Cali Kid Corals

Experience with skimmers from www.nanoreefsystems.com?

Hi all,

Anyone have any experience with the protein skimmers from www.nanoreefsystems.com?

I'm a new BAR member who joined a few weeks back, but I have just been trolling the forums since then as I didn't have a tank setup yet. Well, I'm finally fixing that as my JBJ 28G Nano Cube LED arrived this week. I picked this tank because it fit in my 1BR apartment and I was worried about heat buildup so wanted LED lighting.

Anyway, along with the tank I purchased a Tunze 9002 as I had found some info online recommending that skimmer for the tank. What I didn't realize until it all arrived was that the Tunze isn't going to fit without cutting off its magnet mount and I'm not confident I could get it off without damaging the integrity of the skimmer. So, I'm looking for alternative skimmers and found the ones at www.nanoreefsystems.com, which brings me to my question. Anyone have any experience with them. If so, thumbs up or thumbs down? I'd rather not buy a second skimmer that isn't going to work for me if I can help it.

Alternatively, maybe I should just skip the skimmer and instead throw some Chaeto in the filter chamber and use it as a refugium?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Hopefully the tank will actually get some water and rocks in it this weekend and then I can start my requisite tank build thread.

Cheers,

Justin
 
I don't have experience with nanoreefskimmers but I have had a tunze similar to the 9002 and it was a great skimmer. It would be tough to beat.

As for the need for a skimmer, thats up to you and what you plan on keeping and if you feel its necessary. Lots of people run tanks without skimmers. Usually tanks without skimmers will have a more diverse and populous macrofauna population. I would recommend having a skimmer and refugium. Or starting the tank and letting it cycle without a skimmer and then after you have a stable and large population of little critters add the skimmer.
 
You should also look into the Lee's air driven counter current skimmers, they are very cheap and work awesome. I ran a 15g SPS tank for a few years with one.
 
:lol: I used a Lee's on my 30g for many years (mixed reef). Great skimmer and you can't beat the price :)
 
Interesting. JBJ makes an air driven skimmer specifically for this tank and it fits in one of the smaller chambers so I could still put some Chaeto in the main chamber and use that as a refugium. For some reason I seem to have a bias against the air-driving skimmers and was avoiding them, but I couldn't really tell you why. I guess I should really consider that or the Lee's. Thanks for the advice.

As for the intended inhabitants of the tank... I definitely want a BTA with a pair of clowns. I had a tank about 5 years ago when I was living up in Seattle and they were my favorite part. I didn't have enough light back then to try SPS so I figure I'll test out some of the $10 SPS frags from Neptune Aquatics (great store and close to my apt.) and see how they do under the LEDs. Also plan on putting in some zoos as I always liked them but didn't have them in my previous tank either. Some of the chalices Robert has in his nano by the cash register also caught my eye...

Justin
 
One big reason I got away from air driven is the replacing of the limewood/basswood air "stones".
 
Hey Justin,

Are you looking to sell your tunze 9002? I'm looking to replace the one I have in my RSM. Maybe we can work out a deal? Email me at jayc707 at gmail.com if interested.

Cheers
 
GreshamH said:
One big reason I got away from air driven is the replacing of the limewood/basswood air "stones".
Was it the cost or hassle? There were a handful of people making them for dirt cheap a while back for CO2 reasons (planted tank stuff)
 
I'm assuming it's the hassle, one more step beyond cleaning the skimmer cup.

My only issue is that you have to clean the airline nipple on the riser tube every now and again, that means you have to *gasp* remove the skimmer from its home.
 
As I was setting up the tank over the past week I'm realizing just how tight they have things squeezed in the back of the Nano Cubes. Frequency of needing maintenance will likely be a main criteria in which skimmer I select. In the meantime, I'm going with r0ck0's suggestion of running without at least until I get a nice population of little critters.

On a side note, anyone have any suggestions on how to un-suction the factory provided powerheads from the bottom of their chambers so that I can figure out why one is considerably louder than the other? :p

Justin
 
jugato said:
Frequency of needing maintenance will likely be a main criteria in which skimmer I select.

Any skimmer will require frequent maintenance for best performance. Oddly enough a clean skimmer works better, it might not produce foam for a few hours after being cleaned but its worth the effort. Air driven skimmers are good because when you have to replace the airstone you should do a full cleaning of the skimmer's reaction chamber. Even venturi skimmers need maintenance, the air intake will become clogged with salt creep and need to be flushed with fresh water, and needle wheel pumps need to be disassembled to remove the impeller and checked for debris in the needles. Frequent maintenance ensures optimum performance and helps prevent failure.
 
jugato said:
On a side note, anyone have any suggestions on how to un-suction the factory provided powerheads from the bottom of their chambers so that I can figure out why one is considerably louder than the other? :p

Justin

Remove the flex tube and slide your hand down to grasp the pump and pull real hard, that is if you have tiny hands...
 
tuberider said:
I'm assuming it's the hassle, one more step beyond cleaning the skimmer cup.

My only issue is that you have to clean the airline nipple on the riser tube every now and again, that means you have to *gasp* remove the skimmer from its home.

Gomer said:
GreshamH said:
One big reason I got away from air driven is the replacing of the limewood/basswood air "stones".
Was it the cost or hassle? There were a handful of people making them for dirt cheap a while back for CO2 reasons (planted tank stuff)

What Jeremy said (and about the nipple that needs cleaning :lol: ) and the hassle of trying to find a store that had them in stock. The store I worked at was great at stocking them until we closed the live goods. Cost really wasn't a factor, but having rotting wood also wasn't something I really wanted in the small tank. The skimmer stops working and you have wood rotting in the tank :( Not to mention I finally figured out how to jam a much larger skimmer in the sump (BakPak).
 
Back
Top