bio-wheel or CPR?

[lillylegs]

hi everybody,
i've got a 42 gallon hex and am setting up a reef tank w/ 40lbs live sand and 40 lbs live rock. i have a bio-wheel filter on right now during cycling and one powerhead 640.
should i change my bio-wheel filter to the CPR filter plus protein skimmer? i'm sure i'll need a protein skimmer eventually for hard corals. or will the LR and LS take care of the filtering needs and just get a good stand alone protein skimmer once everything has cycled through?
thanks for all your input, lillylegs

 

[don berry]

I would go with the CPR Bak Pak2 with skimmer. I have one and it has done great by me. My water parameters are perfect and the skimmer works great. I think that the bio wheels can eventually become nitrate factories from what I've read. Just my thoughts though.

 

[lillylegs]

thanks for your input,
does the CPR bak-pak make alot of noise? is it easy to maintain? i've heard both good and bad reviews on it. also, did you get order it from the net or did your LFS have it?
lillylegs

 

[justin_ny]

i also have cpr backpack running for 3 years on my 55 gallon reef tank and is running perfect. i love this skimmer because it remove anything from my reef tank.

 

[beanejar]

I also have a Bakpak 2 CPR skimmer --
Regarding noise -- not so bad. I think that most skimmers will make some noise. This is quieter than most I've heard. Noise will depend on where it is placed. I moved last November...previously I ran the skimmer on a timer as the tank was in the living room and we thought it to be too loud during the evening hours. It ran the rest of the day.
It's functioned well for me. I really like the skimming box. Like any piece of equipment, it needs to be kept relatively clean in order to function well. I clean the powerhead every month or so; and clean out the the trap -- nasty green stinky buildup.
Most people will experience a microbubble phase with this skimmer. I read on the CPR's bulletin boards for awhile while this was happening with me, felt reassured that it would go away -- it did. I don't have any bubbles coming through any longer. Bubbling lasted a month or so.
I've been using it for about two years now. I think it's good for the money. There's better out there, depending on the size of your tank, but you'll pay more also. On your 42, it should be fine.
Read through the CPR bulletin board also, you'll find lots of information regarding their products there -- the customer side of things.
Good luck,
Jaret

 

[scott270]

is the remora pro a better hang on skimmer

 

[hondo]

I would suggest a prizm or new seaclone HOB skimmer as they will save you considerable money over buying the Bakpak for your size tank. Nothing against the Bakpak as I use one but it's pretty overpriced compared to $65 for the other two alternatives. Keep the power filter also its good for circulation though you may want to eventually remove the wheels if you start having a nitrate problem.