Bak Pak II question

[firstfear]

Hey all,
I have a 37 salt tank. It is just 7 days old today. (had posted before) I have an eheim cannister as the filtration and T 5 HO lights on the top. I have used the Bak Pak before with good results. This is a hang on the back model that works with a small skimmer. Would this be a good addition to the tank for extra biological as well as skimming help or would this be a bit of an overkill. I had about 15 lbs of live rock I had bought from the store but just added about another 50- 60lbs of fiji and Mashall Island (thanks Brian) from a set up that was up and running last night. (will take a bit of it out as its pretty crowded at the moment but wanted to get it in and be selective about what I pull out.)
Thanks so much.
Scott

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Let me see if I understand what you're asking. The Bak Pak you're thinking about adding is the full setup, ie refugium with skimmer model? If it is, I've used these in the past on tanks up to 58 gallons with success. The skimmer side is very effective as long as your bioload is not heavy. For your size tank, it should work efficiently and you'll see good results. Is the Eheim cannister you're using just a cannister or it is their wet/dry version? They operate differently and will have differing results.

 

[nanonano]

Are you talking about keeping the bio media in the Bakpak? I wouldn't, just use it as a skimmer, your LR should be good enough.

I used it on a 55 gallon FOWLR back in the day and it worked great.

 

[firstfear]

The Eheim is the cannister version. In addition to the Eheim I was thinking about adding the BakPak with the filter media inside. I thought that I could clean out the biological matter every month or two and it would quickly take down the nitrates by whatever percent had been caught by the biological matter. (empty it out and rinse out the matter with tank water/replace when clean) Coupled with the Eheim and the skimmer use it should do quite a bit for the tank.

1) Is this overkill?
2) Is the skimmer pretty effective? I have used them in the past but these days it seems like everyone has skimmers that are huge now.
Thanks so much
Scott