Filter/Skimmer - Bak Pak?

ky311

New Member
Hey guys, yes a new guy is here :)
Well I got myself into a new hobby. I have been reading these forums for awhile now, as I love the idea of having a LR/LS tank. So I have a 20 gallon tall that Im buying equipment for, and my recent trip to the lfs I was suggested a Bak Pak 2. Is this all I would need for filter/skimmer set up? On a sidenote it was an intersting talk with the guy at the lfs, as he admitted that their LR was bad.. :thinking:
Thanks,
Kyle
 

sly

Active Member
That filter would probably work for what you are doing. I just have a couple of problems with the design of it. Water flows in through the pump and is mixed with air. This rises up to the skimmer where the cup collects the foam. Next the water flows down the skimmer columb and the rises up into the wet dry where it exits the filter, going back into the tank.
The problem is that with this setup, you could never use ozone. If you don't want to, then that's ok. But with the skimmer water being pumped directly into the wet dry, ozone would flow directly onto your biological media and would probably kill it, meaning that you would have nothing there that would consume your ammonia.
That leads to the second problem. That setup really does not have a wet/dry (sometimes called a trickle filter). The way it's designed, water rises through the bottom of the wet/dry (from the skimmer) and flows upward through the bioballs until it empties back into the tank at the top. With this design, your bioballs would always be completely submerged in water. This would limit the amount of bacteria that would grow on it because ammonia removing bacteria wants to be exposed to a lot of oxygen. If it's submerged in water, it will have limited effect on cleaning your tank. This setup really is not a wet/dry filter. Rather, it's a wet only filter.
It would probably work ok on your tank, but IMO it will not be enough down the road. With this setup, you could never upgrade your pump, skimmer or wet/dry system and you could not add a UV sterilizer or Ozone if you ever wanted to. If you are not concerned about expanding in the future, you may be ok with this filter, but if you wanted to ever expand, you would either have to buy a second one, or start over and dump it all.
IMO, buying 2 of these may be a good thing to do if you can get them real cheap. That way it would definitely work for what you want to do. I just don't think that 1 will be enough if you do decide to buy it.
 

duke13

Member
If you do decide on going with just a HOB skimmer, I would say buy an Aqua C Remora. You can get a brand new one online for about $165, the Bak Pak will probably be about $10 cheaper. The Remora destroys the Bak Pak in performance and is the best HOB skimmer on the market for 75gal and under.
 
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