Skilters?

[Drumachine09]

Thats right, a skimmer and a filter. I was thinking of taking the plunge and ordering one off of Dr. Fosters and smith. Is it worth the money? Do they work? Are they just plain junk?

[Rue]

Never heard of one before...sounds intriguing...your tank's not huge, so it might be good idea...

[genitor]

I saw one of those for the first time yesterday at a lfs

[kkyyllee]

ive heard there crap

[Rue]

...okay Kyle...we need more info. than that...

...give it up...:hmm3grin2orange:

[Drumachine09]

ive heard there crap



elaborate please? *twists arm* lol

[kkyyllee]

noisy. lots of micro bubbles, innefective skimmer, they need to be modded to work right usually

[Drumachine09]

noisy. lots of micro bubbles, innefective skimmer, they need to be modded to work right usually



Meh, im a good tinkerer. And its only $25 dollars, so if it is crap, ill just disengage the skimmer and use it for a filter.


Any other help?

[xoolooxunny]

fluval makes a skimmer that hooks up to a regular filter after-the-fact. its like 12 bucks or something.

[Drumachine09]

fluval makes a skimmer that hooks up to a regular filter after-the-fact. its like 12 bucks or something.


Its the cannister filter one though, isnt it?

[xoolooxunny]

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/product/advancedSearch.web?command=Search&searchParams.webCategoryKey=245&searchParams.keywords=surface%20skimmer&searchParams.size=10#resultBody

there's three of them there, the third said it goes on a power filter, the others say just attach to your intake.

[Drumachine09]

Simply hook the skimmer up to the intake of your Fluval and attach the unit with the two included suction cups.


Yeah, it goes onto a canny

[xoolooxunny]

eh, oh well.

[Drumachine09]

eh, oh well.


Its the thought that counts.

[xoolooxunny]

what will the skimmer be for? fw or sw? doesnt your nano have one built in?

[Drumachine09]

what will the skimmer be for? fw or sw? doesnt your nano have one built in?


Sw. What do you mean built in skimmer? Its just a regular 10g tank.

[xoolooxunny]

Sw. What do you mean built in skimmer? Its just a regular 10g tank.

nm, i thought your profile said nano cube somewhere in there. built in skimmers on a tank have a section of the tank completely blocked off, the same principle as a tank divider, with the only opening near the top to only let the surface water in. but if yours doesnt have one, then none of this rambling matters.

with a tank as small as 10 gallons i think that a wave maker or other surface agitation should be sufficient for keeping it clear.

[Drumachine09]

nm, i thought your profile said nano cube somewhere in there. built in skimmers on a tank have a section of the tank completely blocked off, the same principle as a tank divider, with the only opening near the top to only let the surface water in. but if yours doesnt have one, then none of this rambling matters.

with a tank as small as 10 gallons i think that a wave maker or other surface agitation should be sufficient for keeping it clear.


Well, i would like to transfer my penguin over to my other 10g (fw), and i need another filter anyway, so i think i should give it a shot.

[xoolooxunny]

Well, i would like to transfer my penguin over to my other 10g (fw), and i need another filter anyway, so i think i should give it a shot.

you wouldnt happen to be talking about the red sea prizm skimmer, would you?

[Drumachine09]

you wouldnt happen to be talking about the red sea prizm skimmer, would you?



nope. Its in the Dr fosters and smith catalouge this month.

[kkyyllee]

those are just surface skimers different than protien skimmers

[Drumachine09]

those are just surface skimers different than protien skimmers



But it skims the surface for dissovled organic wastes. They are doing the same thing.

[2manyfish]

The surface skimmers are okay for freshwater tanks but you need a regular protein skimmer for saltwater as it will work better. With a surface skimmer you have no bubbles forming to remove the DOC's permanently from the water, you are relying on filter media to do it. The filter media won't be able grab it all, most of it will return to the tank. IMO a surface skimmer is a waste of money for a salt tank. Might as well as not have any.

Skilters - do not waste your money on this piece of crap. Seriously. Might as well as throw the money down the toliet. Or you could mail it to me! :ezpi_wink1: They simply do not work. You can modify them to try and get them to work but in the end you will throw it out in disgust.

I have seen other small skimmers for use on nano tanks but I have never had any experience with them so I honestly can't say how well they actually work.

My memory is not that great (sorry) is the skimmer for a 10g? Most of the time water changes alone will keep a nano in good shape. On the nanos I had I never used a skimmer.

[Drumachine09]

Hmmm, i see. But, if i dont have a skimmer now, wont even a crappy skimmer at that be a step up?

[2manyfish]

It depends on your frustration level!! :hmm3grin2orange:
On a good day maybe you won't mind fiddling with it 10 times a day but on a bad day.....much better to just do an extra water change than use a Skilter IMO.


When I first started on the salty side I had a very limited budget. Back then you could get a skimmer called Lee's CounterCurrent. It sat inside the tank and used a wooden airstone to create the bubbles. It worked somewhat but it never took much gunk out. Later on I upgraded to a SeaClone which is another iffy brand. The first one I got worked better than the Lee's ever did but it was still kinda iffy. You had to mess with it constantly to keep the bubble formation right. Every day - sometimes two to three times a day! It also clogged (the airline and sponge) fairly rapidly. Later on I had heard that the company that makes SeaClone did some modifications and so I ended up buying another one. This one works great!! Gives me tons of junk in a day or so. The airline/sponge still can clog up but not nearly as quickly. As long as I clean this once a week it isn't a problem. The best part? I never have to adjust the air flow to keep the bubbles forming at the right amount. It just runs and runs. I ended up throwing the first one out! THAT was a waste of money but I am happy with the one I have now.

[Drumachine09]

It depends on your frustration level!! :hmm3grin2orange:
On a good day maybe you won't mind fiddling with it 10 times a day but on a bad day.....much better to just do an extra water change than use a Skilter IMO.


When I first started on the salty side I had a very limited budget. Back then you could get a skimmer called Lee's CounterCurrent. It sat inside the tank and used a wooden airstone to create the bubbles. It worked somewhat but it never took much gunk out. Later on I upgraded to a SeaClone which is another iffy brand. The first one I got worked better than the Lee's ever did but it was still kinda iffy. You had to mess with it constantly to keep the bubble formation right. Every day - sometimes two to three times a day! It also clogged (the airline and sponge) fairly rapidly. Later on I had heard that the company that makes SeaClone did some modifications and so I ended up buying another one. This one works great!! Gives me tons of junk in a day or so. The airline/sponge still can clog up but not nearly as quickly. As long as I clean this once a week it isn't a problem. The best part? I never have to adjust the air flow to keep the bubbles forming at the right amount. It just runs and runs. I ended up throwing the first one out! THAT was a waste of money but I am happy with the one I have now.


Ok, well, ill scrap the skilter idea then. Thanks barb!


So, my problem with the skimmer, is that i have a 10 gallon, and thats not a lot of space to mess around with.

Can you (barb) or anyone reccomend me any good small protein skimmers that i can get on the net?

The only ones ive found are ones that you have to plumb into a cannister filter.

[2manyfish]

www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=14676&N=2004+113771


I have never used this product, never known anyone who has. It will fit into a nano but how well it actually works is unknown to me. It might be a really good idea to check around on the net to see if anyone has used this before you go out and buy it.

:c12:

[Drumachine09]

www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=14676&N=2004+113771


I have never used this product, never known anyone who has. It will fit into a nano but how well it actually works is unknown to me. It might be a really good idea to check around on the net to see if anyone has used this before you go out and buy it.

:c12:


Thanks for the link. Ill go cruise the net for reviews and such.

[kkyyllee]

thats crap too :)

[Drumachine09]

thats crap too :)

Once again, care to elaborate? Ive been reading fairly good things about it.

[kkyyllee]

it needs to be tweaked alot, and doesnt produce very good skimate, or none at all, lots of micro bubbles, alot of people end up throwing it away and using the pump for a power head, ive seen a couple mods to make it work but they basicaly built a new skimmer. lol.

[Drumachine09]

it needs to be tweaked alot, and doesnt produce very good skimate, or none at all, lots of micro bubbles, alot of people end up throwing it away and using the pump for a power head, ive seen a couple mods to make it work but they basicaly built a new skimmer. lol.



Well then, do you have a reccomendation?

[kkyyllee]

AquaC Nano Remora Protein Skimmer