or have a piece of glass cut to make the tank into a two chamber sump. There should be someone local to you that can cut the glass and it will probably only be like 5 bucks or so. From there, you get some reef silicone sealant(places like pet smart carry this as well as local aquarium stores) and you can install the baffle and set up your sump for enough room for your skimmer... done this way, the return pump will be on one side and the skimmer and drain from the overflow on the other. the return pump side will be the side that evaporation happens from, so you can easily top it off daily with RO/DI fresh water. If you want to do an auto top off, then you can just stick the skimmer in the sump without the baffle and it will be fine.
bdreptiles
New member
http://www.marinedepot.com/Reef_Oct...ariums_Reefs-Reef_Octopus-CV5111-FIPS-vi.html I have this in the Reef Octopus 4, rated at 100 gallons. I have it on my 65 gallon tank and I'm very very happy with it. Its a little big so make sure you look at the measurements on it first because I wasn't expecting it to be as big as it is but its a awesome skimmer.
RyanMizzell
New member
Hey everyone thanks for all the help. ellesea "Lauren" is my girlfriend and I asked her to post this because I didn't have an account but I now do because of all the help we have received from the site. Y'all have been great. Thanks again.
Ryan
Ryan
moondoggy4
Team RC
Do you have any mechanical filtration on your tank? When you have a sump people use a filter sock but with a tank only you need some kind of extra fitration I use a Next reef Shorty that hangs on back or side of the tank I put carbon and floss in there polishes the water nicely, they make different sizes so I would look into some kind of reactor that hangs on the tank and Two Little Fishes are nice and on sale at Dr Foster and Smith I just bought two for 29 each.
RyanMizzell
New member
I agree on the sump I was wanting this.
http://www.petco.com/product/114379...s.aspx?CoreCat=LN_FishSupplies_SumpsRefugiums
Model 1:14gallon sump.
This will make my 36 bow front reef tank, a 50 gallon setup. I would run a coralife 65 skimmer. I would run that sump/setup Berlin style, or refuge with cheato,sand,macro algea. Or would it be best to do a DIY 10 gal sump, with 2 or 3 sections. I'm sure the 10 gal is to small for 3 sections. This DIY 10 gal sump will make it a 46 gallon system. I'd like to have the other setup at 50gal with the 14gal aqueon proflex sump model 1. Only because I like the Berlin setup or refuge setup vs the 10gal DIY Berlin pretty much. Another question I've got is about flow. Since the sumps will add extra water volume, will this effect my display tanks flow. I figured it would gph wise etc. How should I size a return pump?
Thanks everyone for all the help.
Ryan
http://www.petco.com/product/114379...s.aspx?CoreCat=LN_FishSupplies_SumpsRefugiums
Model 1:14gallon sump.
This will make my 36 bow front reef tank, a 50 gallon setup. I would run a coralife 65 skimmer. I would run that sump/setup Berlin style, or refuge with cheato,sand,macro algea. Or would it be best to do a DIY 10 gal sump, with 2 or 3 sections. I'm sure the 10 gal is to small for 3 sections. This DIY 10 gal sump will make it a 46 gallon system. I'd like to have the other setup at 50gal with the 14gal aqueon proflex sump model 1. Only because I like the Berlin setup or refuge setup vs the 10gal DIY Berlin pretty much. Another question I've got is about flow. Since the sumps will add extra water volume, will this effect my display tanks flow. I figured it would gph wise etc. How should I size a return pump?
Thanks everyone for all the help.
Ryan
ryan, that skimmer your looking at is junk in comparison to those mentioned above...don't waste your money... the problem with that sump is the chamber dimensions will work against you in being able to get a really good skimmer for your tank... stick with the skimmer choices I mentioned above and the 10 gal homemade sump. The volume of the sump is not at all important, it is what you put in that sump that is what is important. IME, 10 gal sump and a reef octo nwb-150 or nwb-110 are perfect and you cannot go wrong with this setup. Either skimmer will keep organics low and thus the tank will maintain low phosphate and nitrate with little (say 10-20% on average monthly)water changes.
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