Is this worth it?

PufferGuy

Reefing newb
I am currently building a nano tank, its a 10gal and i am using it because i dont have room for anything bigger right now. Within a year i plan on getting a 30 gal which is the tank size i wanna be at.

For now, i was looking for a protein skimmer and came accross this one. Its made for much larger tanks but i take that as it will clean my small tank really well... is it worth to buy this one since i will be able to use it on my larger tank or should i look for a smaller one?

As far as quality goes, is this a good brand? is it worth $40?

Thanks
http://sd.craigslist.org/for/897338285.html <-- here it is
 
Nope. The worst skimmer on the market. A lot of people get suckered into buying that one!!

BUT if you keep a low bioload in your 30, it may be okay. It's worthless for anything bigger than that, IMO, even though it's rated higher.
 
whats a decent skimmer that isnt too expensive? also a power head? basically im lookign for things i can use temporarely in the 10gal but that are good/big enough to be used in the 30gal when i upgrade.

also i since its a 10gal and its a little harder to keep water quality good, i want to set it up soon and give it lots of time to cycle. i looked around everywhere to find live sand but all i found was the dry bagged "live sand"... i found live rock even though its expensive as all hell $9.99/lb. but i dont know if i should get the "live sand" or if i should get the aragonite sand and wait for it to become live sand.

again if anyone has a good website for a powerhead/protein skimmer let me know.
 
for the sand use most baged sand then use about 5 or 10 pounds of live sand that way you will get more critters in the tank from the live sand.
 
are there any "critters" in that dried up bagged "live sand"? or is it just regular sand? and as far as the powerheads and protein skimmer? any suggestions?
 
It's not the "critters" that makes live sand live, it's the bacteria. As long as the bagged "live sand" contains some moisture, the bacteria can survive. Completely dry sand does not have any bacteria colonizing it, however as soon as it gets put in a tank with live rock or a couple scoops of sand from an established tank, the bacteria spreads and turns it live.

I recommend the Koralia powerheads, and the MaxiJet powerheads, which are quite a bit cheaper than Koralias.

There really aren't any good skimmers made for small tanks, but the Octopus HOB skimmers are probably the best of the bunch. With small tanks, you are usually better off just doing larger and more frequent water changes.
 
those maxijets sounds like a solid option, would i be better off with 2 like 600s or 1 1200 for the 30 gal? I hear that with 2 you can make the flow more random and more natural than with just one, so if thats the case i can get one 600 now for the 10gal and get another when i get the 30 gal.

thanks for all the help
 
I bought one when I first started and have to agree that it is one of the worst skimmers on the market. Yote I think liked his and he ran it on his gal if I remember correctly.
 
I too had one when I first started in this hobby :( I soon realized the only thing the SeaClone had to offer was the powerhead that came with it. So I kept the powerhead and trashed the skimmer.
 
For a ten gal I don't think I would worry about having a skimmer. Dont get me wrong though I am a fan of small tanks. They are inexpensive and easy to maintain.

As for equipment I would just use a simple hang on filter a power head and a refractometer to be certain on salinity levels. Unless you plan on having livestock dependant on sand I would even forget about that and just line the bottom of the tank with eggcrate light difuser to forgo any worrys about rock breaking the bottom glass. It can be painted or you can just wait for it to cover over with coraline.

From there its just a matter of adding rock, fireing up the equipment and allowing time for a cycle. For tanks this size water quality can be kept litteraly pristine (provided you dont overstock with fish) with small frequent water changes even in the absence of a skimmer. Just keep water mixed at all times and dip out three or four cups every other day or so and replace with new. About as labor intensive as watering a house plant. Just be carefull with your change water that it matches the salinity and temp of the main tank. For a tank this size a five gal bucket of salt mix would probably last six months or more.

I will probably get some disagreement here but I have found that the tanks I maintain in this manner have proven to be the more trouble and worry free of the bunch. A 75 gal and 40 gal breeder both sumpless and skimmerless.
 
i would like to add sand because i like the look, it makes it look more natural. As far as a skimmer, i was gonna wait and see if i needed one or not fur sure to buy one. For fish, i was gonna get one, possibly 2 at most, and they would be small, small clownfish maybe, firefish maybe a 6 line? im not real sure on the fish yet. Are there any shrimp that woulndt be recomended? I really like all the crazy looking shrim like the Blood Red Shrimp, Peppermint, etc. so i would get 1 or 2 shrimp also
 
I would not get a skimmer for a ten gallon tank, especially if you are going to move up to a bigger tank soon. Waste of money. good water changes and low fish waste and you are fine. A pair of clowns is about all I would put in a 10 gallon. You are looking at 3-4 inches of fish max! Go for shrimp, but wait til your tank has been done cycling and the fish have been in for about 2 months. They can be a bit sensitive to water parameters. They don't count against your bioload so you can add 4 or 5 shrimp. As long as they all have a place to hide. You can combine skunk cleaners and blood shrimp as well as peppermints. Good luck on your tank

-Doc
 
I had a question about pods, and people talking about "adding" them? I would like to have a good ammount ofpods in my 10gal since they are a good food source. Where do you buy pods and how exactly do you add them?
 
When you add live rock,your adding pods.
You can buy little packs of the critters,but why spend the money to stock something thats most likely already there.
 
well i will have LR for sure i just though i would help it out a little and add more but i guess if i dont need it i wont but any
 
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