Quote:
Originally Posted by Jenndarlin
I don't know how long you have to be in the hobby to not be a "Newbie" anymore but I still definately consider myself a Newbie. There's so much to know I think i always will be....lol...
I started my system about a year ago but I had been researching the logistics for about 3-4 months before the actual setup. Books; specifically "The contientious marine aquarist" and the Internet were my bibles at first, the staff at OA were later to come but have been invaluable. To me the amount of money that I was going to have to put into the setup alone, let alone then stocking the system was the reason I took the researching aspect so seriously. In everything I read, "Good Skimmers and Weekly Water Changes" was not just mentioned but described in detail. I didn't even know until reading this thread that not doing weekly water changes was an option. I just assumed that if you let it go long enough, everything would die....just another reason i love this site...I always learn something new from every post I read on here. From what I have gathered though from this thread is those who don't do weekly or even bi-weekly water changes and have successful systems are very experienced and have a way better understanding of their water paramaters and what they need to be running/supplementing to ensure those water levels. I think I'll stick with weekly water changes for now. 
I started with a Coral life Super Skimmer 60, which was great in the beginning but has been up and down over the last 6 months and the motor seems to have gone, again, on the pump in the past few days but I don't think I can fix it this time. I now know this wasn't the greatest choice for skimmers and I want to look at something that will last more than a year and do a better job than this one did.
I also started with a large rubbermaid garbage bin with a heater, some airstones and a maxijet 1200 for prepping the water for water changes. I've never tested anything other than the salinity and temp before doing my water changes but I just assume my water is really good as when I take my water in, my tests have mostly been really good and if not, they tell me what to do and it goes right back down. I am now curious to know what the change water tests at.
I do 10-15% weekly water changes which seems to be the standard recommendation among books, the internet, staff at the stores I've been to and alot of people on here. That's more than enough for me and with the amount I've invested in it, the stories of the negative effects of not doing water changes is just not worth it.
Questions: 
1. What test kits for which tests do people use??
I've been thinking of starting to do my own testing at home. Getting to the store weekly to get my water tested just hasn't been feasible lately and I wouldn't mind getting a better idea of the different tests done. I have a cheap test kit I bought at one the big animal superstores in the beginning but i know it's not accurate. So which brand names or test kits, products does everyone use??
2. Skimmers options. What's a good skimmer for 100 - 150gal????
I have a 100 gallon system including the sump but with rock displacement I figure there's about 60-70 gallons of water in the tank (not sure if this makes a difference or not). I have a plan in the works for a bigger system (150-180gal) that I would like to be able to transfer any new skimmer to. I have heard alot of good things about the Euro Reef Skimmers, I have heard mixed reviews about remora's and I've seen alot of things about DIY...but i definately don't think i'm there yet......lol
I sometimes think I ask too many questions but I wouldn't know most of what i do if i hadn't ask lots of questions  |
1. Test kits - I use all of the test kits available from elos. (Ph, Calcium, Iodine, KH, NH4, NH3, NO3, NO2, PO4) I also have test kits from Salifert of all of the previous, in addition i have a copper test kit, a dissolved oxygen test kit, ammonia test, silicate, boron and strontium. The last three i did not buy they were given to me as an apology for a messed up online order. I find most test kits okay...the all in one box sets are fine for starting out, but i've found the elos and salifert a little more easy to interpret the results.
2. Skimmers - this get harder because you are treading a fine line between name, build quality, new technology vs old etc. I recently looked into this in more depth as i needed to get a skimmer (ended up getting three, all euro-reefs - Price was right) I like the KZ Skimmers but the price is wrong, as well as the bubblekings, the bubblemasters i liked as well but i found trying to order one and trying to get a hold of ati was ludirously hard so i gave up (was told their cus. serv. was horrible, and it is) A lot of people are recomending octopus skimmers...xtreme something or other. Again it was a hassle to get one so i gave up
Mostly what i hear about euroreef is older technology, very wasteful energy wise pumps. That sort of thing. I like mine, i would recomend them. People still buy ASM's same performance as a euro-reef i've heard but cheaper. H&S seems nice, but waaay to pricey for me. Deltecs are always bought as well as the PM Bullets. I can only offer advice on the euro-reefs as the only other skimmers i used are so dated or diy'd it would be no use. I liked the picture at least of the foaminator 5000(?) seemed big...easy to impress people when they come over
I do like my euro-reefs but i think if i did not find them used i would try asm if going new. There are many many opinions on skimmers and no real consesus other than you need one...and even that is questioned by some.
One other aspect to remember with regards to skimmers is if you want an in-sump or external skimmer. OR Hang on back type...with a sump i doubt it unless room is a question. Each in-sump skimmer also requires a certain footprint (room in sump) and a certain water level in the sump to operate at peak effiency. So a Automatic top off or at least diligence in topping off helps. External skimmers are usually built tougher, require feed pumps and are more expensive than in-sumps. One other note...some of the better built/quality etc pumps use clear pvc as opposed to cell cast acrylic or extruded acrylic...i like this idea better, but the ones i wanted were out of my price range.