Fed up with BakPak, Considering PM Hot-1

[Burt Reynolds]

I am about at my wits end with my BakPak, or more aptly, my Bubble Machine. I had it running fine for a year before it started coating my tank with micro bubbles and producing nothing but clear skimate. The CPR guys (and people on this board) gave me many suggestions. I stopped using all additives, did three 25% water changes, cut back on feeding, removed the skimmer, washed it with vinegar, then baking soda, rinsed it with DI water, replaced the power head and no change. I have also added the internal bubble reducer and the external bubble reducer, but still I have have bubbles, enough to make all my leathers close up and my fish hide the minute I plug it in. My water parameters are all fine, all living creatures are thriving. So I'm thinking maybe I need a new skimmer. I have a 55g reef with no sump, so my best choices seem to be a Prism or the PM Hot-1. I've heard the Prism is louder than the Bak Pak, what about the Hot-1? If you have one, and especially if you replaced your BakPak with one, please let me know how you like it, any problems you may have had with it and roughly how loud it is. Without the skimmer running (for about a month now) the tank is virtually silent, and I'd like to keep it as close to that as possible. Since my problems started, the BakPak seems to be louder than before as well.

[SupaJSK]

ive got one of these too. when i first got it, it worked great. after about a year, the performance really went to crap. recently i got a new pump for it thinking that it would solve the problem. it still doesnt skim that great.

so i'm thinking of switching to refugium, and no skimmer. would it be possible to just "switch" the skimmer for one of those hang on the back refugiums? i was gonna put some miracle mud and caulpera in it. has anyone done this before?

thanks again guys.

[Burt Reynolds]

I have the CPR hang-on refugium with a DSB, caulerpa and a few snails in it. It works really well, about twice a month I remove a couple handfuls of caulerpa, and since I added it I no longer get hair algae or diatom blooms in the main tank. I have essentially been running skimmerless for about a month now since I started having problems with the BakPak, and haven't noticed any ill effects. I am thinking now of letting it go for another month and then reassessing whether I really need a skimmer at all. Run a search on "skimmerless" and you'll find lots of posts from people with all sizes of tanks that don't use a skimmer. I think that since I have a smaller tank (55g), a pretty small bioload (2 clowns, 3 chromis and a wrasse), DSB and LR in both the main tank and refugium, and I change 25% a month, I may be able to get by without one.

[SupaJSK]

sounds good to me. my skimmer doesnt really do much anymore anyways. it barely pulls anything out these days. i do have some "leaflike" plants or algae growing on my rocks. i just wanted to see what people's experiences have been using these hang-on refugiums for smaller tanks.

has anyone used miracle mud? i read that all you need is an inch of this stuff in the refugium and then some caulpera.