Prizm

parrotchute

parrotchute

DUSTOFF MEDEVAC
Hey all, so I've got another issue with my brand new tank...
I have a new Prizm Pro Skimmer and I set it up (very vague direction btw) - after setting it up and everything, once I plugged it in, it makes a loud whirring noise and it wasn't sucking up any water. I let it go for about 30 seconds, decided against leaving it on and burning the motor...
I'm thinking I may have set it up incorrectly, but I don't really see how I could have deviated too far from the intent of the directions...
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
 
About all can advise on the prizms,is to return it for a refund,and get a better skimmer.From what I've read and heard,there just a fancy seaclone.
 
Fill the back chamber with water then hold your finger over the airline hose so no air is entering.Once it starts,then let it go.
 
I have that skimmer, so far it works great, lots of skimmate. Close the air valve completely until it sucks water through in a solid stream, also have the control ball valve all the way open, then close it to whatever you need it set to. I'd strongly advise hooking up a hose to the drain hole in the collector cup, leading to a 5 gal bucket for a few weeks until you get your adjustments perfect, that control valve is so far the biggest problem for me. Touch it just a hair and it goes wayyy up or down. I walked away from it once for about 5 mins after making an adjustment and returned to find 4 gallons of brown tank water on the floor. Hope that helps, good luck man
 
Reeffreak is right. You have to add water to the back and on the collection cup there is two nipples one has a hole in it and thats were you attach the air hose while it's running. The other nipple is solid and has no hole attach the air line there so that the pump can start to pump water in the skimmer. Once the skimmer is full of water move the airline over to the other nipple the one with a hole so it can then suck in air.

Yote is right the prizim is not the best skimmer, but with a mod is can be pretty decent. I modded mine and it worked awsome for the first month or so then the production slowed down and was not as good as first modded but better than stock.

If this skimmer is for your 75 I would look at something better. I ran mine on my 30 gal and wouldn't recomend it for anything bigger. You can find a used CSS, ASM, or octo for a good price if money is a concern. If not then you can buy a brand new octo or ASM and there new price is not that much.
 
WARNING: this post will be long.
IME, I started out in this hobby with as the LFS guy said the AWESOME Prizim skimmer too.

Here's my advise.

1. Take it off and throw it away. Jump on it first and then scream really loud, cause you got suckered. I went through 2 of them, it was ASWESOME, that I wasted that much money. It was awsesome that I spent 99% of my time trying to get it to work. It was awesome how I got suckered, I took it line sink and hooker too.

2. Skimmer's to avoid:
Anything by RedSea
Anything by Corallife
Anything by Seaclone
Anything that the LFS sells ( most likely )
Most that is a HOB (Hangs On the Back)

3. Skimmer's that really do work, but cost a lot. Which is why most LFS don't carry them.

ASM
Deltec
Octopuss
Euro Reef
Pasific coast
MSX
Tunze
E.T.S.S Protein
Precision Marine
Warner Marine

This is all JMHO on the topic. Most of the LFS don't carry the better skimmer's that work because they cost to much. Trying to get a new-bi to spend $300 or more on a pice of equiment is hard to do. After chuncking so much out for the tank, light's and other stuff, most would become detered from the hobby. That doesn't mean the cheap junk don't work at all. To some point it might. After you spend countless hours tinkering around with it, it might. Will it properly work??? Not IMO unless the tank is like a Nano. Nano= under 20 gallons and hardly no Boi-load.

By the time you spend $100 on it, and then it doesn't really work, or cause's a flood and then you have to find something else, you could have bought a good skimmer. Save $100, countless hours, Fusteration, and a flood, and get the better one. And when picking one out, if it "claims" to do 100 gallons, go for one that "claims" to do 200 gallons. They market them about half of what they can handle.

Not trying to be rude. Just trying to help.
 
Thanks for all the input...hmmm, disappointing hearing those negative comments about the Prizm, but I agree that it's better to spend the money ahead of time than spend more down the road. I still might try to hook it up in the interim, though.

Stupidsreef, you said double the amount of gallonage...see, that's what I thought I did right...the prizm pro was recommended for 300 gallons on the package! WHat's this with the "mods"?

Thanks! Live rock soon...
 
You had the right Idea, you just got a chitty skimmer brand that's all. Prizim is made by RedSea. They make junk that sells by less informed buyer's. Not your fault, a lot of us did the same thing. Only after I spent $199.00 two time's on prizim junk did another reefer come to me and offer his advise. After researching on web forums like this one did I learn where to look for quality skimmers. Or even the brands.

Mods are Modifacations that you have to do to make it work. Even some of the higher end skimmer's need a few Mod's to work right. This is due to your system and the way you set it up. Or you opted for a cheaper model that had one flaw but was simple to fix.

For example:

Euro Reef & Deltec are the Top of the Line. In everything including price. But you can't afford one. So you find out that Octopuss is much cheaper but has one small issue, it has to have the vaulet drilled out a bit to pull more air in. Ok this is not hard to do, so you buy the Octopuss, drill out the valute and it works just as good as a Euro or Deltec. You just save $500 and still have a top-notch skimmer.

Rule of thumb on skimmer's:
If the body is square in shape avoid it
If the body is cylinder in shape research on it. Ask other's in the hobby about it.
 
So, after the suggestions, I did get the cheapo skimmer installed. I'm going to keep it running to see the noise and the currents it causes. It is a little loud, but bearable (we'll see). Are the non cheapo ones a lot more quiet? Mine sounds like a mini waterfall which is a bit irritating, especially considering that before it, it was dead silent in my living room.

Also, it seems to be putting out a good current in the tank, even on the low setting - not sure if this is a problem (I know corals like a good current and fish ARE living in the turbulent ocean). It just seems to me like it's a little fast.
Currently, I have 2 powerheads, the filter, and now that prizm pushing that water around...
 
parrotchute said:
So, after the suggestions, I did get the cheapo skimmer installed. I'm going to keep it running to see the noise and the currents it causes. It is a little loud, but bearable (we'll see). Are the non cheapo ones a lot more quiet? Mine sounds like a mini waterfall which is a bit irritating, especially considering that before it, it was dead silent in my living room.

Also, it seems to be putting out a good current in the tank, even on the low setting - not sure if this is a problem (I know corals like a good current and fish ARE living in the turbulent ocean). It just seems to me like it's a little fast.
Currently, I have 2 powerheads, the filter, and now that prizm pushing that water around...
Click to expand...

Yes the better skimmer's are much quieter. Well most of them anyway.
If you could see my water movement you wouldn't be worried.
I have a return pump pushing 3600 GPH back into the tank. It's rated for 4300 GPH but due to head pressure I'm only pushing 3600.
I have 2 Maxi-jet mods turning 2100 GPH in the tank
And 1 1600 GPH maxi-jet mod in the tank.

That's 7300 GPH in my main display. And my tank is 60X36X25. My total system is 300 gallons. 300 X 15 =4500. So if your suppost to turn over your total volume by 15 times I'm over by 2800 and my coral and fish are doing fine.
 
parrotchute said:
So, after the suggestions, I did get the cheapo skimmer installed. I'm going to keep it running to see the noise and the currents it causes. It is a little loud, but bearable (we'll see). Are the non cheapo ones a lot more quiet? Mine sounds like a mini waterfall which is a bit irritating, especially considering that before it, it was dead silent in my living room.

Also, it seems to be putting out a good current in the tank, even on the low setting - not sure if this is a problem (I know corals like a good current and fish ARE living in the turbulent ocean). It just seems to me like it's a little fast.
Currently, I have 2 powerheads, the filter, and now that prizm pushing that water around...
Click to expand...


Watch your bioload,do regular water changes and clean the skimmer on a regular basis.Salt and crud seems to clog the airline down to the pump section.Vinegar and water works well.Do those things and you should be fine.The thing about HOB skimmers is they are nowhere as efficient as the sump skimmers Stupid listed.Heck,there are people with successful reefs with no skimmers.They are just very religious with water changes...not that I recommend going skimmerless.

Good luck.
 
Reeffreak you are correct, I know a reefer who doesn't have a skimmer at all and his tank look's aswsome. He use's a system called the aglae scrub or something. It dumps water over a algae turf, it's work's for him.
 
Ok, so I'm sick of my cheapo one already - it's been noisy and it's next to impossible to get the collection cup off of it.
I don't have a sump set up (yet!) - and it seems like there's limited room on my tank sides.
Got any recommendations for a good, compact, & quiet skimmer? If anyone's got a photo of one set up, I'd really love to see it.

Stupidsreef - I've been looking at a bunch you recommended online, but you know how hard it is to find what you're looking for by just looking at photos online.

Thanks for all the help so far, don't know what I'd do without you guys. (besides kill my fish through massive amounts of criminal negligence)
 
Is there an option for a non HOB skimmer w/out having a sump? I dunno, I'm imagining something like a canister filter that i can put under the box?

I'd love to do a sump installation at some point, but this tank has already turned out to be a lot more $$ than I expected!!! I'm justifying it by making it my christmas present to myself...hehe. :sfish:
 
parrotchute said:
Is there an option for a non HOB skimmer w/out having a sump? I dunno, I'm imagining something like a canister filter that i can put under the box?
Click to expand...

You can get a recirculating skimmer, which means you'd have to have a pump to take water from the tank to the skimmer (which sits next to the tank), and plumbing back to the tank.
 
Bifferwine said:
You can get a recirculating skimmer, which means you'd have to have a pump to take water from the tank to the skimmer (which sits next to the tank), and plumbing back to the tank.
Click to expand...

The reason you don't see in-line skimmers plumbed to the display because of water pressure/back siphoning causing flooding.
 

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