Recommendations - Protein Skimmer for a 20 Gallon Nano?
- Thread starter j.falk
- Start date
Crooked Reef
Active member
Honestly, unless you are doing something in it that creates a huge mess like a dwarf lion, angler or a mantis shrimp, put the money towards a ro/di system and keep up on water changes. With water changes in a tank that size you really don’t need a skimmer.
I was using the Aquatic Life 115 with no mods. It pulled plenty of skimmate. I have a higher bioload than you are talking about. 2 black misbar saddleback clowns, a dragonet, pacific cleaner, a couple sexy shrimp, a porcelain crab, assorted nerite, nassaurius, and turban snails, and a tiger conch.
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Do you have all of that in a 20 high?
Fluval XII 13.5G, about 10G actual water volume. 3.5 months old for this tank. I had been out of the hobby for ~7 years before starting this tank. It is still hardening the algae/anaerobic bacteria cycles but coming along nicely. I have not been able to regularly detect nitrate or phosphate over 1PPM, usually they are undetectable. I do weekly 1G changes and 1/4-1/2 G during the week
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Thanks Kevin - I appreciate the recommendation.
I use the same on my 20 gallon reef. Just cleaned the dirty thing out today!
Yep, very nice skimmer for small systems.
dkeller_nc
New member
Well, not a HOB option, but I use a Tunze Comline DOC 9004 in a 20 gallon live rock tank that I use for holding fish for a few weeks until I introduce them to my display. Absolutely silent, and because it's compact and made of dark plastic, it's very unobtrusive.
That said, I purchased a new 20 gallon from Petco's dollar-a-gallon sale that I'll be drilling this weekend to put in an overflow. I'll use a 10 gallon tank for a sump, which will allow me to move everything out of the tank - skimmer, heater and ATO sensor.
I highly recommend this option if you've the time to do it, as it'll give you a lot more equipment choices.
That said, I purchased a new 20 gallon from Petco's dollar-a-gallon sale that I'll be drilling this weekend to put in an overflow. I'll use a 10 gallon tank for a sump, which will allow me to move everything out of the tank - skimmer, heater and ATO sensor.
I highly recommend this option if you've the time to do it, as it'll give you a lot more equipment choices.
I have an Aqueon 20 high that I'd like to put it on, but I have two concerns:
1. Will it fit over the rim of the aquarium?
2. If it does fit over the rim, will the skimmer inlet/outlet tubes prohibit the use of a glass canopy?
I really want a good skimmer for this tank but I don't want to spend $230 if it won't fit on the aquarium with a glass canopy.
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Awesome...that I can do! Thank you for your help!
