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jessica47421

jessica47421

Active Member
1. I have a satellite 24 hr lighting system on my 55 gal tank , i dont plan on doing a coral tank but i would like some for color is there any i can get with this system and if so what are they called?
2. i have heard some different things about protein skimmers, do i have to have one now or do i need to wait 2-4 months
3. if i do need one which one would be good for the 55gal and cheap but good i was planing on starting my tank with 500.00 boy was i dreaming im about to 1000.00 now not that i mind its just my husband dont see the buety in it yet, but hopefully he will soon and see its worth all the money and time :happyfish
 
sly

sly

Active Member
You should get a skimmer ASAP. Deciding on which one to buy depends entirely on your setup. There are hang on back skimmers, in sump and out of sump skimmers. Does your system have a sump?
A skimmer is one thing you don't want to skimp on. You get what you pay for. Some cheaper skimmers either require constant maintenance or they simply don't work at all.
I have a Kent Nautilus TE skimmer on my 72 tank. It is an in-sump venturi skimmer. It doesn't come with a pump and so I bought the Rio brand pump that it recommended... Please, no matter what they say, don't buy a Rio pump for your skimmer. Get a Mag drive. They are quieter and are MUCH more reliable. Again, you get what you pay for when it comes to pumps also.
There are skimmers that don't use a water pump at all but use an air pump. These are called air-lift skimmers. These generally are noisier but are also gentler on the water. Some people prefer them if they are going to be raising a lot of pods and plankton in the tank.
 
jessica47421

jessica47421

Active Member
ok do you know of any good sites that i can buy one at? someone told me to wait for 3-4 months then put one on is this not true? and what do they do?
 
katz

katz

Member
This site is a good one to purchase from. You can not ask for anyone elses web site, because of the rules of the mods.
Not trying to be mean or anything, just do not want your thread booted off.
 
sly

sly

Active Member
No, you should not wait 3-4 months to put one on. A skimmer will remove any disolved organic pollution from the water. It is never too soon to start cleaning your tank. Some people recommend waiting on the skimmer so that the tank has time to cycle and mature... Having a skimmer or not having a skimmer will not make much of a difference. Beneficial bacteria will grow only as fast as it can. You can't speed anything up by not having a skimmer. You should get a skimmer now so that you don't overload your tank with junk. It keeps the water clean and it exchanges gasses such as O2 and CO2 very well which helps maintain your pH better and oxygenate the water.
Just search around for sites that sell them. Do you need a hang on tank skimmer or an in sump skimmer? There are MANY kinds avaliable. First of all you need to choose one that will simply FIT. The Kent TE skimmer that I use is pretty big. It might not fit under all tanks.
 
jessica47421

jessica47421

Active Member
what do you think would be a good hang on one for a 55 gal i dont want to skimp but i dont want to spend a fortune either.
 
jeeperrs

jeeperrs

New Member
I ended up buying a Turboflotor multi. THat is one that can hang on the back but if you have a sump they have one that is a little cheaper. I went with the turboflotor because it will handle about any bioload I put into a 55 or 75 gallon tank. I know of some people who ran tanks over 200 gallons for about 6 months on the turboflotor and had no ill effects. you can find one around 220.00 if you serach the net enough.
 
watson3

watson3

Active Member
Originally Posted by jessica47421
i dont plan on doing a coral tank
This means that a skimmer is not a necessity..
 
cj7eagle

cj7eagle

Member
I second the coralife super skimmer 65. If you look around you can find them fairly cheap. I got mine from an LFS for about $70, though this isnt a run of the mill LFS. look online, you should be able to find it close to that price.
 
bluetang66

bluetang66

Member
I like you didnt know if i needed one or not,but I bought a Prizm Deluxe [for less than a hundred bucks] and couldnt believe the difference it made on my four week old 75gal.
 
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