Nano Protein Skimmer

[cahermit]

Hi there.
I have been doing saltwater for about 3 years now, and about 8 months ago I decided to try a reef. I know the general rule of thumb is Larger is better (easier), but I actually decided to start smaller and go with a 19 gallon tall. I worked at an LFS, and got the majority of my supplies discounted, but I moved and had to quit the job before I could inquire on a protein skimmer. I have 1 polyp specimen, 2 mushroom specimens, an atlantic anemone, a 1 in rumpled or green coral goby, and a 1/2 in percula clown. I am running an 18 in compact on it.... To temporarily bypass the lack of protein skimmer I am doing extremely frequent water changes (like 5% every 2 days, and 20 % 1x a month). I have a fluval 304 on this tank, and a powerhead. Plus I net the crap from the surface of the water when I do the water changes. That is my major problem is that I have like a 4 mm thick film on the surface from the intense lighting (and I am assuming the lack of a protein skimmer).
So does anyone know of a protein skimmer that is designed for nano reefs? Or am I best off with a normal sized one? Or is there something else that I should consider? Thanks.

 

[broomer5]

If you have room you could try the Fluval Surface Skimmer.

 

[cahermit]

Do you know the general price range on that beast?

 

[broomer5]

That there beast would run ya about $10.00 bucks online.
You could probably rig something up that would do the same thing too.
I've never used one though.

 

[bonermeister]

LOL - Would that piece of plastic even do anything? Seriously?

 

[broomer5]

All it could do would be to pull tankwater off the surface and run it through the canister - possibly removing some of the crap from the water surface. The floating crud is what we often miss when doing a water change, and spending big bucks for a skimmer seems excessive to me - especially with small nano tanks with very light loads.
But I agree - it looks pretty cheesey.

 

[mlm]

When I firts started and did not know about over flows and such things I had one of those attached to a fluval 404. It worked great most of the time but it did need some tinkering every once in a while to keep it going.

 

[vibe]

for a 19 gal. i would just go with a normal size skimmer. the sea clone is a good hang on protein skimmer, and is at a farely decent price. i would try that, instead of getting some piece of plastic that wont do the job taht is necessary. i dont have a protein skimmer yet for my 10 gallon nano. but so far i havent had traces of any ammonia, trates, or trites. instead of doing a water change every 2 days. why not a 20% water change every 1-2 weeks? JMO. good luck

 

[jumpfrog]

Try placing your return from the Fluval so it's directed at the surface. I do that with my Ehiem canister and it keeps about 2/3 of the surface area free from "crud."
I guess a small PH would do the same thing, just take up more space.

 

[justinx]

I run a 20H and my bak pak does wonders, plus you can get a preskimmer which eliminates the surface film. I would highly reccomend this set up.

 

[cahermit]

I agree with broomer, that a skimmer is costly for such a light load on a small tank. I usually net the surface with a plankton net prior to water changes to remove the film.... That works fairly well....
I do the water change every 2 days instead of a 20% water change every 1-2 weeks to avoid further stressing the tank, because it mimics nature a bit more acurately with a semi constant supply of new water, and because I have to skim the surface with the brine shrimp net that often anyways....
If I direct the output nozzle towards the surface then I have found the water evaporates quicker and the tank sweats more... Not to mention that it is a

[hr]
to aim with those stupid suction things.......... Thanks for your input.