Skimmer For BioCube 32 led (chamber1)

I have a slim-skim Nano Protein Skimmer - Hydor in chamber one it was tight fit at first to get it in .

Really? I bought the same skimmer and couldn't get it to fit. It was too tall. How'd you make it fit?

I'm using the coralife in chamber 1, and after I upgraded the air pump (Whisper 10) it works pretty well.
 
Why do you want a skimmer on such a small tank? Have you stopped and asked if its really worth it to have one. The micro bubbles that get dumped into the tank from a skimmer and the very little skimmate they produce dont make it worth it to me.
 
Why do you want a skimmer on such a small tank? Have you stopped and asked if its really worth it to have one. The micro bubbles that get dumped into the tank from a skimmer and the very little skimmate they produce dont make it worth it to me.

Nutrient control, and ultimately algae control. Depends entirely on bioload of the tank. My 29g, with the right skimmer, produces a modest amount of reasonable skimmate. I know those are vague terms, but while yes, they're not 12" diameter euro-reef bodies pumping hundreds of liters of air into the skimmer, skimmers are important in tanks with high bioloads, particularly if you're not doing regular water changes.

I have almost no algae except bubble algae in my tank, which you can't starve out, but with a skimmer and vodka dosing, I ran 0 nitrates and <0.01 phosphates for over a year. I've traditionally been a ultra-low nutrient system nut, but have recently found out that you can't beat bubble algae that way, and ULNS actually hurts the corals you're trying to grow. A modest skimmer in a small tank is a nice balanced way to keep nutrients low(er) while not starving the tank.

As with everything in this hobby, there are a lot of different "right" ways. For me, a skimmer works, and I would highly recommend others utilizing one as well. A good algal turf scrubber would be a recommended alternative. As are frequent water changes and running GFO media. I prefer to just use a skimmer, clean and empty it every few days, and be on my way.
 
Why do you want a skimmer on such a small tank? Have you stopped and asked if its really worth it to have one. The micro bubbles that get dumped into the tank from a skimmer and the very little skimmate they produce dont make it worth it to me.

I run a modified Deltech MCE600 and algae scrubber on my RSRN (21 gal/7gal sump) and carbon dose. I pull a ton of skimmate out, have to empty the cup every 4 days or so.
 
I run a modified Deltech MCE600 and algae scrubber on my RSRN (21 gal/7gal sump) and carbon dose. I pull a ton of skimmate out, have to empty the cup every 4 days or so.

Now that's a skimmer too! Forgot about those, they're pretty uncommon these days. Anything deltec is :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Now that's a skimmer too! Forgot about those, they're pretty uncommon these days. Anything deltec is :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Yeah you really can't say you've seen skimmate till you see what comes out of a Deltec, it's pretty gross. lol Even the Tunze 9410 I had prior to this didn't come close.
 
Yeah you really can't say you've seen skimmate till you see what comes out of a Deltec, it's pretty gross. lol Even the Tunze 9410 I had prior to this didn't come close.

I've heard that, though never experienced the MCE myself. That being said, I think the same is true of this Aquamaxx. I'd never question deltec myself, but I'm impressed that I smell "nog" when I clean out this skimmer. That's a big deal on a nano with a nano skimmer....
 
Nutrient control, and ultimately algae control. Depends entirely on bioload of the tank. My 29g, with the right skimmer, produces a modest amount of reasonable skimmate. I know those are vague terms, but while yes, they're not 12" diameter euro-reef bodies pumping hundreds of liters of air into the skimmer, skimmers are important in tanks with high bioloads, particularly if you're not doing regular water changes.

I have almost no algae except bubble algae in my tank, which you can't starve out, but with a skimmer and vodka dosing, I ran 0 nitrates and <0.01 phosphates for over a year. I've traditionally been a ultra-low nutrient system nut, but have recently found out that you can't beat bubble algae that way, and ULNS actually hurts the corals you're trying to grow. A modest skimmer in a small tank is a nice balanced way to keep nutrients low(er) while not starving the tank.

As with everything in this hobby, there are a lot of different "right" ways. For me, a skimmer works, and I would highly recommend others utilizing one as well. A good algal turf scrubber would be a recommended alternative. As are frequent water changes and running GFO media. I prefer to just use a skimmer, clean and empty it every few days, and be on my way.


I am not denying how effective a protein skimmer is however I want to see a study that says a protein is as highly effective as you all claim it is on a small tank that has less then 30 gallons of actual water.
 
I am not denying how effective a protein skimmer is however I want to see a study that says a protein is as highly effective as you all claim it is on a small tank that has less then 30 gallons of actual water.

I'd like a case study on anything in the hobby. They're almost non-existent unfortunately.

The best I can offer is:

1. We understand and agree that food particles and other protein "waste" are released into aquarium water (or directly added by aquarist)

2. Protein skimming is an effective tool for removing these wastes before they are broken down into ammonia and phosphates through bacterial action

3. If I do not do 2. above, those waste products will become fuel for desirable and undesirable growth in my aquarium, some of which I can control easily (corals up-taking and growing, easy to frag) and some of which I cannot control easily (algae up-taking these, and being difficult to remove for a variety of reasons).

If we agree to the above my stretch here is:

4. A smaller, less effective protein skimmer that is removing waste, of similar quality though much less quantity to observations of personal and others' larger tanks' results is better than no skimmer.

So I protein skim, and recommend protein skimming. Have I tested it side by side? No. Are there alternatives to protein skimming which when used can be as if not more successful? Absolutely.

I'd recommend people doing frequent partial water changes instead of skimming if it is easy for them. It's generally better than skimming and doing less water changes. But due to (mostly) convenience and other side benefits (higher pH), I prefer skimming. As with most generalizations, I assume most people here are like me, in that they'd rather not do a lot of maintenance chores, and would rather be lazy and let the skimmer do the work.

I'd throw out there that an Algal Turf Scrubber (ATS) is an excellent alternative to skimming, though I don't think everyone would agree with that in whole, or with using an ATS and reducing water changes as I do with skimming. Something to consider is that ATS can release yellowing compounds into the water, as well as algae in the scrubber up-taking minerals from the water that corals could otherwise be using.

It's a very imprecise hobby unfortunately (or fortunately, it keeps it interesting!), but those are my thoughts on why I skim, and recommend others to skim, even with a nano tank.
 
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