Hello--
I've heard some great things about Tunze skimmers, and have some questions:
I'm considering purchasing a Clear-for-Life custom-sized Uniquarium for a bedroom corner installation...27L x 27W x 27H corner pentagon design, this holds a max of 65 U.S. gallons. If you're not familiar with the Uniquarium design, it's a sumpless tank with a filtration/overflow unit placed in an "L" shape against the back of the tank, the standard-sized unit is approx. 4" wide and running I think 22-23" along each of the corner sides (separated into various compartments).
The skimmer offered by Clear-for-Life is clearly insufficient in capacity for a reef. It's a deep-reef/cave biotope with some plankton-dependent soft corals (Dendronephthya, gorgonians, etc.) and so I like the plankton-friendly design of your skimmers.
My questions are as follows:
1) Is it possible to mount a Comline unit into this overflow/filtration area? I see that the 3110/2 is 2.1" wide and therefore might easily fit, but is rated to a maximum of about 40 U.S. gallons. After addition of live rock, subtraction for filtration area, etc., I think this tank will hold 40-45 gallons of water, so I'm not sure if this will work or not. The other option would be to ask Clear-for-Life to make the filtration area 5" deep along one side so a 3115 could be installed. I prefer to be safe rather than sorry, and I dread the idea of a skimmer cup with a .3 liter capacity, so I'm leaning toward a larger compartment with the 3115/2 unless a larger cup can be installed on the 3110. Your opinions?
2) Since this is for a bedroom installation, skimmer noise is a major concern. How quiet is this system? Also, is an external pump required for these units (which would require additional space in the filtration area) or is the unit self-contained? Once the tank is constructed, there's no going back, so I need to know realistic specs on this. Also the depth at which the skimmer platform should be constructed (or alternately would it be mounted on brackets of some sort?)
Also, how much does the skimmer cup extend beyond the dimensions of the skimmer, and how high? The canopy will be customer designed, between 8-12" in height, with an open back. But cup overhang may also impact how close the aquarium is placed to the wall.
If you need to see info on the Clear-for-Life Uniquariums, you can find it at www.clearforlife.com, and one company has large photos of the rear filtration area: http://www.myfishtank.com/default.asp?a=unis&tankdesc=20
Again, that this would be a custom size, not the standard 50 gallon version advertised. Also note that the skimmer would probably occupy the area meant for bioballs in the standard design.
Thanks for your input.
Michael Norell
I've heard some great things about Tunze skimmers, and have some questions:
I'm considering purchasing a Clear-for-Life custom-sized Uniquarium for a bedroom corner installation...27L x 27W x 27H corner pentagon design, this holds a max of 65 U.S. gallons. If you're not familiar with the Uniquarium design, it's a sumpless tank with a filtration/overflow unit placed in an "L" shape against the back of the tank, the standard-sized unit is approx. 4" wide and running I think 22-23" along each of the corner sides (separated into various compartments).
The skimmer offered by Clear-for-Life is clearly insufficient in capacity for a reef. It's a deep-reef/cave biotope with some plankton-dependent soft corals (Dendronephthya, gorgonians, etc.) and so I like the plankton-friendly design of your skimmers.
My questions are as follows:
1) Is it possible to mount a Comline unit into this overflow/filtration area? I see that the 3110/2 is 2.1" wide and therefore might easily fit, but is rated to a maximum of about 40 U.S. gallons. After addition of live rock, subtraction for filtration area, etc., I think this tank will hold 40-45 gallons of water, so I'm not sure if this will work or not. The other option would be to ask Clear-for-Life to make the filtration area 5" deep along one side so a 3115 could be installed. I prefer to be safe rather than sorry, and I dread the idea of a skimmer cup with a .3 liter capacity, so I'm leaning toward a larger compartment with the 3115/2 unless a larger cup can be installed on the 3110. Your opinions?
2) Since this is for a bedroom installation, skimmer noise is a major concern. How quiet is this system? Also, is an external pump required for these units (which would require additional space in the filtration area) or is the unit self-contained? Once the tank is constructed, there's no going back, so I need to know realistic specs on this. Also the depth at which the skimmer platform should be constructed (or alternately would it be mounted on brackets of some sort?)
Also, how much does the skimmer cup extend beyond the dimensions of the skimmer, and how high? The canopy will be customer designed, between 8-12" in height, with an open back. But cup overhang may also impact how close the aquarium is placed to the wall.
If you need to see info on the Clear-for-Life Uniquariums, you can find it at www.clearforlife.com, and one company has large photos of the rear filtration area: http://www.myfishtank.com/default.asp?a=unis&tankdesc=20
Again, that this would be a custom size, not the standard 50 gallon version advertised. Also note that the skimmer would probably occupy the area meant for bioballs in the standard design.
Thanks for your input.
Michael Norell
