Newbie & Son

Father&SonReef · 12/07/2010, 08:07 PM

Hi,

My son and I are new to the hobby. We have a 200 G tank with a 75 G sump that we are setting up. We're running a Quiet One 6000. We are looking to purchase a protein skimmer.

any recommendations on type manuf., size, and where we can get one at a good price.

also, do we need to run a UV. The UV in our freshwater discus aquarium seemed to kill the bad stuff and keep them healthy.

Thanks,

Joe and Niko

username in use · 12/07/2010, 08:24 PM

Id start here - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1589426

Nanook · 12/07/2010, 11:50 PM

To Reef Central

What kind of tank are you wanting to keep? A fish only with liverock (FOWLR), or a full-blown reef tank?

bekindtoyurbuds · 12/08/2010, 01:14 AM

I wouldn't worry about running UV, for now, ( I don't ever run UV, and all is well, my tank has been up for a little under 3 years)

all you need now, is live rock, skimmer, circulation pumps and lights (optional, for now, but I like to cycle with the lights on the tank)

(sorry can't help you out with skimmer)

streak · 12/08/2010, 01:19 AM

Welcome....

Nanook is an encylopedia just about on corals... Thats a pretty big tank to start off I guess that link is to the Big tanks fourm...

too answer your question about uv lighting i do know this... You dont want to use it during tank cycle at all.. and your going to be suprised at the size your going to need for 200+75 sump... probbly around 50watt + im just guessing... more like 80 watt and there not cheap for the size you need.. seems saltwater needs alot of uv to kill the badies...

polyp02 · 12/08/2010, 01:27 AM

I don't know what brand of skimmer is good. I, however, do not like the ones that use the venturi to create bubbles. I have one of this and its awful I am actually going to buy a Precision Marine which uses an impeller that cuts the water and creates bubbles. Also make sure it has a strong pump. I would also get one that is rated for a capacity higher than your tank.

James404 · 12/08/2010, 04:50 AM

For that size tank I would look into the Super Reef Octopus XP-3000, they are great skimmers at a great price. I wouldn't worry about UV.

username in use · 12/08/2010, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polyp02

I don't know what brand of skimmer is good. I, however, do not like the ones that use the venturi to create bubbles. I have one of this and its awful I am actually going to buy a Precision Marine which uses an impeller that cuts the water and creates bubbles. Also make sure it has a strong pump. I would also get one that is rated for a capacity higher than your tank.

FWIW a venturi pulls in air before the impeller and then the impeller chops it up. There are needle wheel imellers and mesh mods as well that you can do to chop them up finer. What kind of skimmer do you have?

rodeo klown · 12/08/2010, 11:05 AM

ASM g4 for an inexpensive skimmer that'll do the job. I've always used them with great results. You can usually find a decent used one here, in a local club forum or on ebay. For the system I'm setting up I bought a reef octopus because of the price and reputation but I can't give you feedback on it yet because the system is being filled right now! Good luck

89Foxbody · 12/08/2010, 01:37 PM

I wouldn't worry about UV yet. The Reef Octopus is a good start for skimmers though.

Welcome to RC, wish my dad was into my hobby haha. He thinks its a waste of money.

Stuart60611 · 12/08/2010, 02:10 PM

You really do not need a UV. A UV will at best control or reduce the intensity of a parasite infestation, but it will do nothing to rid the system of the parasite. Fish often die from parasites, look bad with white dots or other markings covering them from the parasites, live shortened lives, and have reduced activity or a variety of abnormal behavior, including eratic swimming, constant scratching or rubing behavior, excessive hiding, or darting behavior. I find it very hard to enjoy fish when they are in this diseased state. Moreover, any benefits UV provides for killing algae can be achieved more effectively through other means, like good skimming, growing macro algae, carbon dosing, and other means.

As far as dealing with parasites and disease and as I mentioned in the club forum you also posted in on this topic, you are MUCH better off investing in and using an appropriate quarantine system than UV. I do no have strong enough words to emphasize the importance of this, particularlly for someone who is new in the hobby. Quarantining is maybe one of the most important things to do for marine systems. You will find that parasites in the marine hobby are a much more serious and common problem than in freshwater and cannot be treated in the display tank like they can be in freshwater. As such, it is a complete nightmare when you have a stocked marine system with parasites. The only way to rid a marine system of parasites is often to remove all fish from the display tank, treat the fish in a separate system (which needs to be large if you have a bunch of fish to treat) with harsh chemicals or difficult to maintain low salinity and not return the fish to the display tank for 8-12 weeks. When you have a bunch of fish, you can see how onerous this process can be and even then it sometimes is unsuccessful requiring that the process be repeated.

In my experience, the two main reasons people quit the marine hobby is parasites and difficulty controling nutrients and resulting nuisance algae. If you focus your efforts on avoiding parasites and disease and having appropriate filtration and stocking, you will avoid most of the major problems which cause new people in the hobby to fail.

polyp02 · 12/08/2010, 10:22 PM

Username in use,

Mine is a Berlin from Red Sea and I am having to use an air pump to make it work. However, it works at first and all of a sudden it just stops foaming. I'm reading about people cleaning out their cup full of gunk at the end of the day while I have to do it after 2 weeks (after 1 week it only fills 1/4 of the way). That is why I don't like it. On Youtube I've the PM skimmer pushing up foam continuously.

12/07/2010, 08:07 PM	#1
Father&SonReef Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Chicago Burbs Posts: 10	Newbie & Son Hi, My son and I are new to the hobby. We have a 200 G tank with a 75 G sump that we are setting up. We're running a Quiet One 6000. We are looking to purchase a protein skimmer. any recommendations on type manuf., size, and where we can get one at a good price. also, do we need to run a UV. The UV in our freshwater discus aquarium seemed to kill the bad stuff and keep them healthy. Thanks, Joe and Niko

12/07/2010, 08:24 PM	#2
username in use Sciencing Daily Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6,560	Id start here - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1589426 __________________ Joshua "With fronds like these, who needs anemones?" - Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: multiple nano's sprinkled around the house

12/07/2010, 11:50 PM	#3
Nanook Ancient Eskimo Legend Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 41,852 Blog Entries: 11	*To Reef Central* What kind of tank are you wanting to keep? A fish only with liverock (FOWLR), or a full-blown reef tank? __________________ The wind blew, the chit flew, and then they came two by two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Tank Info: 375g Tanganyikan Tank & 470g mixed reef

12/08/2010, 01:19 AM	#5
streak Reef Madness! Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Perryville, Missouri Posts: 616	Welcome.... Nanook is an encylopedia just about on corals... Thats a pretty big tank to start off I guess that link is to the Big tanks fourm... too answer your question about uv lighting i do know this... You dont want to use it during tank cycle at all.. and your going to be suprised at the size your going to need for 200+75 sump... probbly around 50watt + im just guessing... more like 80 watt and there not cheap for the size you need.. seems saltwater needs alot of uv to kill the badies... __________________ The Shoe String Budget Reef Aquarium. Possible?? Compared to 7 55 breeding Discus days well we see and try! :P Current Tank Info: 10g nano with 2 clowns 1 Royal Gorama 1 RBTA!

12/08/2010, 04:50 AM	#7
James404 I <3 Acros Join Date: May 2010 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 2,523	For that size tank I would look into the Super Reef Octopus XP-3000, they are great skimmers at a great price. I wouldn't worry about UV. __________________ 80g Deep Blue Rimless - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2651295 225g Reef Savvy SPS Dominant - Retired http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1945361

12/08/2010, 01:14 AM	#4
bekindtoyurbuds Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Riverside Ca Posts: 374	I wouldn't worry about running UV, for now, ( I don't ever run UV, and all is well, my tank has been up for a little under 3 years) all you need now, is live rock, skimmer, circulation pumps and lights (optional, for now, but I like to cycle with the lights on the tank) (sorry can't help you out with skimmer)

12/08/2010, 01:27 AM	#6
polyp02 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Salinas, CA(93905) Posts: 165	I don't know what brand of skimmer is good. I, however, do not like the ones that use the venturi to create bubbles. I have one of this and its awful I am actually going to buy a Precision Marine which uses an impeller that cuts the water and creates bubbles. Also make sure it has a strong pump. I would also get one that is rated for a capacity higher than your tank.

12/08/2010, 11:05 AM	#9
rodeo klown Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: palm coast fl Posts: 133	ASM g4 for an inexpensive skimmer that'll do the job. I've always used them with great results. You can usually find a decent used one here, in a local club forum or on ebay. For the system I'm setting up I bought a reef octopus because of the price and reputation but I can't give you feedback on it yet because the system is being filled right now! Good luck __________________ "I've seen enough to know that I've seen too much." Current Tank Info: Oceanic 178

12/08/2010, 01:37 PM	#10
89Foxbody Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Norwich, CT Posts: 1,532	I wouldn't worry about UV yet. The Reef Octopus is a good start for skimmers though. Welcome to RC, wish my dad was into my hobby haha. He thinks its a waste of money. __________________ Red Sea Max 130D Mixed Reef: ReefKeeper2, Rapid-LED retrofit, MiniMaxx Reactor, Tunze 9001 Skimmer, 2x Jebao RW-4, 2x Maxi-Jet 600 returns, 2x Koralia Nano 425

12/08/2010, 02:10 PM	#11
Stuart60611 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 2,979	You really do not need a UV. A UV will at best control or reduce the intensity of a parasite infestation, but it will do nothing to rid the system of the parasite. Fish often die from parasites, look bad with white dots or other markings covering them from the parasites, live shortened lives, and have reduced activity or a variety of abnormal behavior, including eratic swimming, constant scratching or rubing behavior, excessive hiding, or darting behavior. I find it very hard to enjoy fish when they are in this diseased state. Moreover, any benefits UV provides for killing algae can be achieved more effectively through other means, like good skimming, growing macro algae, carbon dosing, and other means. As far as dealing with parasites and disease and as I mentioned in the club forum you also posted in on this topic, you are MUCH better off investing in and using an appropriate quarantine system than UV. I do no have strong enough words to emphasize the importance of this, particularlly for someone who is new in the hobby. Quarantining is maybe one of the most important things to do for marine systems. You will find that parasites in the marine hobby are a much more serious and common problem than in freshwater and cannot be treated in the display tank like they can be in freshwater. As such, it is a complete nightmare when you have a stocked marine system with parasites. The only way to rid a marine system of parasites is often to remove all fish from the display tank, treat the fish in a separate system (which needs to be large if you have a bunch of fish to treat) with harsh chemicals or difficult to maintain low salinity and not return the fish to the display tank for 8-12 weeks. When you have a bunch of fish, you can see how onerous this process can be and even then it sometimes is unsuccessful requiring that the process be repeated. In my experience, the two main reasons people quit the marine hobby is parasites and difficulty controling nutrients and resulting nuisance algae. If you focus your efforts on avoiding parasites and disease and having appropriate filtration and stocking, you will avoid most of the major problems which cause new people in the hobby to fail. Last edited by Stuart60611; 12/08/2010 at 02:20 PM.

12/08/2010, 10:22 PM	#12
polyp02 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Salinas, CA(93905) Posts: 165	Username in use, Mine is a Berlin from Red Sea and I am having to use an air pump to make it work. However, it works at first and all of a sudden it just stops foaming. I'm reading about people cleaning out their cup full of gunk at the end of the day while I have to do it after 2 weeks (after 1 week it only fills 1/4 of the way). That is why I don't like it. On Youtube I've the PM skimmer pushing up foam continuously.