Ideas for a protein skimmer please!

[Joeyb1731]

So ive been doing a ton of reasearch, I have my cured live rock sitting in my tank for about 5 days. I think I want to get a small protein skimmer because originally I thought I didnt need one as long as I do water changes in my 12 gallon but now the thought of water changes scares me, its obviously not as easy as my freshwater. So I was looking at Lees protein skimmer, the fission (so far it doesnt seem great), berlin airlift skimmer. I dont have many options, I have the eclipse instant ocean kit, so my hood and filter is built in so I need one that is INTANK. Any thoughts on the ones Im thinking about or any other options, or do I truly not need one??

 

[Chris_A]

I'm not sure if you can but making a cut out in the back of the hood for a HOB skimmer might be your only viable option.

I've used the Lee's, and the Berlin Airlift and both would have to be too far above the water line to fit under an Eclipse hood. So far as the fission... Never used one but I have taken them apart and looked. They seem pretty gimmiky to me. There just isn't enough air/water contact to get anything resembling a dryish foam. That means to pull any amount of skimmate out it would need to be run "wet" and well, the collection cup is pretty small for that .

Really though... water changes would work. Gotta get used to them anyway . What is it exactly that is scaring you about them?

Chris

 

[Joeyb1731]

well the whole specific gravity and salinity and I mean in my FW I just get the temp right, treat the water and basically dump it in. Im just worried about mixing the salt in new water, I also see that I should let the water sit with a powerhead in it for a day or 2 and a heater in it, I mean first off I dont have those extra things, and I dont have a problem buying them, but for literally 1 gallon of water in the change you know? I just feel like to buy that stuff for a 1 gallon change is stupid.

In my FW I like doing water changes, It keeps me into it, I look foward to them you know. i would love to be able to do it in the SW it just makes me nervous to not be PERFECT like I know you have to be when doing SW changes.


I dont know im confused, I appreciate the feedback

2 questions:

how big of a hole do I have to cut in the back of the hood? cause I dont mind doing that but i only have like 4 inches on either side of the hood that I can cut.
Do u have an easy way to do water changes?


Thanks in advance

 

[War Eagle]

Water changes in the 12 - I have a 12 gal Bio cube. I keep two 5 gal water containers, one with fresh RO water for top off and the other with salt mix. I keep an air stone in the mixed water and just pull from it as needed. I change about 1 gal every 2 - 3 days then about every two weeks I'll do a larger change (3 -4 gals). It works pretty good. I don't keep a heater in the spare water, doing a 1 gal change doesn't affect the temp very much at all. JMO

 

[Joeyb1731]

What about store bought saltwater? Do I need to keep that with an airstone? Or just put it in ?

 

[Chris_A]

I agree, a 1 gal change is nothing to be worried about temp wise. I've used 1 gal milk jugs to store water before. Just give it a quick "swish" with a few Tbsp's of bleach and water, then rinse with *hot* water until there's no smell (the *hot* helps evaporate the chlorine). Then just mix up the water (~1/2 cup of salt for a 1 gallon jug but follow the directions on your salt), let it sit for a few hours so it can out-gas, then cap and store. If you have 4 or 5 jugs for SW and 2 or 3 for fresh (RO) you can store them in a closet, shelf or cupboard. No mater how you cut it though, you really do need to do water changes anyway... so may as well get used to them .

So far as how big of a hole, depends on which skimmer you go with. I remember seeing a "nano" remora not long ago, maybe someone knows the dimentions. Or just e-mail Aqua-C and ask them .

Chris

 

[Joeyb1731]

Thanks for all the help. The remora nano would fit but it's a little pricey for right now. Especially if I don't NEED it. But is buying a few jugs of ro water and saltwater ok or should I mix it myself?

 

[Chris_A]

Sure, it costs a lot more in the long run but no reason you couldn't buy the jugs.

For the skimmer, I'm going to get jumped on for this... take a look at the Seaclone. It's finiky, annoying, probably need to get moded to some degree but it's cheap and better than any of the three you posted in the original post. Plus it will help with O2 saturation, increasing Redox to some degree and is better than nothing.

If you actively *want* a skimmer though, save for something worth while .

Chris

 

[Joeyb1731]

I think im gonna save for the remora and practice my water changes while the tank is young, then hopefully I can add the good skimmer in like 2 months. Thank you so much for all your help


o by the way I bought 5 gallons of RO water today for 5$ and 5 gallons of saltwater for 20$ from my LFS

 

[Chris_A]

Good idea saving for the remora .

GAH, $20 for 5 gallons? lol, I'm glad I don't buy premixed SW. I knew it was expensive but had no idea it was that bad. Even the RO seems a little high, there's a water place near me that only charges $2 cnd for a 5 gal jug (plus deposit if it's a new jug).

Chris

 

[Joeyb1731]

Really I thought that was cheap. That's the only place I could find either at I well it's better then killing fish

 

[Joeyb1731]

I thought it was pretty cheap lol it's the only place I could get either at. O well it's better then killing fish

 

[Lotus]

I think you'll be fine with the store-bought water. It gets expensive setting up the stuff for water (RO unit, powerhead, thermometer, heater, bucket, salt etc.). For a tank your size, I think it will be easier to just buy it. I think our LFS charges 50 cents for RO and 75 cents a gallon for saltwater. Was the cost of the container added to your bill maybe? Whatever it costs, if that's the price in your area and you're OK with paying it, it should be fine.

Once saltwater is mixed, it shouldn't need any movement in it. Leaving it in the jugs until you need it should be fine.

 

[Joeyb1731]

thank u all so much I feel much better now