Skimmer vs. refugium

[cdearing]

I have a 29G reef aquarium that is still in kindergarten stage. I have 30 lbs of LR, a small CUC a few SPS corals and a few other critters. My water quality has been very good and all life seems to be flourishing. I still want to improve life for creatures in the tank and so am wondering what would be best to add to the tank, a skimmer or a refugium. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind that I plan on upgrading to a larger tank in the near future so anything added to this tank would soon be down graded to a quarantine or regugium tank or . I presently have a Millenium 2000 carbon filter, a MaxiJet 600 Powerhead, and a Coralife w/ 35W CF and 35W actinics. The "powers that be" tell me not to add any more critters to the tank until my tank has fully cycled and I have partially resigned myself to that fact. I am trying to learn patience. If you know anything about Remora Pro, please pass along. Sounds like this is a good product.

[SouthBayPhoto]

I know I definitely don't have the experience the rest of these guys/girls do, but I would say head for the skimmer first. It should help you immensely. It keeps my water nice and clear the entire time I've had it. Of course I still do normal water changes and tests and such, but I believe it's helped stablize a lot of stuff in my tank.

I've heard very good stuff on here about the AquaC Remora Pro skimmer. Unfortunately I couldn't get one at the time, so I went with something else, but that seems to be one of the more popular brands here due to it's effectiveness.

I'm sure others will chime in with better info, but I HTH

[Ramer]

I have a AquaC Remora Pro skimmer on my 90 with a mag 5 running it. It works good. I usually mess with the cup depth trying to get it just right. Very easy to use and maintain. Id keep that 29, get a bigger tank and use the 29 for a sump/refuge. Just my 2 cents

[Samper]

I think for a smaller setup like that I would go for the skimmer before the refugium but if you can fit both that'd be cool. Then I'd build a small limewater drip and utilize it at night. I haven't used the Remora Pro but have heard some great things as well.

If you want your SPS to thrive you might want to think about upgrading your lighting setup when you build your next one.

[rjs5134]

What size are you planning to upgrade to? It might be wise to purchase a skimmer capable of handling your upgrade right now. Then like Ramer said, the 29 could make a nice size sump or refugium. For example I hope to upgrade eventually so I bought an MRC MR-2 with 2 injectors which is rated by the manufacturer for 300 gallons and I only have a 65 gallon now.

Think long and hard about your skimmer and lights... Buying the right setup now will save big money and headaches in the future.

Good luck

[cdearing]

Yes, I am going to do a lot of research before I spend the money on the skimmer. Sounds like I should do a skimmer first and then see how that goes, let my tank mature a little more before doing anything else. I have never heard of the lime drip? What is that?

I was thinking of maybe a 90 or 120G for my next tank and yes, it would be nice to be able to move stuff over from one tank to the other. I know that I will need MH for my larger tank if I want the corals to thrive but didn't want to go to the expense on this little tank. So, I take it that if I buy a skimmer that is rated for a 100G tank that it would not be too much for my little 29G? Are they adjustable, as far as the power goes? One of the gals at LFS said she used a skimmer until she got a clam and found that the skimmer took out too many nutrients since he filter feeds. What about that?

[ret25yo]

please let us know what LFS that was because I couldnt imagine not having a skimmer with a clam... or sps for that matter.. My skimmer is overrated I have a remora pro with mag 7(rt90g) on a 40b and an ATI BM250(rt700g+) on a 400g system ...go with skimmer big.

[charlie]

Everybody has got you pointed in the right direction here. The Remora Pro, will skim the you know what out of your 29, but it will also do fine on a 90. They are a good package, but make sure you get a Mag3 or a Mag 5 to drive it.

Kyle, I can give you 3 guesses as to which LFS that is.

[cdearing]

Remora Pro w/ Mag 3 is on the way.

[charlie]

Good deal, where did you get it?

[cdearing]

Petstore.com along with a few etcs and free shipping. It looked like the best price. I measured behind my tank to see if I had the right clearance of 3 1/4". Of course, the tank is about 3 1/2" on the end that I have my filter and only 3" on the other end. Not sure how I am going to make it work but I WILL make it work somehow. I have started getting bubbles on the top of the water so I'm sure that the skimmer will get rid of that too. Now I have some green algae growing on the glass. Just another stage I guess. I hope that I make it through the algae stage relatively unscathed.

[charlie]

Just remember, a reef is like the book War and Peace. It is a long story, goes thru many changes, and takes a bunch of patience to get thru. Good things don't happen quickly, and you will be required to sit back, and let things run their course. I myself am living that now. Take it easy and stick around here, there is a ton of good advice just waiting to be had!!!

[cdearing]

I know that if you ask 3 different people, you are likely to get three different answers. While reading Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman, he says, "...aggressive protein skimming has been anecdotally reported by a number of aquarists to be detrimental to corallimorph success. The use of activated carbon, ... is probably warranted in all reef systems containing corals of any kind. Algal scrubbers and other biological refugium filters, run without a foam fractionator, can also sidestep the problem of overskimming."
I have active carbon in my filter but no refugium and not sure what an algal scrubber is. Your thoughts?

[charlie]

Check these out:

Algal Turf Scrubber

[cdearing]

If I had only known what I was getting into when I was given this free 29G tank, I'm sure I would not have brought it home. I have already purchased about $500 in equipment for my "free" tank and now I need an alga scrubber? What is next? There was another post on this forum that says you cannot overskim. I am going to have to trust that for now as alga scrubber is not going to happen unless I wind up getting a larger tank and realize that I need that in my sump as well. Don't worry about me overstocking my tank or putting anymore in it as I can't afford it anyway. I'll have really nice clean water to look at though.

[SouthBayPhoto]

I'll have really nice clean water to look at though.

Hey, look at it this way, at least you're holding a sense of humor through it all.

[cdearing]

Frustrated with this skimmer, well not the skimmer but the pump. It takes up a whole portion of my little tank, is ugly and scares my fish. The filter doesn't even go all the way down into the water. WTH? Maybe I should have started a 10G sump and bought a different skimmer to fit in it? I went ahead and set up the ugly big skimmer to see if I can get some skimmate and relief with my algae problem (now green, I guess it's slime, growing on the glass) even my hermit crab's shell is green. I had to move my xenia because the only place to put the monster was right on top of it. Now, my xenia is not happy. Part of it is all closed up. I cannot keep this big pump in my tank. Can't do it. Won't do it. Would you like a photo or can you use your imagination. This is going to drive me to drink! I won't be able to buy a larger tank until at least, a few months from now but want to keep my livestock happy in the mean time.
I'm off to have a glass of wine.....
or two

[SouthBayPhoto]

Cyn,

Sorry to hear about the troubles. I know that the pump that came with my Super Skimmer is pretty darn big as well. I do have a 46 bow, but it still takes up a ton of room on the back wall. Especially the return tube from it.

So, I do feel your pain. I'm not sure of the actual sizing of your 29g, but is there any way to mount it on the side of the tank rather than the back?

Just trying to throw out options...doing a little green-light thinking.

[cdearing]

The flexible hose that was included is only about 2 inches long. I went to Home Depot today and bought 10 feet of 3/4" flexible tubing (of course, it doesn't come in smaller lengths) so that I can attach the pump to the skimmer but have the pump down low in the tank, in back behind some LR (which I will have to move). I am now wondering if I should have just gone with a 10G sump to put the skimmer in cuz now when I upgrade to a larger tank, I'll still have an HOB skimmer and not a skimmer to put in a sump (which is what I would like to have ideally). I am also wondering if I could attach a smaller pump to the skimmer and just save the Mag 3 for my larger tank. It puts out a pretty heavy flow and I won't be able to put any softies on that side of the tank. I already had to move my xenia which was partially attached to the LR there and didn't like being moved. Also, green slime algae is going crazy. Going to check water parameters now and do another water change this weekend. It will get better right? Right???