canister filter or wetdry with protein skimmer in it need help fast

[rbb302]

so i have a 120gallon tank with canister filter that dose 390 gallons a hr and im going get a protein skimmer that dose 575 Gallon per hour for that back of the tank. every one is telling me it wount work right and that i need a wet/dry with a protein skimmer in it. what do u all thank about this its going be a live rock and fish only tank

 

[reeffreak]

Skimmers in the sump tend to work better because it gets the most raw water.Thats not to say HOB skimmers don't work well too.

Some/many HOB skimmers are junk so 575gph doesn't tell me much.Depending on the brand,some HOB skimmers are good,what brand?

 

[Bifferwine]

You don't need a wet dry. The protein skimmer will work fine on the back of the tank (as long as it is a hang on back skimmer).

You will still need powerheads, because that won't be enough flow. I'd recommend at least 4 powerheads for a 120 gallon tank.

What kind of skimmer did you get? Some brands are better than others. Try to stay away from the SeaClone and Red Sea Prizm. They don't work well.

Also, with a canister filter you'll have to be very diligent about cleaning it, or else you may see nitrate and algae problems. Canister filters usually need to be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week.

You may want to think about adding a sump to your setup. That way you can hide all the equipment in it (less clutter in your tank) and add water volume to your system.

 

[rbb302]

well i dont thank im going get that skimmer what kind do u guys thank i should get

 

[rbb302]

and what should i look for when im looking at a skimmer

 

[fatman]

There are really no good ones. With a small skimmer there is just not a lot of contact time for the bubbles to allow attachment of the dissolved organics your trying to remove. Plus a lot of the HOB skimmers have their pumps pulling water from several inches below the surface, which greatly decreases their effectiveness. There are the better ones of those that are available. Lots of people choose the Aqua C Remora. It is not cheap.

 

[Bifferwine]

Fatman is right, the best HOB skimmer (in my opinion) is the Aqua C Remora Pro. Coralife Supers Skimmers also get (overall) great reviews, although a lot of people get annoyed with how touchy they can be to get working. Octopus supposedly makes a good HOB skimmer also, although I don't know anyone personally that uses one.

The vast majority of good skimmers are made to work in-sump.

 

[reeffreak]

Depending what's in your budget.,the Octopus,Aqua C and Coralife SS will work relatively well.

 

[rbb302]

ok so i been looking around on ebay at some skimmers and im likeing the Coralife SS tell me what u thank and there is this other one on there for 50$ not to shure if it be a good one cuz chep is not always better here is a link to that one to
http://cgi.ebay.com/Protein-Skimmer...ryZ46313QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



http://cgi.ebay.com/Coralife-Super-...VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

 

[rbb302]

and thanks for all the help every one

 

[fatman]

The CSS skimmer works really well as long as you make a skimmer box for it so that it skims the water from the top quarter inch of the surface water, not pumping from inches below the surface as is typical. All it takes is a plastic container big enough to surround the skimmers pump, leaving a little open space around the pump, that will enclose the pump and run all the way to the waters surface. Then it is just a matter of cutting notches in the box and hanging it from the pumps piping with plastic wire ties. Increases the skimmers efficiency immensely.

 

[reeffreak]

The first one bid ended.I'm leary of generic skimmers and most other products sold on Ebay.

The Coralife is the one I would go with,even better with a surface skimmer like Fatman mentioned.