recommended skimmer

[amateureefer]

i currently have mostly low quality equipment in my tank (55 gallon) and am seeking to upgrade some of it. i know that ro/di units have been highly recommended, but i think that my best investment for right now would be to replace my seaclone backpack skimmer with something more towards the top of the line. right now i barely get any buildup in the collection cup and the skimmer has been running for a year and seems like the motor may be dying out. basically, i am curious if most people agree with this decision to buy a new skimmer (or should i go for a ro/di unit first?) and what kind of skimmer would be my best buy for a 55 gallon reef (and approximately how much it costs?). i appreciate any input anyone has or any other suggestions on more important equipment that should come first, keeping in mind my considerable lack of a budget. thnx for the help. dan

[yakmon]

i had the same problem with my seaclone, you can get it to work alot better by buying some hose and moving it down to your sump. i think the extra siphon action really helps. I get about a quarter full collection cup every 24 hours out of mine.

[cwby416]

My seaclone is working fine on my 72g....I have to clean out the collection cup every 3-4 days. and its real thick!

[amateureefer]

well, i don't have a sump, so i obviously can't move it down, although i'm sure it would help. i also read in a previous post about modifying the seaclone, but it seemed kinda complicated and i figured i'd just be better off buying a new skimmer. i'm curious how much air u let in through the adjustable nozel to pickup so much debris? i have mine completely off, since i was told that this would pickup the most waste, but it doesnt seem to do much anymore. is it possible that there just isn't alot of waste for the skimmer to pickup? (i kinda doubt this since my nitrates are still real high, but my tank does seem very healthy) well any suggestions u have are appreciated again. thnx. dan

[balakoth]

Just my opinion but here it goes.


Since you don't have a sump, I dont feel there is any skimmer really out there that would be worth the money to hang onthe back of a 55 besides a Remora Pro, still not much of an upgrade there. If you've had your tank for years and its not building up alot of gunk that could be possibly because your tank is mature and has its own biological filtration system going on. If your water parameters are fine I dont see the need to upgrade as of yet.


(Missed that phrase on high nitrates... What are they currently in your tank?)

If your not using Ro/DI I would definately invest in one of those. IT would probably help your nitrates alot in the long run depending on how your Tap water is currently.

Ive never used a Seaclone before, but did you say your air was all the way off? Most venturi downdraft skimmers require air to be sucked in with the water thats driving through the pump to create a bubble mass in the column which is how the organics attach and are taken from the water.

A skimmer doesn't really remove nitrates, it removes excess organics that could eventually lead to nitrates through the Biological cycle. There are of course other causes to that problem so you should research some other possibilities to your water quality. (Im workin on a doozy of my own right now)


Another suggestion would be to use that upgrade to add a sump and a DSB to it with possibly a refugium. Both are great at removing Nitrates and might eliminate the need for a larger skimmer depending on your bioload in your tank.


HTH, Joe

[yakmon]

if you still have the stock air adjuster, replace it with a needle valve. your lfs should have some, i got the lee's air valve, they come 3 or 4 in a pack for a buck and a half. i run mine pretty open, if its to open the bubbles are too big, too closed its too much water, just play with it. the seaclone instructons say adjust till the water level in the colloum reach the bottom fo the cup, thats not a bad place to start. but i run mine just a bit more open than that. get a nasty green funk in the cup.

[Jimbo]

Hi, built a skimmer that operated on the same principle as the seaclone. This is just an idea, but if you add a small air pump with a valve to the air intake you will be able to regulate the bubbles, also as your tank levels the change in bubbles will be less critical. Consistancy in water flow and bubble rate is important to a skimmer. If the flow and bubbles changes often it will disrupt the efficiency of the skimmer, by surging, this stirs up the "sticky head" making your skimmer basically worthless.

Hope this helps

[amateureefer]

ok well thanks for all the replies. my valve is completely off right now, so it is taking in alot of air and, judging from what u have all said, i'm assuming that this could be part of the problem. i'm going to go buy a needle valve tomorow as was suggested and play with it and hopefully this will help a bit. my problem with adding a sump and refugium (besides cost) is that i live in a manhatten apt., and although it's pretty large by most standards, i have no idea where i would put another tank. how big of a sump would u all suggest for a 55gallon, how much would u approximately say a descent one costs, and do u think it would fit in the area below my stand (standard 55g wooden stand with the middle empty). also, if anyone has a good link to another thread on setting up a sump/refugium, i'd luv to read it. as far as my nitrates go, as rescent as a month ago they were literally off the chart of the test kit (120+) due to overfeeding and a very high bioload. i have gotten them down to approximately 60ppm's (maybe lower after my last water change yesterday), which i know is still ridiculously high, but is much better than what it was. i am still using tap water since i was told this is better than just leaving the nitrates where they were and i can't picture adding a dry sand bed to the display tank, since i imagine it would be extremely difficult to deconstruct the whole reef, remove the current substrate (3-4'' of crushed coral and live sand), and still manage to keep all my tankmates alive. my tank has been up for a year, so although it is somewhat established and healthy, i highly doubt that the excess organics in my tank are so low that the seaclone would not be removing waste. so for now, i think i'm basically just asking for any other suggestions u have (since they have all been great so far) and what u think my best investment would be for my tank (with say around a $300 limit, although i could push it up if needed)? thanks again for all the help. dan

[yakmon]

the only real expense of the sump would be the return pump. as far as what to get for a sump, get a tape measure and measure the biggest opening you can find in your stand, then go get the biggest rubbermaid tub you can cram in the stand, that and a couple bulkhead fittings and your good to go. i might have forgoten somelthing but thats what i did.

[amateureefer]

here is a link to my tank specs if it is helpful... http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...threadid=10944
i do not have alot of experience or knowledge with this, but i thought that a sump (maybe it was a refugium) required alot of the same things that are necessary for a display tank. for example, wouldn't i need another striplite, live rock, and i thought i would need another actual tank? perhaps i am thinking of a refugium, but whatever u can tell me about how a sump works and how effective it would be would be very helpful. also, how much does a descent return pump cost? if it is fairly simple and u all think it would be my best bet, i am all for making the investment as long as it is worth it. also, if i do buy/construct one, i think (in my opinion) i'd have to add a DSB (considering how much it sounds like it helps) and i'm just curious how much this would be too? my undertanding is that a DSB is just a certain mix of specific sized sand that is brought to life with a kit i could order and that as the life in the sand grows, it eats up the excess waste from my tank. is this accurate? well thanks again. dan

[Brooke]

I think you are on the right track. Get an RO/DI unit, then replace your skimmer. We ran our seaclone wide open. I wonder how many of these things are in America's garbage dumps??

I'd get a Aqua-C Remora hang on with the maxi-jet 1200 upgrade. http://www.premiumaquatics.com has these for a great price.

Check out http://www.aquaticreefsystems.com for RO/DI units.

If you are using good water and doing regular water changes this will help get the nitrates down. The next thing that will help is a quality skimmer. I think gradually removing the crushed coral and replacing it with aragonite would also help.....as would not overfeeding a crowded tank.

Lots of good suggestions from people already.

Brooke

[Jimbo]

Hi again here is a pic of my plumbing way back in feb when I setup the tank. Two 10g rubbermaid containers attached via bulk head fittings. I run the skimmer and return off the same pump. My skimmers dumps it's output into the refugium and it feeds back into the sump via bulkhead fittings. Simple and cheap design.

My 2 cents here..
A single 110 watt strip light and actinic is not enough light. You can go to home depot and buy a couple of advance ballast rel4p32sc, the cost $18 each. Pick up a couple of philips 6500k bulbs they are about $6. This ballast can drive two bulbs in series at near VHO output. Hook the red and blue wires to one end of the first bulb and "ONE YELLOW WIRE ONLY" to the second bulb. If you connect both yellows together you will fry the ballast. Then connect the other end of the two bulbs together with a wire. You can run your actinic at higher output this way also (you could pick up another actinic) Run two actinics and 2 phillips 6500k bulbs should see big difference for little cost. I use cheap phillips actinic bulbs about $13 each and they drive bright.

I've done a bunch of testing with this ballast and it is just amazing for the price.

Hope this helps

[amateureefer]

yea, i'm goin to give that a try. my one question for now is, where do i put the lights? my 110W takes up 2/3 of the top of the tank and the actinic takes up the other 1/3. any suggestions? also, if i get the lights, i might ask u some more questions on the wiring and setup if it's ok. thanks. dan