Protein Skimmer neccesary?

07-12-2003, 11:16 AM

Im goign to be starting a reef tank soon (when I get enough money)... I cant get a straight answer...

Do I need a protein skimmer???

My LFS sells the Prizm (the green one)... I only have a 30 gallon... I dont think i am doing a sump, I dont even really know how to do one or what it is and plus I recently bought a Fluval 204...

I havnt really seen the Prizm skimmer other than pictures but I was wondering if it is possible to hook to the Fluval...

Have the intake tube go under teh tank... Into teh Skimmer... A tube comes out of the outtake and into the fluval and then a tube fromt eh fluval output into the tank..............................

I dont know if this possible because I dont know if you have to have a powerhead attatchment or you plug it in... If that was the case then could I do this with a protein skimmer that needs a powerhead and instead of the powerhead I could use the tubing from the fluval???

Like I said I odnt want to do a Sump so if anyone could give me some suggestions it would be great!
[smiley=fish.gif]

Matt Rogers · 07-12-2003, 12:31 PM

Hey Josh -

The Prism is designed to hang on the back of the tank. I know it doesn't look that great back there, but it is a heck of a lot easier to do it that way and safer.

It's not designed to connect the way you are suggesting and there could be major flooding potential even if you got it to work.

There are probably some old counter current air-stone skimmers that could be hooked up that way. They don't use powerheads, they are gravity fed. But you would have a lot of homework to do to do it safely.

Anyway, do you need them?

No. BUT, most setups would benefit from them.
Every setup I have ever had, including my recent hex has shown improvement from them. I didn't have it on the hex for a while and algae was becoming a problem.

IF I didn't use one, I would probably do more frequent water changes and try to add oxygen in other ways like adding a macro-algae refugium or just adding an airstone somewhere.

For a tank your size, I would just hook up a hang on the back skimmer.

There are plenty out there, the prism, prism pro, remora, cpr bakpak, etc... take your pick!

hth

matt

SpngBobSqPant07 · 07-12-2003, 05:54 PM

Its me again (josh)

Ok ... so do I need to be running this all the time??? I have the aquarium in my room although everyone says not to but thats one of the reasons I bought the Fluval... I was very surprised how quiet it was...

I was wondering how loud some of the Skimmers were... Is the Prizm have a tube for the output or does it just have a waterfall thing goign into the water... Like most hang over filters...

Which would you say is more quiet/efficient

Can you tell me more about sumps and if I would need it or not? Thanks~!

Matt Rogers · 07-12-2003, 06:44 PM

I can tell you about the Remora, because that is what I have, Karla could tell you about the Prism, Wrassman could tell you about the Turboflotor and Craig about Seaclones. heh. Maybe they will step in or you can PM them.

Anyway the Remora is not bad, it has a low whir like a Jaquzzi with a Maxi Jet 1200 on it. When I had the RIO on it, it was really loud. The Remora has the waterfall overflow. It puts bubbles in the tank, but not enough to bother me. But I will put a bubble trap on it because I am getting seahorses which are sensitive to bubbles.

Anyway, I have it next to my computer and I can tune it out.

Here is a thread where I try to describe how to setup a sump. You don't need one, but they can be a BIG help to hide hardware and more:

http://www.3reef.com/cgi-bin/yabb/Ya...num=1033512777

Hope that helps. Thanks for joining! *[smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

SpngBobSqPant07 · 07-13-2003, 05:48 AM

Ok So basically the sump is just a smaller aquarium connected to my 30 gallon... It takes the heater, protein skimmer, whatever else (I just woke up) and it puts it all in teh bottom out of view... Is that all?

I odnt understand why you would need to drill out the tank though... For a 10 dollar tank I can drill a whole myself...

Would there still be a use for my fluval if I got a sump? Thanks!

Matt Rogers · 07-13-2003, 07:26 AM

When I mentioned drilling, I was talking about the main tank not the sump. Some drill out the main tank, and put an internal overflow in it.

But it's easiest to just buy a prefilter like the one pictured in that thread and use that (as your overflow) instead.

You could still use the Fluval but it's not necessary, you could probably take most of what's in it (sponge, carbon, etc) and place it in the sump.

A sump setup is pretty quiet, because the skimmer that was making noise behind the tank is now in the stand.

You also get more water stability with the added water in the sump.

One cool thing is to put a float switch (kent marine sells decent ones for cheap) in the sump and have it automatically replace evaporated water.

12-29-2003, 07:06 AM

Hi
Like you I just started a reef. And I've been scouring the internet for info. If you opt to go skimmer less than I'd suggest you have as few and as small a fish as possible if any, or install a refugium in your sump.
There's also a way around drilling holes in your main display tank. you Could install a weir, it's an oversized siphon that will drain off the back of your tank into your sump, where it can be filtered skimmed and whatever else you insall in there, before being pumped back into your display tank. http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/maintank.html
that site has a 29 gallon reef with refugium and all the instructions to build it, and instruction on construction and use of a weir. Good luck

Phil5613 · 12-29-2003, 06:30 PM

One of the ways to quiet a skimmer is to have the return flow througha foam block like the hagen aquaclear(yuck Hagen) I do think a Skimmer is important and use one on any tank I setup. There are other methods like sand filters and uv sterilizers That can be used with or with out a skimmer depending on your liking, But I would suggest running a skimmer and leaving it run not just periodiclly