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i know i must have asked you guys..but here goes again.
with my tank..do i need skimmer?i have the hob filter & two power heads.or can i add this later.should i buy the salt water at the local fish store.or just make it myself? thanks

If you need a skimmer or not depends on your tank... personally theres not many setups that i wouldnt use one but thats just me and without more info about your tank i cant really recommend one or not.

A HOB filter can be great or completely useless -do you run a sump? and what is your main purpose of running a HOB filter (water polishing, carbon, bio filter? etc) ??

2 Powerheads sounds ok, the two i have run 14000 L/PH and that suits me but unless i know which powerheads you have, what size tank and what you keep/intend to keep i cant comment on that.

With the salt water buying from the shop is fine but can be costly depending on tank size and the frequency of your water changes and there is nothing wrong with buying salt and mixing yourself. Are you able to collect or acquire NSW? This is a viable alternative and in many ways can work out cheaper and/or be more beneficial for your tank.

I havent been posting here for a while so im sorry if your tank is well known but i dont know your tank specs so this seemingly useless reaply is all i can give.

-DL



Cake > Pie

Once you see the crap a skimmer pulls out of the water, you'll understand why you want to use them.

I just cleaned out my AquaC Remora Pro the other day, it was like a greyish colored sludge. Very gross, and smelly. But I sure am glad whatever it was is no longer in my tank

I read in an article in WetWebMedia that next to biological filtration, nothing improves water quality more than a protein skimmer. Seems like a pretty strong recommendation for its use to me. Of course in another article they do a comparison of numerous types and models of protein skimmers and their ability to remove waste with dramatic differences between the different ones. So I guess my recommendation is to get one, but do some research as to the cost to quality ratio.

John

dark lotus.i am using a emperor 400 hob filter.i have a 55 gallon tank.i want to use live sand.ive been told that i have to use that type of filter.with at least two powerheads.the tank is going to ba a community tank with a few peices of live rock.i also have a reef sun light 50/50 lighting..do i need that type of hob filter.or should i have gone with something else.

i live near an ocean,can i use the live rock from there?

no.

put it this way, if you don't want to keep any corals or sensitive inverts. then a skimmer is not "needed" but will be great if you have it.

The draw back from the absence of a skimmer is more water changes. If you are fine with that, a FOWLR system with no skimmer is ok. And...you might have limits on species of fish though, those that require best water conditions such as Large Angels(I am not talking about whether your tank will fit or not, but just the water conditions) just might not be that good without the help of a skimmer.

But really if you keep stock relatively low and more frequent water changes, nothing wrong with no skimmer.

But with your settings right now, I think it will be a good idea to have at least one more filter, a canister perhaps. If you can get a wet-dry canister, even better. But often they cost more than an ordinary size skimmer.