water agitation

[Salt Freak]

how close do the powerheads need to be to break up the film on the surface of the water so i can get better light penetration. and my water is cloudy i dont have a protien skimmer on it and it is not a algea bloom its just not really clear i have a protien skimmer but i don't want to put it on because i'm scared its going to take out all the trace elements in the water and its going to freak the corals out help thank you

 

[Salt Freak]

By the way I use R.O. water and did a water change last Sunday.

 

[Navarre]

A protien skimmer will do more good than harm on your tank. As long as you do regular water changes you will find that you are adding any trace eliments that a skimmer "might" remove.

Many corals actually prefer skimmed tanks.. acros and sps corals work better in tanks with low nutrients rather than high nutrient. Skimmer also have the advantage of reducing bioloads by removing protiens vefore they enter the nitrogen cycle.

The surface film is most likely a layer of protiens that needs removing with a protien skimmer. If you move the powerhead closer to the surface then it will probably remove the film but this doesnt remove the protiens from the water.

 

[Salt Freak]

how close and how long should I put the skimmer on the tank and when i'm done skimming should i put the elements back in the water.

 

[superman]

Most people leave their protein skimmer on 24/7. There are many people that never ad any trace elements other than calcium and have thriving wonderful tanks. There are some trace elements that get partially removed by a protein skimmer, but the benenfits of a protein skimmer far outway any of the negative effects. I would (and do) skim the tank 24/7, do water changes on a regular basis and add calcium accordingly.

 

[Navarre]

ALthough for a long time i have not used a slimmer, i do not advocate this for all tanks. I used the skimmerless approach as i used natural sea water and wanted to keep the planctonic life alive. with artificial salt you have far less planktonic life in the water.

I now skim my tank but i make sure i underskim for the same reasons above. As for other types of tanks though i fully advocate a skimmer running fully. they do removed things from the water but water changes will put these things back in.

 

[Salt Freak]

could i run over the weekend every week i really don't like skimmers i have known people that relied totally on wawter changes and had successful reef tanks.

 

[superman]

If you are going to go skimmerless you have to be commited to dilligent water changes. If I was to tackle a skimmerless tank I would do the following...
I would have a mechanical filter (hang on back filter or canister filter) hooked up to the tank, where you could through filterfloss in twice a week to catch dead stuff when you kick it up off of the sand bed. I would make sure I have pleny of flow, to keep the detritus up in the water column as much as possible (so the mechanical filter can take it out. I would put sponges in the sump, a refugium (possibly a hang on back refugium) with macroalgae in it, and seriously think about keeping a couple of clams. Obviously in order to be more specific about the size and quantity of many of these suggestions you would have to post what size tank you are setting up, if it is drilled, and what direction you would like to go with the tank.