Surface skimmer same as protein skimmer???

[Hypertek99]

Is a Surface skimmer almost the same as a protein skimmer??? I put one on and it cleared the oily film on my water and it also made my water look more clear. Any advantage on the surface skimmer???

[JimBob Schmidt]

the surface skimmer will not exactly remove the protiens, bu it wil more effectivly move the most nutrient filled water to the skimmer

[Inflames]

a surface skimmer works best in conjunction with a protein skimmer. Its really just clearing the surface of the water since a lot detritus and wasted food doesnt sink to the bottom of the tank.

[Hypertek99]

I have a 29Gal with a CPR HOB Refugium filled with Cheato, rock rubble, and live sand and i also have just a standard filter running through carbon with the surface skimmer hooked to it now. Do i really need a protein skimmer or is my filtration good enough??? Oh i also do a 1 gallon water change every sunday with instant ocean salt should i use another kind of salt??? I was thinking of buying a whole bucket of the reef crystals salt and start using that for water change.

[Inflames]

I personally dont think you can ever have enough filtration. I dont think a skimmer would do anything but benefit your system.

[Hypertek99]

Well the only reason i ask is because i don't have anymore room so hang stuff on my tank. If i can get away without one doing weekly water changes than i rather just do that.

[oldreefer76]

1 Gallon a week on a 29g? no wheres near enough, I do 3g on a 15 which = 20%

[Inflames]

The tank on the main page which is tank of the month did hardly any water changes at all. While its not suggested , it shows you that you can get by with just skimming and natural filtration.

[Hypertek99]

Well i use to do 2 gallons every sunday but now i cut down to 1 gal because i only have 5 coral frags in the tank and no fish.

[shred5]

Originally posted by Inflames
The tank on the main page which is tank of the month did hardly any water changes at all. While its not suggested , it shows you that you can get by with just skimming and natural filtration.

First of all he has a calcium reactor which puts alot back into the water not just calcium. And this has been 2 years which to me is not long term. Who knows what could happen in 6 months to a year or longer..

We do water changes to not just add stuff to the water it is to remove.

Things like heavy metals and toxins can build up if not removed. Problem is no one knows how long you can go till something builds up to the point where it is toxic to the Whole tank. some of this stuff can bind to sand or live rock, there are so many factors that can make a difference in the amount of time it takes for this to happen if it does even happen. I firmly believe water changes are the most important thing we can do for our tank.

With the amount of money we have in our tanks and how easy it is to do a water change esp on a nano why even take a chance.

Also how do we know he has not lost anything to not changing his water already.

Dave

[Rosseau]

The biggest advantage of a surface skimmer is that it agitates materials which will congregate as a film on the surface of your water. These materials are pretty much inevitable.

Surface skimming does 2 major things:
1) Inhibits the formation of a thick surface film. This film disrupts the exchange of gasses like CO2 and O2 between the air and the water. This exchange is essential! Especially for the pH of your water.

2) Mixes these materials into the water column so that they can be removed by your protein skimmer.

[cherubfish pair]

Detritus collects on the bottom, but as it breaks down it floats up to the surface.

[Slakker]

If you have a good amount of surface agitation, would that work similarly to a surface skimmer in mixing up things that might build up on the surface? If you're doing 10-15% water changes every week, would that disturbance be sufficient to avoid a film buildup?

Also, is there a DIY surface skimming solution somewhere just in case either of those things don't do it?

[Hypertek99]

I bought the Aquaclear surface skimmer for $10 and it works great. Cleared the top of the water right up. Even the water changes don't clear it all up sometimes.

[maguro]

anyone has experience with this suface skimmer overflow box?

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewIt...product=OE1318

anyway, i don't have a surface skimmer (but only a remora hang-on skimmer) for my 20gal, and i used to have a problem with oily film forming on the surface. so i later got an sufrace skimmer box, which attaches to the remora inlet pump, and it did the job pretty well. but the main problem for me was to keep water level consistent, since i don't have any auto-top-off. when water gets evaporated and below the skimmer box, the pump will run dry. and if u add water back in the tank too quickly all that oily stuff will come out of the skimmer box back into the tank...pretty nasty. so i had this for about a year, and i started to get algae/diatoms problem which i don't seem to get rid off. my water parameters were fine, and i couldn't figure out the cause...until one day i got tired of babysitting the water level for the skimmer box and removed it. as i cleaned the box, i realized it was quite dirty. and since i've removed it, the algae/diatoms had disappreared. now i just keep my remora skimmer, and keep enough agitation on the surface, to prevent the oily film from forming. but anyway, just wonder if anyone has used this tom aquatics surface skimmer, and how it works.

[Rosseau]

My 6 doesn't have any surface skimmer built in.

I have a powerhead outflow nozzle essentially at the surface of the water. It splashes around a bit and mixes the surface, it appears to work fairly well.

[kaserpick]

I skim the surface myself with a cup; works well and cheap. BUT, I do quite a bit of water changes as well. As said above, surface skimmers are most effective to your tank in conjunction with a protein skimmer. I'm a firm believer in being diligent though with WC's and overall cleaning.