skimmers skim out pods?

[shel3702]

Will a protien skimmer skim out copepods and smaller amphipods?

I don't have a skimmer and I hear everyone rave about how they are essential for removing waste. I can get one, but I love having tons of 'pods in my aquarium; I certainly don't want it to be counterproductive by pulling out the things I want in there besides the waste.

Tim

 

[Blown 346]

Yes the skimmer can pull out pods, but it wont rid your tank of them.

 

[shel3702]

darn. So now I have to decide whether to skim and remove some pods, or not skim and have extra waste in the water.

 

[Blown 346]

Honestly you dont have to have a skimmer, you will have to make sure you perform routine water changes regularly in order to keep organics down.

 

[hot4teacher]

What kind of skimmer are you looking at?

I have an Aqua C Remora and use the prefilter box so it pulls water from the surface. Not likely you'll pull out pods from the surface. There are other mods and DIY plumbing to pull water from where you want.

I would get the skimmer.

 

[shel3702]

Great point. I have considered the Remora extensively and I'm still considering it. I've heard it's loud, but the price is right and I hear it performs well. The main idea, though, was to have a sump/fuge down below the tank in the stand with a skimmer in it. With this in mind, I could go with a smaller EuroReef, or something else. My understanding is that the ER skimmers are of high quality and quiet and pull out a lot.

The trouble I'm having is figuring out how to "overflow" the 24g Nanocube. I really don't think I'm willing to cut a hole in the glass. I don't really have enough horizontal room in back for one of those HOB overflows (like this: http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CR1513 ) unless anyone has any ideas. I'm currently using all of my brainpower to figure out how I can use simple siphon with a tiny homemade overflow, and then pump it back up...the brainpower use comes into play when figuring out how to balance the input/output.

Anyway, the jury is still out on the skimmer type. Thanks again for pointing out that I can skim from the top...great point.