Skimmers?!

[nathan01]

hi im getting a 215 litre tank soon and dont know what skimmer to use the only ones i can find are the ones which hang onto the back of the tank and the lid is in the way persides i dont want to see it.Does anyone know where i can get a fully external one or any cheapish brands lol?Also would it be best to get a RO unit or buy the water from the lfs because when we move the water will be on a meter so it will be alot more expensive.
P.S i live in the U.K

Thanks

 

[Ter]

don't go cheapo on the skimmer.. check out my seaclone rant lol
Ter
somebody from the UK will be around 2 help u lots of them here

 

[rhysiboy]

you can buy the water of your LFS its just that once you add up the container, 25 litres once a week and also he money spent on petrol, it may end up being cheaper to buy your own unit.

 

[nathan01]

ok is it true that the RO units wast 3 gallons to evey 1 gallon treated?

 

[SkiFletch]

Correct. You can collect the "waste" water and do various things with it (drink it, water plants, do laundry, etc) if you like.

 

[nathan01]

ok i still might just buy it form my lfs.Is there an alternative to a skimmer because in an shop i went into the man said that i can put this other filter media in the filter boxes and that wil work.Is this ture or is a skimmer the best thing and has anyone got any pics of a TMC V2 skimmer hung on their tank as i dont know how they fit on.
Thanks

 

[sianeds]

I would use a skimmer on a tank of 20 gallons or more.

The TMC skimmers are the best reasonably priced skimmers in the UK. They don't thake alot of space but you will have to modify your hood to fit it on.

This is a pic of my TMC V2 400 on my tank

This is the modified hood. You can see where we cut a big hole to accomodate the pipework

Hope that helps

 

[nathan01]

yer very much tanks.What it the brown thing on the end of the pipe inside the tank?and are the skimmers very noisey because the tank will be goin in my bedroom!Also how oftern do you have to empty the cup and is it essential to have a skimmer?
P.s is your tank a Aquastyle Aquaone tank because it looks very similar to the one im getting the 980 one!



This is the modified hood. You can see where we cut a big hole to accomodate the pipework

 

[sianeds]

Yes it's the aqua one 980 and it's for sale

The brown stuff is filter wool which I use to stop the bubbles getting into the main tank and also as you see it removes some of the stuff the skimmer misses.

The skimmer is really not very noisy and would be fine in a bedroom. Mine is right next to me in my living room.

If I do any work in the tank I have to empty the cup more often but generally it's about once a week. I guess it depends what you're keeping and how much waste there is.

I would say that on this size tank a skimmer is essential.

If you do get the 980 then it has a built in trickle filter seperate to the lighting on the hood. We just cut about 6" off the filter and the skimmer fitted fine. We keep the filter housing on so there is no gaps, also we use the space where the media went to store things like extra floss, syringes, nets etc.

 

[nathan01]

ok do you use the trickle filter because i thought it looked quite good and is suppose to be just and extra filter really for marine!I saw the tank i a lfs and it looks really good.Did you change the lights in the tank and would i need to add another powerhead if im keeping some liverock corals and fish?
Many thanks for you help you're the only person i have found which has the same tank as what im getting lol.Which makes it easier to explain!

 

[sianeds]

No like I said, we use the filter compartment for storage. I could find no way to put a skimmer on that tank without cutting the hood. Either the filter has to go or the lighting does. I chose to remove the filter. We cut about 6" off the end where the impeller used to attach to fit the skimmer on. I can't see any other way to do it.

We upgraded the bulbs and added reflectors. Didn't take long and really made a big improvement. I don't know what the bulbs were so no point asking me but they were the brightest marine grade lights we could find to fit. The reflectors were simple cheap ones we picked up in the LFS. That tank comes with 2 white tubes and a small pink one. We replaced one white tube with a marine white and the other with a blue actinic. The pink one we replaced with another white tube. It gives us plenty of light and our corals are very happy.

 

[nathan01]

You get a powehead with it right?can i use that but without the filter so i dont have to but 2 new powerheads
Thanks

 

[sianeds]

I guess with some fiddling you could use the powerhead that comes with the integral filter. You would have to shorten the intake pipe and put some kind of 90degree pipe on the outlet as I think it points upwards, otherwise you'll end up shooting tank water at your ceiling. Maybe you could keep the long spraybar which comes with it to create a load of surface agitation. Just be aware the powerhead is quite heavy for it's size so you'll need a to secure it to the tank wall in some way.

 

[nathan01]

ok i think i mights be able to keep most of the filters aswell because they come i parts i think so i will just take say the middle section of the filter out and let the spray bar just continue through.