Protein Skimmer help

I have decided to start my first salt water fish tank. I have a 38 gallon tank and a 125 gallon tank. I am going to start with the 38 gallon one. Now, to my problem... Protein skimmers. Is it necessary for that small of a tank. I have 2 4 step filter, power head, and 2 airstones. I bought a protein skimmer but on assembly it took up a lot of space and couldn't get it to work right, or fit the hood.
If anyone has any comments on what to do and what not to do i could really use them. Thanks.
 

scsinet

Active Member
"Necessary" is a relative term. Your livestock will likely survive without one, but most would argue that they are necessary, especially for beginners, because they make things so much easier.
No method of filtration is as effective as a good protein skimmer at removing crud from the water.
My question here is why are you not starting with the 125? It'll be an easier tank to maintain. It doesn't sound like you are planning a reef, so your costs won't be insane like they are on a reef tank that large (lighting, chillers, etc), and you will have FAR more fish choices. The 38g pretty much excludes all tangs, all large angels, butterflies, etc. A 125 will let you keep all but the largest of all commonly kept fish.
 
Being my first time i didnt want to mess up. Small fish means cheap fish... and if something goes haywire in the tank it is far easier to flush it out in a smaller tank, it is just to get the hang of it all i guess.... my goal is to eventually use the 38 and a quarantine tank, or something of that nature.
 

scsinet

Active Member
I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with you there... on both points...
Smaller fish doesn't really mean cheaper fish. Granted, most large Pomacanthus angels and such can get really expensive, but the venable Yellow Tang, a good tough as nails starter fish can be gotten for $20 on this site during a sale. On the other hand, a some of the smaller wrasses like the mystery and fairy wrasses can fetch over $100 each.
Point is, in all sizes, the prices run the gamut.
As for the flushing it out... I'd argue that a larger system means that smaller mistakes have much less impact. You can do far more damage to a 38g tank by a simple overdose of chemicals than a 125g. Water chemistry/quality changes from unavoidable events carry much less potential impact.
So think hard about it. You can do whatever you want, but IME you'll be in a better position for success with the larger tank.
 
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