ar-15lover
New Member
T3D,
I know that everyone will tell you how much of a peice of crap your skilter is, but dont fret I have one on my 10 gal. right now and it works great( with minor modifications yours will too). Ok first you will want to take out your filter cartridge if you are using it at all. Next take yourskimmer tube and seperate it from the output of thepump and rotate it a few degrees so that the pump still blows some water into the tube but not directly. This offset will slow down the swirl inside of the skimmer and allow the foam to form more readily. Next you need to get a wooden airstone and an air pump rated for app. a 20 galon tank. This will provide enough air to create good foam. You also need to rtemove the little airline that is injecting air into the pump venturi. Wow that sounds realy complicated i know but it only takes like 2 minutes to set up. You may not need to do the whole offset idea if you put the airpump/stone into your unit and it function right but I have had several of these and they all required this set up to work good. I have a pic of my tank growing hard and soft corals under 2 actinic white 18" and one super actinic blue 18".
Ask me anything more you need to know and I will try to help although I am far from an expert. I will post a pic of the pump in a few also to show you how i am running mine.
I know that everyone will tell you how much of a peice of crap your skilter is, but dont fret I have one on my 10 gal. right now and it works great( with minor modifications yours will too). Ok first you will want to take out your filter cartridge if you are using it at all. Next take yourskimmer tube and seperate it from the output of thepump and rotate it a few degrees so that the pump still blows some water into the tube but not directly. This offset will slow down the swirl inside of the skimmer and allow the foam to form more readily. Next you need to get a wooden airstone and an air pump rated for app. a 20 galon tank. This will provide enough air to create good foam. You also need to rtemove the little airline that is injecting air into the pump venturi. Wow that sounds realy complicated i know but it only takes like 2 minutes to set up. You may not need to do the whole offset idea if you put the airpump/stone into your unit and it function right but I have had several of these and they all required this set up to work good. I have a pic of my tank growing hard and soft corals under 2 actinic white 18" and one super actinic blue 18".
Ask me anything more you need to know and I will try to help although I am far from an expert. I will post a pic of the pump in a few also to show you how i am running mine.
T
t3d
Guest
AR-15....thanks for the tip about the skilter
I have been running my tank for about a week....rreadings for ammonia has been at 8.0 for the past 3 days. should i do a water change?
I have been running my tank for about a week....rreadings for ammonia has been at 8.0 for the past 3 days. should i do a water change?
sw65galma
Active Member
Originally Posted by AR-15Lover
T3D,
I know that everyone will tell you how much of a peice of crap your skilter is, but dont fret I have one on my 10 gal. right now and it works great( with minor modifications yours will too). Ok first you will want to take out your filter cartridge if you are using it at all. Next take yourskimmer tube and seperate it from the output of thepump and rotate it a few degrees so that the pump still blows some water into the tube but not directly. This offset will slow down the swirl inside of the skimmer and allow the foam to form more readily. Next you need to get a wooden airstone and an air pump rated for app. a 20 galon tank. This will provide enough air to create good foam. You also need to rtemove the little airline that is injecting air into the pump venturi. Wow that sounds realy complicated i know but it only takes like 2 minutes to set up. You may not need to do the whole offset idea if you put the airpump/stone into your unit and it function right but I have had several of these and they all required this set up to work good. I have a pic of my tank growing hard and soft corals under 2 actinic white 18" and one super actinic blue 18".
Ask me anything more you need to know and I will try to help although I am far from an expert. I will post a pic of the pump in a few also to show you how i am running mine.
That's all fine and dany, but by the time yuo buy the skilter $55, air pump $15, stone $5
You are at $75 and you still have a skilter!!
T3D,
I know that everyone will tell you how much of a peice of crap your skilter is, but dont fret I have one on my 10 gal. right now and it works great( with minor modifications yours will too). Ok first you will want to take out your filter cartridge if you are using it at all. Next take yourskimmer tube and seperate it from the output of thepump and rotate it a few degrees so that the pump still blows some water into the tube but not directly. This offset will slow down the swirl inside of the skimmer and allow the foam to form more readily. Next you need to get a wooden airstone and an air pump rated for app. a 20 galon tank. This will provide enough air to create good foam. You also need to rtemove the little airline that is injecting air into the pump venturi. Wow that sounds realy complicated i know but it only takes like 2 minutes to set up. You may not need to do the whole offset idea if you put the airpump/stone into your unit and it function right but I have had several of these and they all required this set up to work good. I have a pic of my tank growing hard and soft corals under 2 actinic white 18" and one super actinic blue 18".
Ask me anything more you need to know and I will try to help although I am far from an expert. I will post a pic of the pump in a few also to show you how i am running mine.
That's all fine and dany, but by the time yuo buy the skilter $55, air pump $15, stone $5
You are at $75 and you still have a skilter!!
T
t3d
Guest
Just added AquaLight 2 x 65 watt compact fluorescent fixture with 50/50 lights! How long do you think it will be before i start to see extra growth on my LR? Amonia is still high and it will be 1 week after i added the LR tomorrow.
T
t3d
Guest
added another 15 lbs of live rock fir a total of 30 lbs of live rock. ammonia is dropping while nitrites and nitrates are rising. pressure to livestock is also increasing. end of report.
sw65galma
Active Member
Originally Posted by Palumbo
What's with all the cockiness about the skilter? Even if reviews are bad, if you can get it to work the way you want it to, who cares what it is? It's personal opinion and personal experience that makes a product good, which varies from person to person.
I had one, so I can speak from experience....I'm not just badmouthing it with nothing to back it....
I paid $70 for my Prizm skimmer that is Awsome....alittle big for a 15 i had it on...but it still did awsome compared to the skilter which was Loud as heck too..
And if you have one, i agree with "making it work" and making the best out of it....Mine ended up leaking and empting my nano all over the floor, killing my tank and making a mess..
But Why buy something you HAVE to make work??
You're telling him buy it waste money one it and then make it work...ok... :notsure:
I'm saying don't Buy it, buy something else that just works....I'm not being cocky about it, i'm being smart..
What's with all the cockiness about the skilter? Even if reviews are bad, if you can get it to work the way you want it to, who cares what it is? It's personal opinion and personal experience that makes a product good, which varies from person to person.
I had one, so I can speak from experience....I'm not just badmouthing it with nothing to back it....
I paid $70 for my Prizm skimmer that is Awsome....alittle big for a 15 i had it on...but it still did awsome compared to the skilter which was Loud as heck too..
And if you have one, i agree with "making it work" and making the best out of it....Mine ended up leaking and empting my nano all over the floor, killing my tank and making a mess..
But Why buy something you HAVE to make work??
You're telling him buy it waste money one it and then make it work...ok... :notsure:
I'm saying don't Buy it, buy something else that just works....I'm not being cocky about it, i'm being smart..
norway
Member
sounds like everything is going well with the cycle. i hate to say it but i did add livestock before the end of my cycle.... if you dont mind stressing and/or killing your investments go ahead and get whatever you want, ha. but the chances are high. its best to let your tank run for at least 2 months and create a good maintenance schedule and learn your tanks fluctuations. sometimes during a cycle, ammonia can spike again after all your parameters have settled but this could also happen to a matured tank...so blah blah blah, ha.
norway
Member
growth on the live rock is usually called coraline algae.... it has probably already started in very immature stages but you wont see it for a while. for lots of pink coraline do a 10% water change religiously every week...i do mine on sundays like its a sin not to. just kidding. your salt mix contains elements (including calcium) so just doing water changes will keep feeding that live rock surface. as you add many more corals, you need to look into maybe doing some dosing of calcium to keep that level up as the corals use it up where they werent before you added them to your tank
T
t3d
Guest
I'll try to add some pics soon. I can do low quality with a webcam, but I'd prefer to use my friends digital cam when I get a chance.
T
t3d
Guest
Question,
with the 130 watts of PC lighting on this 20 gallon long tank, am i still restricted on the corals anemones that I can keep? :notsure:
with the 130 watts of PC lighting on this 20 gallon long tank, am i still restricted on the corals anemones that I can keep? :notsure:
vejomatic
Member
well, 130W/20G=6.5Wpg which from the books I have read so far (I dont have a tank either) is good enough to keep most all softies and LPS including some more manageable Anemone's like long-tentacled anemones, carpets and I think Bubble tips too. You willl probably need a good amount of current so dont be afraid of throwing 2 powerheads in that 20L.
Just my .02
~vm
lets see some pics!! : :joy: :
Just my .02
~vm
lets see some pics!! : :joy: :
T
t3d
Guest
Temp 82
Salinity 1.026
PH 8.2 - 8.3 Color somewhere between there
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 20
I dont have a digital camera, but heres a pic from my web cam! :happy:
T
t3d
Guest
added additional zoomed powerhead and added first livestock of 2 percula clowns yesterday. everything is ok so far. Also i noticed my first live hitchhiker,. It was a brown worm/slug with a white circles that was purple in the middle. Anybody have any idea what this could be. I wish i could get a pic but he hasnt been back out.
T
t3d
Guest
thanks vejomatic...
I just got this BIG protein skimmer from my friend that was used on his 180 gallon tank. Im thinking will this cause to much water flow in my tank, or do too much skimming. I would like to add it because this skilter thing isnt creating any foam for me. So should i ditch the skilter and add this big skimmer, and then maybe go with no filter? So that will be two oscilating powerheads (160 gallons per hour) and this huge skimmer(unknown gallon per hour). Only thing is we dont know the manufacturer or any specs on this skimmer, but it kinda looks like one of those Berlin Turbon Skimmers. :help:
Thanks :sleepy:
Update
Ammonia 0
Ntrites 0
Nitrates 10
PH 8.2
Temp 81
Salinity 1.026
I just got this BIG protein skimmer from my friend that was used on his 180 gallon tank. Im thinking will this cause to much water flow in my tank, or do too much skimming. I would like to add it because this skilter thing isnt creating any foam for me. So should i ditch the skilter and add this big skimmer, and then maybe go with no filter? So that will be two oscilating powerheads (160 gallons per hour) and this huge skimmer(unknown gallon per hour). Only thing is we dont know the manufacturer or any specs on this skimmer, but it kinda looks like one of those Berlin Turbon Skimmers. :help:
Thanks :sleepy:
Update
Ammonia 0
Ntrites 0
Nitrates 10
PH 8.2
Temp 81
Salinity 1.026
T
t3d
Guest
I got a camera phone. Here's a pic of one of the false percs. I'm gonna pick up some cclean up crew today >25. Whats spme good things to get, high priority is something to clean the sand! Thanks :happy: