prizm skimmer?

[RJAG]

has anyone got one of these that works and how did you manage it. mine's
sump mounted and with 10Gallon fortnightly waterchanges I cannot keep the
nitrates under control. I fed the tank twice or three times a week a bit of
flake and the odd bit of frozen brineshrimp. seems a lot harder to control
with my 150W Metal Halide on.

R

1 common clown
1 mandarin
1 brittle star
2 bubble corals
1 colony of green polyps
1 colony of furry mushrooms.

[Billy]

"RJAG" > wrote in message
...
> has anyone got one of these that works and how did you manage it.
> mine's sump mounted and with 10Gallon fortnightly waterchanges I
> cannot keep the nitrates under control. I fed the tank twice or
> three times a week a bit of flake and the odd bit of frozen
> brineshrimp. seems a lot harder to control with my 150W Metal
> Halide on.
>
> R
>
> 1 common clown
> 1 mandarin
> 1 brittle star
> 2 bubble corals
> 1 colony of green polyps
> 1 colony of furry mushrooms.
>
>

How big is the tank, how much Live Rock? Since you have a mandarin,
I'm assuming you have quite a bit.
I've tried the Prizm skimmers, and, sorry to say, they're total
crap when compared to most others. I would put one on a small FO or
FOWLR tank, that's about it.

billy

[[email protected]]

Do you have any other filtration such as a canister filter or trickle /
wet-dry system? If so, these are possibly contributing to your nitrates
problem. If you have a lot of live-rock, it would be best to get rid of
them. You could keep any canister filter you may have for
chemical/mechanical filtration only - wash the filters weekly to kill the
bacteria growth - but IMO it's probably not necessary if you get decent
skimmer.

IMHO the prizm skimmers are not the best thing since sliced bread! I
carefully added mine to the trash within a week of owning it!

Mark

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[Peter Pan]

I also have a PRIZM skimmer in my 75 gal FOWLR, I have a canister filter
and NP with Nitrates. I do however battle with ammonia: IM in the market
for a new skimmer... Any suggestions?



> wrote in message
...
> Do you have any other filtration such as a canister filter or trickle /
> wet-dry system? If so, these are possibly contributing to your nitrates
> problem. If you have a lot of live-rock, it would be best to get rid of
> them. You could keep any canister filter you may have for
> chemical/mechanical filtration only - wash the filters weekly to kill the
> bacteria growth - but IMO it's probably not necessary if you get decent
> skimmer.
>
> IMHO the prizm skimmers are not the best thing since sliced bread! I
> carefully added mine to the trash within a week of owning it!
>
> Mark
>
> Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.usenet.com

[Billy]

"Peter Pan" > wrote in message
...
>I also have a PRIZM skimmer in my 75 gal FOWLR, I have a canister
>filter and NP with Nitrates. I do however battle with ammonia: IM
>in the market for a new skimmer... Any suggestions?


For a 75 fowlr? CPR. I'd say a Euroreef, but that may be more
horsepower than you need right now.

billy

[[email protected]]

I've been very pleased with my Deltec MCE600 for that size tank. Being in
the UK the availability of models and maunufacturers is a bit different from
other parts of the world, I don't know how far Deltec travel outside of
Europe (if indeed you are outside of Europe).

Mark

[unclenorm]

Hi Rjag,
A protein skimmer will not remove nitrates, you have to
eliminate the source of the nitrates, usualy biofiltration - wet & dry
filters, canister filters, bio wheels, your water supply, over feeding.
The best form of filtration for a salt-water tank is live rock and a
DSB plus a good protein skimmer full stop. The best method of
controlling nitrates and other unwanted neutriants is a deep sand bed
from 4" to 6" a sump/ refugium is a good place to put it, anaerobic
bacteria in the lower part of the DSB (deep sand bed) will convert the
unwanted bacteria to nitrogen which will escape harmlessly to the
atmosphere.
Prizm skimmers have a very poor reputation !!.
regards,
unclenorm

[unclenorm]

Peter,
Ammonia is the start of the Nitrate chain, so long as you
have ammonia present that indicates that your filtration system is not
functioning correctly, if you are relying on live rock (the best
method) then either you don't have enough, or you have been sold none
live rock, or you have little or no water flow through and around your
rock work, or if your tank is a new set-up it has not yet gone through
the nitrogen cycle.
regards.
unclenorm.

[Peter Pan]

I have 75 lbs of LR in a 75 gal tank. I think my problem is lack of
crculation around the rock itself. I just moved one of the power heads and
now I noticed the oil slick film at the top of the tank is no longer there.
The tank is over a2 years old but i recently added 25 lbs of LR a few months
ago..
"unclenorm" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Peter,
> Ammonia is the start of the Nitrate chain, so long as you
> have ammonia present that indicates that your filtration system is not
> functioning correctly, if you are relying on live rock (the best
> method) then either you don't have enough, or you have been sold none
> live rock, or you have little or no water flow through and around your
> rock work, or if your tank is a new set-up it has not yet gone through
> the nitrogen cycle.
> regards.
> unclenorm.
>

[RJAG]

I have a 33 gallon tank almost full of live rock, last time I checked it was
about 40Kg but things don't seem to work too well with the live rock. the
sump is a 36x15x12 tank partitioned off and filled with bio-balls and
ceramic material. the skimmer is in the last chamber but it has to return
to the chamber before it.
the main tank has a 1" bed of aragonite/crushed coral and is left alone to
allow some form of de-nitrification but alas this isn't up to the job
either.
massive waterchanges are all that I can use to control my problem.
the fish etc are on a near starvation diet to control the problem of over
feeding.
I am getting frustrated to the point of quitting.

R

[unclenorm]

Hi again RJAG,
The further info you have given helps a lot,
so lets see if we can put you on the right track to sort out your
problems.
First of you have far to much live, 40Kg is
88lbs, to much is as bad if not worse than not enough. If you intend
your 33gall tank to be FOWLR you need about 50lbs. If you intend it to
be a reef tank then you need about 66lbs. Know your substrate, 1" of
crushed coral and aragonite will not work for de-nitrification you need
about 4" of live sand for that which you could put in the sump if you
so wish.
Now your sump which it would seem you have
turned into a nitrate factory, you need to remove the bio-balls and
ceramic material and sell them to someone that keeps fresh water fish.
Now the next thing you need to ensure is that
you have sufficient water flow, especialy through and around the live
rock, if your going for fish only I recommend that you have a total
water flow into and around your display tank of 450 to 500gall per
hour, If your going for a reef tank I would say 650 to 700gall per hour
random flow.
The other thing you need is a good protein
skimmer, I'm afraid the prizm skimmers are next to useless, you should
be able to trade your surplus live rock for a descent protein skimmer.
If you do all these changes your problems
should be solved, but beer in mind that good thing happen very slowly
in a marine tank, It could take a couple of months for things to settle
down. The bulk of what I am suggesting should involve little spending
unless you need to buy power heads to get the required flow.
I hope you try my suggestions and succeed,
I hate to see people giving up through lack of good advice, I've spent
the last fifty odd years learning the hard way. Let me know how your
getting on in a month or two. If you want any more info feel free to
e-mail me direct.

regards,
unclenorm

[unclenorm]

Hi Peter,
Your ammonia is coming from the new live rock it is
causing a 'mini' cycle I hope!, not a major one.
regards,
unclenorm