refugium or skimmer? or one in the same?

hawke12

hawke12

Member
OK here goes my lfs said i wouldnt need a skimmer for a few months after i set up my aquarium. its a 72 gal. bowfront, 65 lbs. lr , 80-90 lbs. live cc (cant remember exact weight was like 3 full bags of agralive). using standard lfs single bulb 45 watt pc since i started, ( a new 260 watt PC is on its way). An Emperor 400 hang-on filter, and one power head. do i need to worry about a protein skimmer or refuge, right now? or are they one in the same device? I'm not sure. systems been running for nearly 3 months. this is my livestock list as of now:
1 longnose butterfly, 1 sailfin tang, 1 bluelip angel, 1 cuban hogfish, 4 electric blue damsels, 2 three stripe damsels, 2 true perc. clowns, 1 pencil urchin, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 horshoe crab, 4 turbo snails, 5 blue leg hermits, 1 florida condi anemone, one green brain coral, 2 curly-q anemones, one medium group star polyps.
SG = 1.022
ph = 8.4
nitrites = 0
nitrates = 0
ammonia = 0
water temp = 79-80 f. heater set to 78 f.
thanks in advance .
PS- all pets seem happy, no signs of distress, and bright clean colors. damsels have been in since 2 weeks after startup, the rest have been in for 3 weeks.
 
hawke12

hawke12

Member
seems to be doin good, none show any signs of distress . and Im pulling the damsels anyways, they're to tiny :) gonna put em in a 20 gallon i have sitting here:)
 
jobob

jobob

Member
well a tank that size i would use a skimmer, a refugium is totally diiferent. its a sperate tank usually under the main tank that is plumbed together. this tank has macro algae and sand in it. the algae acts as a skimmer and removes nitrates(skimmer does this to). but a fuge is better since it adds more water to the system. since this is a first tank, u should get a skimmer( bacpak makes a good hangon skimmer) this will help so u wont have to do as many water changes.keep the tang!!
 
yimmy

yimmy

Active Member
I have a 95gal FOWLR...I also have the LN buttefly but it's NOT reef safe. I had some shrooms growing on my rock and he ate them. I think you might be going reef because you have an anemone. For a reef system I would recommend a sump system with skimmer & fuge. That is if your tank is drilled and such. If you go with a FOWLR system a mechanical filtration would be necessary and you definatly want a protien skimmer. For my system I have a UV sterilizer and a canister. I'm thinking about getting a protien skimmer. The problem is it would be hard for me to replumb my tank to incorporate a sumo, I would also have to toss the canister. I also don't want to do a HOB skimmer so I might look for one that can go in the stand.
 
yimmy

yimmy

Active Member
I also have 80hermits, 10 narissus snails, 10turbos, 2 cleaner shrimp, I would get a better crew.
 
hawke12

hawke12

Member
thanks for the speedy replies, i will definately go with a skimmer, maybe a fuge in a later tank. I have read elsewhere on here and the web about having a ton of cleaner snails and stuff, i will take that advise and add some, at first though it seemed like a LOT for the tank lol....the nnumber 80 and all :) but i understand the need.
thx again to everyone, this board has been very informitive.
 
jobob

jobob

Member
they way i set my cleaner crew is half hermits, half snalis= total number of gallons. then maybe one emrald for every 30gals. thats just me though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top