The Puffer Forum

I'm going to set up a new 36gUS tank for my puff, who is currently at 1.018sg. I've never used a protein skimmer, and I'm considering buying one for the tank. Is a skimmer effective and beneficial in a high brackish tank? Or would it not work or not be beneficial 'til I go full marine?

At that SG it should work. Which one were you thinking of getting? I'm happy with a Backpac HOB for a tank that size.

I haven't narrowed it down to a particular brand yet, so I appreciate the recommendation. I am thinking HOB, too.

At what point do I add the skimmer? After I fully complete the fishless cycle and add my puff? Or as I cycle the new tank?

I just ordered a Eshopps PSK75H last night from all the recommendations I got over on Reef Central. The Eshopps and Reef Octopus both have the pump on the outside of the tank which is nice. It will be my first skimmer.

If you decide to go with it I can save you some time, Amazon is the cheapest by $7 on just the skimmer. I ended up buying it at That Fish Place because I ordered some new heaters with it. Since it was over $150 they have a $25 off special going now. I checked 8 different places and 5 of them were within $7 of each other.

Thanks for the info, you two. Can you post pictures of your skimmer in position on or under your tank? On the websites, I see the skimmer size dimensions, but I haven't seen pictures that show how much space the skimmers take up.

Also, can anyone answer the following or point me to an online source of info? Thanks!

At what point do I add the skimmer? After I fully complete the fishless cycle and add my puff? Or as I cycle the new tank?

Skimmers can work in freshwater, brackish and saltwater.
The reason for the 'salt water only' way of thinking is because in more dense water such as saltwater, the bubbles can be smaller and linger longer (why some skimmers are six feet tall) so they gather more organics.


There are a few reasons you do not see alot of freshwater skimmers (though they do exist)
1) one of the nice things about freshwater tanks is that you can have a planted tank, and a protein skimmer is awful for planted tanks, will crash your CO2 level really quick

2 How much is a 20 gallon water change on a freshwater aquarium? a couple bucks max if you use store bought RODI.
How much is a 20 gallon water change on a saltwater tank? could be 15 to 20 dollars if you are not in a big city where salt is sometimes way overpriced. I used to live in middle of nowhere new york. Salt was about 150 dollars for 200 gallons worth if you couldnt get it online.

3 This ties into number 2 but a good protein skimmer for your average hobbyist marine tank will run 100 to 300 dollars new. Well a freshwater protein skimmer has to work much harder to produce those bubbles and if you find one for 700 dollars you are lucky.
A protein skimmer doesnt start becoming cost effective in a FW system until the cost of the unit is outweighed by the cost of water changes, and considering even an amazing skimmer is still not as effective as a water change, that hardly ever happens. An auto water changer with float valve is a much better FW investment


That being said, once you reach a specific gravity of 1.016 your standard marine protein skimmer will start to become effective

I would turn the skimmer on after the tank has cycled, and in the small waiting period before you add fish I would turn on the skimmer. You want your cycle to have all the fuel it can get and the skimmer will inhibit that.

Aeration crashing CO2 levels is distortion or mythology. High-light high supplement, pressurized Co2 via well designed reactors cannot afford much aeration, true enough. But, moderately lighted, few or little supplement tanks may actually have higher COs levels with some aeration than those carefully smooth-surfaced. Surface breaks and increased areas of turbulence facilitate gas exchange in either direction - my planted tanks are all moderate light w/minimal supplements and no CO2 supplement. I get higher CO2 concentrations with moderate rippling of the surface or very gentle aeration than I do from smooth surfaces because I get more CO2 in to supplement/replace that being used in photosynthesis. Gs exchange works both ways, depending on gradients.

i guess i can tag along on this thread.its been 2 weeks ive been running this new skimmer and its really getting me frustrated--the skimmate is way to wet, ive been trying various tricks for this particular type and it just wont tune.my daughter says its because i stand over it with a turkey baster plunging water out of the collection cup every half hour what a sweetheart.anyways am i doing harm running this thing if its not operating like it needs to?puff dont seem to mind the micro bubbles--hes probably curious why im over in that corner every half hr also.i did put it in a 5g bucket of water i changed and ran it for 3 days and it worked excellent,so i know it works.should i keep messing with it on puffs tank or move it to my other high bw tank that has a bigger bio load,and just purchase a properly rated 1 for puffs tank?

What skimmer is it?

aquaticlife mini 115

i guess pp my running it is not hurting my baby,he actually likes the micro bubbles but if its not serving a purpose i could use it elsewhere till i get a properly rated one for puffs tank

What size is the tank? SG? I still believe that a skimmer will not work well <1.020.

i did puffs wc moved him up the .002 to a 1.022--obviously this piece of equipment is not for my tank...i just want to know if its hurting him--all water parameters in order.i want to get a bio dome-orb i could use this equipment for that purpose.50$ should of did a little more research.i actually dont have a problem doing wc for puff--i try to skim his uneaten food out -i thought bringing the sg up the .002 would help but no dice on that.my wcs are a system so i dont like to interfer with what i have going on.input very appreciated.

Maybe it's just a crap skimmer?