Skimmer for Pico?

[Master Er]

Hi, was wondering if a skimmer was needed for a Pico. Would it skim too fast for such a small (2.5gal.) system? Also, what would be the minimum size for an air driven functional skimmer. Would anyone know the dimensions? Thanks......(i'm planning something)

 

[incysor]

The smallest mass-produced ones I've seen are called piccolo skimmers. They're not the easiest thing to find. Coralife made a clone of it for awhile, but they don't anymore. I've also seen pics of some home made ones that seemed to work pretty well. Personally probably wouldn't bother with one on a 2.5g tank. With that small a tank my bioload would be pretty small, and a half a gallon twice a week water change would be easy.

B

 

[mikeguerrero]

I agree with Incysor.

Mike

 

[leaffish75]

I have one i used on small tanks. it DIY from RC thread. Of course its the only think i used on that tank. honestly though i like doing just water changes on picos.

 

[Master Er]

Well, you guys have a point there....so I guess I'm okay then. Thanks.

 

[Master Er]

Hold on...!!! One last question, okay so i'm making a p. skimmer for my pico... i have tested it and i see micro bubbles everywhere. But, the bubbles dont want to get into the cup. The distance of the cup from the water level at its nearest is 1" and farthest is 1-3/4". I placed it at the closest setting but nothing. Is my air pump to weak? I'm using a regular air pump that came in a set. Oh yeah, another question to add to that...the inside chamber of the skimmer...does it have to be sealed, including the cup? Thats it, thanks....please reply...

 

[drty811]

your cup should be at water level......what kind of air stone are you using?
the chamber doesnt really have to be sealed but you want the air bubbles to stay in the chamber. do you have a cover on the cup? if so it should have a hole for the air to excape. the smaller the bubbles the better the skimmer will work and the slower the the current is in the chamber the better it will work....thats about all i can think of....good luck

 

[Master Er]

The bubbles are deffinitely in the chamber and the cup has tiny holes on top for it to breathe. I'm using a wooden air stone by coralife. There are bubbles going in the cup...I just didnt see them because they were micro, like mist. I tried leveling the cup on the surface of the water but it filled up in less than 10 minutes. So I raised it about less than an inch....mist is what I see. I started it at 2:00 AM and will just leave it and see what happens later in the afternoon. By the way, I used old tank water, will it work with that...I mean would old tank water have anything for a skimmer to skim? And what color should the liquid be....I've read some threads and some say green like green tea while others say brown like dark coffee, while others say its in between both. Which is the real thing?

 

[drty811]

the color should be green...well at least thats the color thats always in my cup.

the old water will work better, has the stuff that the skimmer takes out. my skimmer does do anything for a week after i do a water change.

 

[dragon79]

...With that small a tank my bioload would be pretty small, and a half a gallon twice a week water change would be easy.

B

You should have just gone from this advice and make things easier. Less things running. The water changes will keep things just right. I have a 6 gallon w/ heavy bio-load and I keep up with good amount water changes which keep all of that in check. Also if you put some good red macro algae in there, it'll absorb some of the bad nitrates. (my bro recommends those as well, hence they are in my tank )

 

[Master Er]

Lol!!! I know what you mean...I was just bored again and wanted to do something new, hence the protein skimmer. Anyway, I did scrap the idea as of today. With such a small tank, there probably wont be anything to skim...my skimmer did work, it skimmed the red ink from the marker I used to mark "front" on the cup.

I would like to get some red macro algae but I havent seen any at my LFS since I got into the hobby. I may have to try and order some online...but where?

Thanks again guys...though it was a waste of time on your part...Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

skimmers are an odd beast - very hard to control. microbubbles are one of the most common problems, and not neccessarily bad but not asthetically pleasing either. master e with your skills and tinkering you'll eventially hit that button it takes to get equilibrium between flow and quantity of bubbles that it takes. remember though skimmers need time to adjust and every time you put food, hands, any other oils in the tank everything changes again........... and skimming is reduced (oils mess with the adhesion of protiens to the bubble surface). Me - remember I don't own a pico though - would follow the recomendations of dragon, incysor and others and just change water - you on the other hand - will probably come up with some super skimer - McGyver I mean master er

 

[Master Er]

Hehehe! Thanks for the compliment....I actually enjoy the modding part more than the running tank itself. Anyway, I think it did work, the pump just wasnt strong enough to make the bubbles rise into the cup. I eventually took it apart this afternoon...but your encouragement is making me want to set it up again... :???:

 

[incysor]

I've got the little piccolo on a 10g, and even with 1g weekly water changes it still manages to skim out a cup full of brown gunk about every 2 weeks. And this is a tank that doesn't have any fish in it. Only a few hermits and a peppermint shrimp.

I think you should keep tinkering Master.

B

 

[incysor]

test

 

[Master Er]

Your encouragement is driving me to submission....Heres what happened, I marked a small part of the cup with a red marker to indicate which is the front....after 10 hours of running it...this is what came out. It skimmed out the chemical properties of the ink....is it working?

Skimmed about 2 tablespoons in 10 hours. The cup measures 2-6/8"H x 2"Diam. Just the right size I guess for a 2.5 gallon tank. The thing is, tiny micro bubbles or mist was going in the cup...made me conclude that my airpump was not strong enough for the task. And the water I used, though it was used water from my nano cube, my nano cube doesnt have much of a bio-load....1 fish (fed once a day) and a bunch of cleaners.

I am tempted to try it again with a stronger air pump.....okay then...nothing to lose in trying.

 

[drty811]

if the reds in the cup then its working...you probably dont have enough waste in the water for it to skim...

 

[incysor]

It also generally takes a few hours to a few days to break in a new skimmer to where it's actually producing skimmate. Something about getting enough proteins to coat the inside plastic surfaces thoroughly or something.

B

 

[Master Er]

Well I guess it works then....I tried it again for 3 hours today and again, the water was still pink (1/2 tsp) because of the marker. At least now I know it works but may not use it...if my nano cube wasnt sufficient enough to produce skimmate, what more for a 2.5 that has nothing but live rocks....and soon to come cleaning crew. I would rather use the fuge space as a fuge and just fill it up with live rock rubble and macro algae. Would that be better? What do you guys think?

 

[drty811]

JMO i would just go with the refugium. i rarely ever use my skimmer anymore, ever since my refugium established itself. the skimmer still worked but didnt take out that much slug...it got thinner more transparent then it was almost clear. i took the skimmer out of my twenty and put it on my ten and its back working really good. ive been doing 2gal water changes a week on the ten so i might stop using it altogether. i think some of my corals do better without it, and i dont have to add trace elements as much. its all on what you want to do. either way you should be fine.