To Skim or To Fuge

[DitchPlains]

Curiously, I am in mindset that I want to buy or build a Fuge or a Skimmer. I am assuming its much cheaper to build a fuge, and that i'm sure I could do np, probably best to buy a skimmer. I was looking at the Lee's skimmer, or the Sea Clone 100, the Lee's is dirt cheap, like 25 bucks, I already have an air pump and tons of limewood stones. I am not sure if it will work too well though, I mean my nitrates are basically zero or less then 5ppm and my nitrites are zero as is amonia, but I would like to improve my water quality overall, and not sure if a Fuge would be the better bet. Basically my thinking is a fuge will increase my water volume and thus increase my filtration, plus I could make it a DSP fuge with 5-6 of sand. This could also be a nice place for copepodes to breed. On the other hand a skimmer could just remove all the wastes that i am looking to remove to improve my water quality. I can't afford both, but one or the other would be a good deal. I am planning to put it in my Nano Cube which has tons of exsisting mods, 96 watts pc, moonlights, Purigen/Black Diamond Carbon, no sponges, poly filter, 2 Minijet 404's and 26lbs of live rock. I guess what I am trying to do is get a discussion on either to Fuge or Skim. Any posts welcome.!!

[ELGORDOINAVW]

dude I say go Fuge the reason I say that is I have a 45 gallon with NO skimmer, and rely only on my LR and Macro's for filtration. Oh yeah my tank is a bare bottom and my fuge is a 10 gallon. I don't even do water changes very frequent.

[onthefly]

I say fuge too.........if you want you can add a skimmer down the road.

 

Welcome Back Gordo!

[DitchPlains]

Thanks guys, I know its probably not a great advnaced topic question, but there seems to be a good deal of debate lately, everyone if either doing one or the other with their nanos. I was leaning towards the refuge idea, only because I know it will produce copepods and give me more total water volume for my tank. Thanks guys Biofiltration....Woohoo.

 

Here's the next deal...make a new thread of fuge pics.

[Kool-cat]

Get a fuge and put a lees conter current skimmer inside?

[onthefly]

I think people are backing off the "skimmers....bad" mentality. Personally, I think the added O2 will combat any CO2 issues people tend to have. I'd put one on my 5.5 if I had any bioload, but no fish......no need for a skimmer!

 

EDIT: screw the CC lees, get a piccolo...same idea, but much smaller!

[luvtolean]

I run my return from my 20 into a 100uM diatom bag in the fuge which then overflows into the sump where my euroreef skimmer is. The nasty funk that comes out of that euroreef turns my stomach. It really depends on what you want to keep. Corals like zoos love nutrient rich water so you don't really need a skimmer. If you want to keep SPS you need to skim at least fuge helps.

 

My fish load is moderate at most, 1-3" clown, 1-2.5" candy hogfish.

[ELGORDOINAVW]

Bare Bottom and no fish even better-

[DitchPlains]

luvtolean sounds good!

 

Elgordoinavw barebottom, all I can say is no crabs, or nassirus snails, and lots of vaccuming of detrius...yuck... better oyu then me no thanks.

[onthefly]

Gordo is actually correct! I have a buddy whos 2x 20L and a 180ga are all BB. He said that after he made the switch, all his hair algae problems went away!

[DitchPlains]

I am sure it can make a difference, but asthetically, and puritanically speaking I want my tank to represent a natural reef as much as possilbe. I have no algae problems at all right now. I just would like better water quality a more stable setup, I know a bigger tank can provide this, but I'm thinking a fuge can be my saving grace. My purpose is to keep more prized corals and anenmones in my tank. Thank you for the comments. Hey does anybody have pics of thier fuge?

[chieferich]

if u are considering a skimmer, i can vouch for the AquaC remora or urchin models.....very simple, and highly efficient for the price and size. my urchin changed my life! lol.

[Undertheradar]

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=30941

 

just wonder if youve seen what were working on over in the DIY section...I designed these $2 skimmers to go inside the fuge if needed...so you could do both!

[skylsdale]

Skim.

 

My diatribe of defense can be found here (starts about halfway down): http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=31587

[Herdy]

The Ecosystem 40 does both...a little pricy tho

[xdannyx_]

What about the AC500 fuge?????

[AReeferIsExpensive]

y not both?

[RAY TERRANELLA]

I am a huge believer in a refugium of some type.I have an eco 40 on my 20 high.The big difference with a fuge is setup time.If you want to be successful you need to add livestock slowly especially in a nano.Another important issue in a fuge is changing out your pc lighting over your fuge every 6 mos.Some calerpa can react badly to a change in light spectrum.

[Jahkaya]

I say skim, unless your fishload is to be light and you feed very little. A Fuge is nice, but not worthwhile unless you can make it about 1/3 of the system.