Protein Skimmer

[TANMAN5192]

WOULD U RECCOMEND A PROTEIN SKIMMER FOR A 6 GALLON ECLIPSE?

 

IF SO, WHAT KIND?

[Quash]

no skimmer man, go completely biological (only LR and LS) if anything, maybe a fuge, instead of a skimmer

[NaNO ReeFiN]

You can't really add a skimmer to an eclipse tank unless you modify the hood somehow..

[Jahkaya]

Nothing Wrong with a skimmer on a six. Nano reefin has a point though, How do you fit it?

[Elation]

I have an Eclipse 12, and I'm encoutering the same issue with adding a skimmer. If you put a HOB skimmer, then you'd need to toss out the included bio wheel and buy a new filter. So I decided to just make a DIY sump with a refugium instead so I can have the skimmer, heater, and macro algaes tucked away and hidden below my desk.

 

Supposedly, only a protein skimmer can get rid of gunk such as yellowing agents from macro algae and dissolved organic matter. There are some "skimmerless" systems such as Dr. Jaubert's Live Sand Plenum system, but I have yet to do research on that and going biological. The idea of a protein skimmer is to imitate ocean foam which helps to remove the organic waste in the ocean, so I'm not quite sure if just live rock and sand will make up for this.

 

So to answer your question, yes I would recommend getting a protein skimmer because it gets all the protein (gunk) out of the water. It will improve your water quality by reducing the level of nitrates in your water especially in such a small system.

 

Here's a link to some more info... http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/week...a111097skim.htm

[Chronicles]

How did you go about putting a refugium on your tank? I've been wanting to put a sump on mine but don't know where to start.