Protien Skimmer adequate?

[the_hadleys]

Ok so I am sorta questioning my LFS... I went to check out some protien skimmers. So he was telling me that the aquaC Remora would be adequate for my 120g tank with 40g sump... I was looking at it and it said for up to 75g. He told me it is what they use for their 300g because they work so well and unless i have a ton of fish I wont have a huge BIOload. I looked under their tank and checked it out and sure enought thats all they had. So I got one. A week later I was at a farther away LFS (40 miles farther) and the guy there said that if I wanted to keep corals then I need a BIG POWERFULL protein skimmer. That the corals release gases and that the skimmer cleans these out of the water. I am wondering who is right. Also will the remora be enough for me? we plan on doing a reef tank for sure with some fish in it. Should I put some redundancy in and get another remora? Or bag it and get a bigger PS?
Also
I really want LED lighting. I have been looking and reading about them for awhile. I hear mixed things from them. 1 side they are great best thing out there. Other side says that the wont be efficent enought and they will lead to bleached corals. I also hear that the next gen LED will be on par with MH.
Anyone have some good experiance with LED?
Sorry for the long Thread. Thanks in andvance for the help.

 

[bryce.martin23]

its hard to say on what skimmer is correct for a tank, General idea of a skimmer is the more contact time with air bubbles the better the skimming. So with that being said, then I would indeed get a bigger skimmer if your planning on stocking up with corals (esp. SPS) If you want a better success rate of keeping your corals alive then id advise to get a sufficent skimmer. I like to get a larger skimmer than i really need (for example your 180, id go a 200 gal rated skimmer) and then just run it a few hours everyday. You dont want to overskim your water, pulling too much out strips away some food? that filter feeders depend on. Ive read if you skim 24/7 then you should feed your corals more often thus causing more pollution. Or you could keep your auqaC and just run in non-stop and it should be fine. Its all up to your pockets. Skimmers are one of those touchy subjects, keep reading around, there are thousands of ways to succeed in this hobby.

 

[reefkprz]

I personally would go with something rated larger. the aqua c is a decent skimmer, and any skimmer IMO is better tghan none in most cases. but if you have the choice go with a larger skimmer.

 

[spsnix]

Something I've always been told by people who've been is this hobby for years is that you want to go with a skimmer rated above of your total volume of water. On my 125g with almost 160g, I have a EV-240 skimmer and I couldn't be happier with it. Great coral growth, nice and clean water.

 

[the_hadleys]

hmm so can I put abouther remora in there and be fine?
Also I will take by the no replies that no one has had good luck with LED lighting

 

[dc2mlbsm]

Originally Posted by The_Hadleys
http:///forum/post/3213299
hmm so can I put abouther remora in there and be fine?
Also I will take by the no replies that no one has had good luck with LED lighting
I have been looking into LED lighting too and I am strongly debating because of the cause of them...I'll probably wait a few years and see what happens with them

 

[reefkprz]

I think the lack of replies on LED lighting is more indicitave of how few of us have had the chance to try it yet. being such a newer tech most of us with long established tanks didnt have the oppourtunity to buy it and feel little need to upgrade, or sidestep to an tech that has little "feild experience"

 

[the_hadleys]

Hmm well I wont rule them out yet. Here is the one I have been looking at.
Its the SunBright LED

 

[spsnix]

I'm very interested in LED, but the prices are what kind of drive me away from them at the moment. I've been looking into various DIY but with the lack of time also keep me away from them. If I buy any LED fixture, I think i might try it on a nano first and then go from there.

 

[scubaj]

I have an aqua-c ev180 on my 120 gallon reef and it works great. I haven't had any water quality issues.