Protein Skimmer Recommendations:

Well, I apologize then. Really. I wouldn't buy one (or much else that Red Sea makes), and wouldn't recommend it, but don't feel comfortable putting down a piece of equipment someone already owns.

As a mod here, I would much prefer you offering your personal experience, and sticking around to add your experience to the site, rather than simply referring people to another one. It's true that we have only a handful of experienced reefers here, but I like to think there's a reason to use the site.
 
And I appologize too. I only wanted to suggest that people check before making an important decision like buying a skimmer. For some that decision is the reason our charges live or die and whether we remain inthe hobby.

We all need to be the best informed reefkeepers we can become.
 
Wolf Sea said:
And I appologize too. I only wanted to suggest that people check before making an important decision like buying a skimmer. For some that decision is the reason our charges live or die and whether we remain inthe hobby.

We all need to be the best informed reefkeepers we can become.
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Hi Wolf Sea. I was following your thread here. I own a Prism that I bought for $45 brand new from e-bay. It works great. All the owners of Prism that I talked to from 3 local fish stores say positive things about the Prism. And oh, are they quiet! They also get the job done.

try it if you want.

The other cylindrical looking hang on skimmers all had bad reviews over the internet and in local fish stores. To tell you the truth, they are pricier than the Prism too. And prism is so easy on the eyes too aesthetically. IMO.
 
Hi Archie!

I tried them, in fact I own 2, a regular Prizm and a Pro. I couldn't believe how little the Prizm skimmed so I bought the Pro. It was only as I gained experience, adjusted my Prizm constantly, saw what my friends skimmers produced daily and lost specimen after specimen that I came to see how truely ineffective it was. I've seen what good skimmers can do and believe me or not Prizms are not even within an order of magnitude of what even a Remora Pro skims daily ...as I said earlier it all depends on what you expect out of your skimmer doesn't it.

As for advise from stocking dealers...Maybe it's just me but I've never been to one that told me how subpar the products they were selling really were. Ever been to a Ford dealership that panned the cars it had on the showroom floor? Probably not as they are there to sell them. It's up to us to do our homework independent of them and their opinions and whether its about cars or fish or anything else. Certainly some LFS are better then others and some are even great and have many knowledgable employees...but some are not so good or even worse.

PS- Ever take a look at a Remora/Pro? Pretty nice looking too except for all that disgusting skimmate in the cup!
 
Wish I would have saw this thread before getting my Prism. I do have to say the Prism does work, but like you said, not getting much in the collection cup and I do have to fiddle with it quite often. I plan on getting another tank and probably using my current 55 as a sump and when that happens I will be looking for a different skimmer that I can use in the sump.

Bradd
 
Bradd-That's a NICE TANK...Way to nice for just a sump! For that matter it'll be way too nice for a Sump/Fuge combo-Unless it's visible all the time.

Question for you. Are you handy? If so let me know because there are a few things you can do with your 55 to make things better.

I have 2 False Percs and a Yellowtail Blue Damsel myself as well as those teeny tiny stars. I'm pretty certain they aren't babies...Just teeny tiny starfish. In any case mine have never gotten larger then when I 1st found them! And keep an eye on that Damsel. Mine was fine for a year and then started bullying the other fish and digging under my rocks by fanning it's tail furiously. It's becoming a real problem child!
 
I guess it all depends on what you mean by "Handy". I do a lot of home projects and such. Am not too bad at wood working or working with plastic. I have never worked with glass very much. I would like some suggestions on how to improve on my tank though. I am open to about anything. As always I always like to find ways to go above and beyond what I have now or what I have thought about.
Let me know what ideas you might have. It never hurts to try new things in my opinion.

Bradd
 
The way I'm proceeding is to put a sump/fuge under my tank asap. I'm going to hang my Remora skimmer off the sump wall. I have a difficult issue because my stand is only 18x20 so I'm using a 12x18 Polypropylene tank from www.usplastic.com but you can just get an old used 20 gal tank or even a Rubbermaid container from HD and hang your Prizm off it.

If you have courage, a steady hand and room behind your tank to access the rear (or you can drill the front and turn it around) this guy http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:FSEL:US:1&Item=4362795704 sells diamond drill bits that lots of reefers have used to drill their half filled tanks. If you want to try it look on Reefcentral.com and do a search for "drilling filled tank"...

If your not interested in drilling (I'm too clumsy and unlucky to even consider it) you can buy this (or the same U tube type) which is what I just bought. http://www.championlighting.com/e/e.../Miscellaneous/miscellaneous.html?command=env
or build this contraption http://www.nd.edu/~lego/grp2/www/reef_diy.htm (email me for plans) and run your tubing to the tank or container and hang your prizm off it.

The idea is to feed your skimmer just the dirtiest surface water to work on. It will increase your skimmers efficiency dramatically.

Another trick is to begin dosing your tank w/an additive called AZ-NO3 especially if you have a Nitrate problem. It will increase your skimmers production as well as encourage bacterial growth that will eat up your nitrates. The issue in using this w/the Prizm is that the Prizm is very unpredictable and it might fill too quickly.
 
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