Whats the best protein skimmer?

[derekschwabe]

I have seen many types of protein skimmers from the simple, inexpensive types that operate by an air pump to the more complicated, expensive kinds. Which one would be the best for a Nano-reef, and how much can i be expected to spend on it?

[movingshadow]

it really depends on your tank specs and bioload. I have a sander piccolo skimmer that I sometimes use in the LR compartment on my aquaclear fuge, it gets decent results (I really don't use it much though, as I'm an extreme water-change fanatic )...

 

Post your specs and maybe we can give you some info... hth

[coral reef]

what size tank do you have or wise to get?

[gmy]

The Aqua C Remora hands down is the best for nanos 12 gal and up.

[Aiptasia]

Derek,

 

Both types, air driven and venturi driven, will work fine for you. What matters most is that they both create microbubbles for decent foaming and the contact time each unit creates between the water and the bubbles. The greater the contact time, the more opportunity the air bubbles have to liberate organics from the water.

 

Tall columnar units used to be extremely popular, but these really need to be taller than 12" tall to work properly. Nowadays, there are a lot of fancy ones that provide co-current and counter-current water/bubble mixing, which greatly increases the contact time while keeping the units small. An example would be the Red Sea Prizm Deluxe skimmer.

 

Alot of people love Aqua-C remoras, and if you have the $$$, a CPR Bakpak II reef ready model. Still others just use little cheap lee's air driven skimmers in their filter boxes, as movingshadow outlined above.

 

In short, six on one hand half a dozen on the other. I'm partial to Red Sea Prizms but everyone has a favorite. The only drawback to using the air stone driven models is the constant replacement of limewood airstones, which will clog up about once a month. But most of the commercial skimmers work very well.