Skimmer Driving Me Nuts!

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alexlark

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Hi guys! Me again!

Right, I have finally set up my V2 400 skimmer. The problem is that the tank is located in my lounge and the noise from the skimmer is doing my head in! :blink:

Would it be OK to put a timer on the skimmer so that it runs from 00.00 to 16.00 and then is off from 16.00 to 00.00?

This is the only way around it.

My other question is that if I am running a FOWLR setup would it be just as benificial if I took the skimmer back and had a load of LR instead. Then fill my external canister with LR rubble & phosphate remover too. I'm only going to be keeping 2 clowns, a few snails and crabs.

Having the skimmer running like a boiling kettle is really taking the shine off the whole setup. :(
 
What size is your tank? You dont need a skimmer for about 40g and under, just get lots of live rock and some type of internal filter that you can add liverock/phosphate/carbon to and this will do the job great. 10% water changes once a week to keep you stats stable and the jobs a good un :)
 
You can certainly do without the skimmer....it is not an absolute 'must have' in a FOWLR tank. In fact, I haven't run a skimmer on my reef tank in months either and ironically, for the same reason - too loud for my living room.

Are you using RO water for this tank? If not, perhaps returning the skimmer for a RO unit would be the best bet since this way, the phosphates will be much easier to control. Adding to that, even though I realize that phosphates can come from a lot fo things, feeding frozen foods can is sometimes better than flake foods as far as phosphate content.

While I can't disagree with littleme1969, I would say that much of that advice is heavily dependant on what is being kept in the tank and isn't the ideal situation for everyone who has a 40 gallon or less. However, I agree with that synopsis regarding your tank.

The same thing applies to the 10% water changes on a weekly basis....it is a generalized statement and may not hold true for all of us because there are so many variables. For example, it would depend on how many fish and albeit, to a lesser degree, inverts in the tank, if any overfeeding is going on, if you are using RO or tap water (and what is in the tap water), etc..etc...etc...

My suggestion would also be to save yourself some money and add base rock versus live rock -- adding live rock can be risky anyways because #1) The die-off that will almost certainly occur between transport from the store to your house can cause a mini-cycle and #2) live rock can carry ich. Granted, the addition of base rock doesn't afford you the more 'instant' benifits of adding cured live rock, but in retrospect, I could have afforded another Geico insurance policy if I would have done the same myself
 
Great stuff guys!! Thanks for your prompt responses.

My tank is 175L / 45UK Gallons. I already have a brand new 4 stage RO-MAN filter. I also have 2 x Hydor 2 Koralia's in the tank and a 2 / 3" aragonite sand bed. The tank has been filled with RO water to test things out but I havent added the salt yet. Apart from the heater thats it. (and the noisy skimmer :sad: )

I have also got a Eheim 2224 external canister from my FW setup. Going on your advise I am going to take the skimmer back and get 10KG of LR and prob 2kg of LR rubble for the canister to start me off.

Am I right in saying that if I am careful not to overfeed and I only have a 2 / 4 fish in there this will lower the amount of waste being produced?
I'd rather keep as close to natural filtration as possible :good:
 
Sounds like you are on the right track and yea, the number, size, and in some cases type of fish you have will dictate the amount of fish waste being created....just like in a FW tank. All of the same 'rules' from FW regarding stocking and feeding are also similar in SW...don't overfeed, don't overstock, feed the right foods, etc... Although, there are obvious differences in what constatutes 'overstocked' and 'right food'.

Perhaps your skimmer just needs to break itself in and that is adding to the noise. I have never ran mine on a tank which did not hold salt or fish already so I am not sure what might be different, however, the one I have is loud because of the pump...I just never really got around to getting a new one for it. I just dont want to give you a bad impression of all skimmers or anything like that.

Starting with RO water will go a long way for most of us though so you may find phosphates to be much less of a problem than some.
 
A skimmer is not biological filtration like live rock is. Their functions are completely different. So, while adding more LR is always a good thing, it doesn't make a difference with removing the skimmer. AFAIK, a skimmer has no relation to phosphates either.

If you have a sump with a refugium, you could consider putting miracle mud in there as it apparently does the job of a skimmer. That's not to say you necessarily need to use something to fill the skimmer's place.
 
We have the same skimmer, and its pretty damn noisey, but you do get used to it.
add a 10" fan to the equation and you`ve got a pretty noisey tank,

I love our front room
 
AFAIK, a skimmer has no relation to phosphates either.

Yes and no :shifty:

Skimmers do not remove water-borne inorganic phosphate (the stuff algae actually eats). They do however remove large organic molecules which containe phosphates bound within them. If allowed to decompose, these molecules can release phosphates into the water column. So the skimmer gobbles up the big guys before they break down into the small un-skimmable phosphate.

Make sense?
 
Makes perfect sense. I thought when typing it "some smart-arse will come and prove me wrong" so I added the AFAIK bit to cover myself :p
 
I have a v2 400 skimmer and was very noisy when I first set it up even with the so called silencer (take it you have one fitted?) however over 3-4 weeks it settled down and produced less skim and really quitened down so the answer really is to bear with it, like ski says it has its own real benefits so I would less inclined to get rid of it and replace with LR
 
Thanks for the advise!! :good:

I decided to remove the skimmer after all. Cash is a bit tight at the moment (with xmas coming up!) so I am going to get a load of LR instead and let the tank cycle for a few weeks. I will keep you posted with my perameters when I have them.

Thanks again! :good: :good:
 

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