The Puffer Forum

I've been doing a lot of research on equipment for a marine setup but the more I read, the more confused I become. I know a lot depends on what I'll be keeping in my tank. I don't want to go bankrupt buying equipment I don't need, so I need to know what I do need.

I have one GSP in a 30 gal tank. He's about 3 inches long now. I don't plan to bring in any other animals. The sg is 1.019. The plants are artificial, with a few resin decorations. The substrate is sand. The tank is cycled, running for at least six months now. I have no interest in live plants, corals etc - just a simple setup for one puffer. I have two HOB filters, each rated for 30 gal. Now I'm noticing the water is cloudy no matter how many water changes I do. There's also more algae growth. I'm guessing this is because I'm using freshwater filtration in a salt water tank.

I know I need some sort of skimmer. I don't know if live rock is required, or whether I need a sump (I guess that depends on the type of skimmer?). So, what do I really need for this setup? What would be the most economical solution?

You need a protein skimmer, HOB is fine & 1 1/2-2lbs live rock/gallon. You must be sure the live rock is cured.

Pufferpunk wrote: ↑Wed Jul 25, 2018 6:57 pm You need a protein skimmer, HOB is fine & 1 1/2-2lbs live rock/gallon. You must be sure the live rock is cured.

Thanks for the info! Do I need to add both to the tank at the same time or should I add the skimmer first?

Start with the skimmer, you may have to cure the rock. Look up how to do that.

Yup. I was looking for rock today and at the same time I looked up how to cure it. I found a couple of local reef supply shops that carry cured rock.

I bought an Ehopps PSK-75H skimmer second hand and installed it today. I downloaded the manual and watched some YouTube videos to figure out how to set it up. It seems to be working (though not skimming much yet), I hope it doesn't end up flooding my floor!

I moved one of the freshwater HOB filters to my other (slightly brackish) tank. The other is still in my puffer tank. Should I remove it now?

I will keep an eye open for cured live rock.

The tank is still pretty cloudy. I tried a 33% water change and it made no difference. Will the skimmer clear the water? If not, how else can I get rid of the cloudiness?

Is the skimmer foaming?

It has bigger bubbles in the top collection chamber and the microbubbles below that. Overnight it has pulled some blackish green skimmate, so I think it's working now. I was fiddling with the water level setting yesterday so it would look similar to the ones I saw on YouTube. On the video they said to keep the level of microbubbles just at the bottom of the collection chamber.

Great!