[Michael]

Im new to the forum. Wish I had found the forum earlier before I purchased a Prizm Deluxe Skimmer for a small reef tank I am trying. I set the skimmer up today. You have to keep the flow low or else the unit carries tons of wet foam to the collection cup. Once I get the flow backed off it still carries over so many microbubbles that the tank is cloudy with bubbles. I contacted RedSea support and they tell me that this is normal when you start up the system and that the problem with the microbubble carryover will cease in a few days once the unit breaks in. She couldnt explain why. Can anyone tell me if this is true or not and if so why is this? Hopefully I didnt waste my money. Im hoping I can make this thing work. Thanks.

[Poseidon]

Hi Michael, Welcome to REEFLAND!!!

Here are a few threads with "Prizm" in them, my experience with that skimmer is it leaves a LOT to be desired. I don't want to sound harsh, but I would return it, and get a remora pro or a CPR Bak Pak, Heck I was even looking at the Coral life skimmers, they look pretty decent, I haven't tried one yet though....

Remember the skimmer is one of THE most important parts of your mini reef, do NOT skimp there!

[Michael]

Thanks for getting back. My gut feeling is youre right and the unit wont work out. Before taking it back tho I will try what RedSea advises and give it a few days to see if the problem with the bubbles resolves itself.

Originally Posted by Poseidon

Hi Michael, Welcome to REEFLAND!!!

Here are a few threads with "Prizm" in them, my experience with that skimmer is it leaves a LOT to be desired. I don't want to sound harsh, but I would return it, and get a remora pro or a CPR Bak Pak, Heck I was even looking at the Coral life skimmers, they look pretty decent, I haven't tried one yet though....

Remember the skimmer is one of THE most important parts of your mini reef, do NOT skimp there!

[Reefland]

Hi Michael, Welcome to Reefland!

Yes the skimemrs do require a bit of a break in period for proteins to build up within the skimmer. Not only should this help with the bubbles but it will probably help with the skimmer operation. Now that's not saying this is the best skimmer, in fact I would piggy back Mike's comments about the Remora.

What size and type of marine tank are you setting up?

[Michael]

I use to have a 70 gallon marine but limited it to fish only. This time Im trying something new. As I am currently living in an apartment and might be moving sometime in the near future, so I am trying a smaller setup. I have a 22 gallon tank which I am going to try as a reef setup. For the small unit I was hoping the Prizm would suffice when run in parallel with a large canister filter.

Originally Posted by Reefland

Hi Michael, Welcome to Reefland!

Yes the skimemrs do require a bit of a break in period for proteins to build up within the skimmer. Not only should this help with the bubbles but it will probably help with the skimmer operation. Now that's not saying this is the best skimmer, in fact I would piggy back Mike's comments about the Remora.

What size and type of marine tank are you setting up?

[Poseidon]

OUCH! Canister filters are BAD NEWS for reef tanks! You would be WAY better off without that, and just using liverock and good flow, the can will cause problems down the road. NITRATE being the biggest thing.

[Michael]

Really. Tho only used for live fish I had never had a problem before with it. I thought that it would be alright as long as I dont let it get too dirty. It is a large canister which provides for good flow in the tank. You have more experience here so please correct me if I am wrong here. I would have thought that the amount of nitrates buildup in the system would be directly related to the amount of waste material being broken down by the bacteria in the system. Whether that material break down occurs on the live rock or in the canister, wouldnt the end nitrate production be the same?

Originally Posted by Poseidon

OUCH! Canister filters are BAD NEWS for reef tanks! You would be WAY better off without that, and just using liverock and good flow, the can will cause problems down the road. NITRATE being the biggest thing.

[Reefland]

To a degree. The problem with mechanical filters such as canisters is the accumulation of waste. Waste accumulates in the tank, sure, but we are constantly working to keep that to a minimum through natural methods or manual extraction. The natural or manual extraction does not interupt the bacteria populations that convert the waste. Within mechanical filters, the only method is manual cleaning and doing so disrupts the bacteria that has developed there.

[Poseidon]

Yup, what Scott said... Plus there is bacteria that can reduce Nitrate, it lives deep within the rock, or deep in the sandbed. I also use macro algaes to reduce nitrate concentrations. I like the use of a DSB, Live rock, and a really big skimmer! Mine moves about 900-1000 gph on a 90 gallon tank!

[Michael]

I have now had the Prizm in service on my 25 gallon tank for 24 hours. The microbubbles have now disappeared as RedSea told me they would. Im sure that you are all correct and this is likely not the best unit on the market but on my small tank it seems to be adequate. Water clarity is much improved after only 24 hours and I have already removed a significant amount of that beautiful brown foul smelling cr*p from the cup. Im going to give it a little more time and see if it continues to perform.

I am thinking of continuing to use the canister without any fine filter material installed. This way I am thinking the unit would be superior to a power head in that it would provide circulation, and increase my system water volume slightly.

Originally Posted by Poseidon

Yup, what Scott said... Plus there is bacteria that can reduce Nitrate, it lives deep within the rock, or deep in the sandbed. I also use macro algaes to reduce nitrate concentrations. I like the use of a DSB, Live rock, and a really big skimmer! Mine moves about 900-1000 gph on a 90 gallon tank!

[hymie0069]

i have a prizm pro on my 50 gal. it took about two weeks to get it to work right but eversince i haven't had any major problems with it. but you need to watch the charcoal insert if it isnt changed regularly it will cause the skimmer to run dry due to back pressure.

[Michael]

Despite my original misgivings about the Prizm, I have to admit that its seems to be working fine for me after two days. Water quality is much improved. The unit is rated for up to 100 gallon tanks but that seems a bit optimistic to me. I wouldnt use it on a larger tanks but for a small reef it seems adequate. All this being said, I cant compare it to the other comparable units so that all goes with a grain of salt.

Thanks for the warning about the insert, Ill keep an eye out for it

Originally Posted by hymie0069

i have a prizm pro on my 50 gal. it took about two weeks to get it to work right but eversince i haven't had any major problems with it. but you need to watch the charcoal insert if it isnt changed regularly it will cause the skimmer to run dry due to back pressure.

[midnighttoker]

it works better if you turn it down, until you get a espresso darkskimate. I only dump the collection cup once a week.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by midnighttoker

it works better if you turn it down, until you get a espresso darkskimate. I only dump the collection cup once a week.

I may have mine set a bit high. So far I havent been disappointed with its performance tho. I have mine set fairly low such that I get very few microbubbles carried over and a skimmage that is more watery green than expressolike. I'll try turning it down a bit and see what happens.

Thanks