AquaC Remora HOB skimmer

[iglowce]

if you are familiar with the HOB AquaC skimmer, you know there is a third compartment (or water column) where water stays still and there is no bubble in there. I am wondering if i can put chaeto in there to grow pods. currently that compartment is filled with little white sponges.

 

thanx

 

<let me know if you want me to clarify>

[vangvace]

I thought the aquaC were made of dark acrylic thus not so good for light needers? but if it'd work who am I to argue?

[cmgreenone]

It is dark plastic. The water is not still in there. It is moving through kinda quick. It would be kind of difficult to get something in there once filled.

[iglowce]

ok thanx ...

[SeeDemTails]

Nope, you cant grow anything in there and the last thing you want inside your skimmer is light or algae.

 

How about using it to hide your heater instead? Thats what I did with mine!

[iglowce]

i dont use heater. it doesnt get that cold in california.. and if i do, it prolly just a month or two in dec and january.

[SeeDemTails]

i dont use heater. it doesnt get that cold in california.. and if i do, it prolly just a month or two in dec and january.

 

And I live in florida. Thats a very bad idea.....If you dont need it, it wont turn on, but to not have one all together is asking for major problems. Dont be cheap, they are like $15.

[Longinus]

And I live in florida. Thats a very bad idea.....If you dont need it, it wont turn on, but to not have one all together is asking for major problems. Dont be cheap, they are like $15.

 

To be fair, some do get stuck on which sucks too. However, this doesn't mean I take mine out of the tank in the summer when its nice out, I still leave it in and just watch the temp. Better safe than sorry I figure!

[SeeDemTails]

Not having a heater in a reef tank is blatantly asking for it.

[AcroporaLokani]

Not having a heater in a reef tank is blatantly asking for it.

 

I agree entirely, I'm guessing on one cooler morning or just simply that your air conditioning was left on all night and you'll wake up and look at your tank only to see the temp went in to the 60s.

[iglowce]

i understand your concern. but we dont usually turn the AC here due to high energy bill. trust me. theres no way possible way my tank can go under 75. i mean its always this warm/hot in cali. what could be a possible reason? when it gets cooler, i will put it back in, but for now, it just doesnt make sense.. unless you can prove me wrong and give me an excuse to the possible overheat problem.

[SeeDemTails]

Do what you want, living with no ac isnt worth the $$$ saving to me.

 

There isnt one successful reef tank on this planet that doesnt have a heater in it. Then again most people use their ac in the summer.

[Pickle010]

I lived in OC for 15 years and had a reef tank there until I moved just last year. My house didn't have AC - didn't need it. There is no way my tank would have survived without a heater. I couldn't keep fresh water tanks without a heater either. I don't know how you do it.

[Terps_Fan]

There isnt one successful reef tank on this planet that doesnt have a heater in it. Then again most people use their ac in the summer.

 

Well that's not entirely true...there is no heater in the ocean

 

...by the way, coldwater reef tanks obviously do not use heaters. There goes your theory out the window!

[lakshwadeep]

Well that's not entirely true...there is no heater in the ocean

 

I think it's called the Sun.

[Detritus07]

How about using it to hide your heater instead? Thats what I did with mine!

I cant believe I've never thought of that. Do you run the power cord through the return opening?

[Terps_Fan]

I think it's called the Sun.

 

Well then that could be considered the heater for anyone's reef tank too considering that the sun is capable of heating our houses, hence the need for A/C

[United_Poseidon]

iglowce,

 

I'm with you. I live in southern CA as well. I only run my heater during the winter (when it is needed). Been doing it for three and a half years on my tank. I am a strong proponent of 'if you dont need it, dont use it'.

[SeeDemTails]

I don't know how you do it.

 

He doesnt.....his tank is only 2 months old. He just hasnt been doing it long enough to learn his lesson yet.

 

The ocean isnt a reef tank.

 

Unless you have MH and a chiller, and you live like a normal human with the air conditioner on, then you need a heater. Even then at night you are asking for it.

 

Natural reefs stay within a few degrees. There is no way from day to night your house temp stays so stable that your tanks temp doesnt fluctuate.

 

I will be here to say I told you so, dont worry.

 

I just dont get why anyone wouldnt run a heater in a setting so sensitive like a reef tank....Makes no sense!?

[iglowce]

hm i think some of you just dont get it. my tank has never been lower than 77, even at night. how do i check? well i go out and come back late at night, early morning, and the water doesnt get lower than that. we dont use AC here often because of electricity bill.

 

as for the age of my tank, yes it is 2 months because the tank it self is 2 months old. but the inverts, rock, fish, etc. are almost 2 years old. and i have been in the hobby (fresh water) for more than 10 years (since i was a kid). so the least thing i can do is to read temperature.

 

theres no fuzz about temp. if anything, temp would be the least thing i worry, at least on the lower side it is.

[SeeDemTails]

All it takes is one cold night and you have nothing there to protect the tank. Its your tank and your money, not mine.

 

Like I said, I will be there to say I told you so.

 

Good luck.

[nanoskim]

Experience (good or bad) will teach you assuming you can figure out why it was bad or good!

 

The reason why we use a heater in our reefs is to minimize the temperature FLUCTUATIONS...the smaller the reef the quicker and larger the temperature FLUCTUATIONS will be!

 

Experience in fresh water is NOT the same as in saltwater because the animals come from different areas where temperatures are pretty stable.

 

We are also located in Southern California.

[iglowce]

nvm im not arguing. this thread is closed.

[Terps_Fan]

All it takes is one cold night and you have nothing there to protect the tank. Its your tank and your money, not mine.

 

Like I said, I will be there to say I told you so.

 

Good luck.

 

Unless the tank was right next to a window, one cold night would hardly drop the temperature of tank. Water has a high specific gravity, so it holds it temperature well. Plus, most houses have insulation - this will allow the house retain the heat builds up during the day, thus keeping the temp of the house stable and warmer than the ambient temp outside. Now a string of cold nights, thats a different story and would require an in tank heater. However, he did say that they don't use A/C - he never said that the heat doesn't kick on during a cold night. He also said that he uses a heater during the coldest months of the year...