Skimmer Opinions
- Thread starter ghbrewer
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Wow that seems like huge overkill...
I'm running a sro3000 on my 250gal twv setup and don't think I need anything bigger. With my skimmer setup to pull outside air my pH hangs around 8.24 through the day already. I don't have an orp meter.
seth the wine guy
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Every person desires different results with their tanks. My aim is not to keep things alive, but rather to make a DIVERSITY of them thrive.
The use of a calcium reactor drops PH even with a buffering chamber. It also doesn't help that have about 30 fish in a 120g DT that is a densely packed acro garden. To include a school of Anthias, three tangs, and three Angel fish. One of which is an Annularis. Frequent feeding is a must. I have NPS Sun Corals by the hundreds all over the tank because feedings of high/dense nutrient foods are used regularly and they successfully spawn new colonies.
I feel my tank replicates the tidal swell feeding pattern found in many reefs. A dense offering of food/nutrients come into the reef. A feeding frenzy ensues. Then, after about a half hour of that with no return pump running, I kick it back on and the huge overkill of a skimmer cleans out the trash before it simply turns into rotting decay. Same thing the tides of the oceans do for the reefs. A smaller skimmer simply cannot handle the load I throw at it.
I don't think I could achieve the results I have without the equipment overkill on every front. It has allowed me to overcome my tanks biggest threat/enemy- ME. My own stupid mistakes should have wiped that tank out a hundred times over. But, the tank is much more forgiving when it's not taxed to the limits of it's equipment's capabilities.
I have never ran an external skimmer, but I feel that I would like it more.
I feel that it would be easier to service, reduce how often I have my hands in the water, more control, I do not have to worry about water depth and flow rate through the sump, as well as being able to plumb effluent lines into the feed line, both bio pellet reactor and calium reactor. Making the bio pellet reactor more efficient and help in raising the PH level of the CalRx effluent.
I feel that it would be easier to service, reduce how often I have my hands in the water, more control, I do not have to worry about water depth and flow rate through the sump, as well as being able to plumb effluent lines into the feed line, both bio pellet reactor and calium reactor. Making the bio pellet reactor more efficient and help in raising the PH level of the CalRx effluent.
Might be worth it to try one. I am all for experimentation with equipment.
I ran an external and went to internals. Take up less space, and if they over foam you don't get a flood all over the floor. You should have a constant water level skimmer section in your sump, unless it is a DIY without one. Can't see you really getting your hands in the water too much with an internal or an external, if you are only removing the collection cup 95% of the time. Maybe to remove skimmer for cleaning you may get your hands wet, but that is not too often, IME.
Never used biopellets, so I cannot comment on running the feed line into an external, but it can be done with an internal easily, and IME never had an issue driving tank pH down with ca reactor effluent. Never had to run effluent into the skimmer. Never have done it or felt the need, and I run a ca reactor on both my reef systems.
If you do an external, I would definitely either place a float valve in the skimmer lid, or get yourself a waste collection container with a float switch in it. These float switches can be programmed to turn off the skimmer pumps if the skimmer over foams and starts emptying the sump. Placing a float in the skimmer lid would probably be a DIY thing. I did this on both my skimmer lids, as the collection cups are large enough to hold a lot of skimmate without the need for a collection container. Doing it in the lid also keeps the amount of over foaming to a minimum, meaning if you use a collection container in addition to your cup, you will lose more water that way vs a float switch in the skimmer lid before the float turns off the skimmer pump.
Dave,
All good responses. I guess maybe I have been a little close minded about using an internal protein skimmer, and possibly over thinking what benefits an external unit would provide. I have only used internal skimmers in the past, and besides my Nuvo at the office, have always ran them in sumps inside of cabinets. I always found it to be difficult to work inside the confines of the stand and do routine maintenance, therefore making it much less desirable to do on a regular basis. My new setup will most likely allow me to run all of my plumbing to a dedicated sump room/area away from the aquarium where routine maintenance will be much easier. I do realize that the external skimmer will take up more space, so I have been giving this some thought.
I really like the idea of the float switch in the skimmer cup (either way I go), especially if I connect it to my Apex. I will definitely be incorporating this into my build. Thanks for the advice.
I am not trying to convince you one way or the other, but I have owned and used both, so just throwing up some observations from my own experience. But regarding the float switch, definitely was a good thing for me. Even over foaming internal skimmers can throw a great bit of water around outside the sump. Nothing like getting salt water on your wiring. After this happened once is when I decided to install float switches and raised all my electrical outlets and controller outlets to a good 3 feet from the floor!
I certainly won't argue your results, success, setup or regiment. I've never seen suncoral propagate like yours, truly incredible. But I will say your setup while on paper seems overkill, your feeding as described makes it appropriately sized. You have to admit not many have the system setup nor the stomach to control the heavy feeding you administer.
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