Ditching Emperor 280 for Bak-Pak, but I have a couple of Q's

[dconyers]

Gents -
I have a couple of questions regarding my idea to replace my Emperor with a CPR Bak Pak Skimmer. I have had my tank up for almost two years, but am very much an aspiring amateur to the hobby, so any and all help would be greatly appreciated. I have read the recent topic 'Protein Skimmer?' by Andrew, but I have a few more questions. A little bit of background to get started:
*) 42g Hex tank with no possibility of using any sort of refugium or wet/dry due to space constraints (stand is small and already holding ballast)
*) About 5 inches of 'live' sand
*) A huge limestone rock with lots of holes for fish to hide/swim in
*) 250 Watt MH Lamp (10k)
*) 2 Fish - Tomato Clown and Purple Tang
*) Emperor 280 Filter with Charcoal Filter and Nitrate Reducer in the basket along with the normal 'Bio-Wheel'.
*) About 30 Crabs and 15 Snails ("Garf Algae Eater package").
*) Some coraline algae (purple stuff) starting to grow on rock.

My question is this: I have been considering switching from the Emporor to the CPR Bak Pak (not sure if I want version 1 or 2). The rational is that I would like to start adding some corals to my tank in the near future. From what I've read, some/most people feel that a protein skimmer is quite valuable in removing unwanted particles from the water. My question is whether or not the Bak Pak can replace the current biological filter that I have on my system. A few specific questions:

I'm not certain what the charcoal filter does, but will it be problematic if I remove it?

I believe the bio-wheel acts as a home for bacteria which can process the Ammonia in the tank. Will I still need a home for the bacteria or will I simply by using the skimmer to remove this stuff? If I'm on the right track, then will a skimmer also help me better manage my nitrate levels since the 'ammonia stuff' will actually be removed (via the skimmate cup) instead of converted to nitrate?

Finally, I run 'floss' (fine cotton filter) in my Emperor. This was suggested to me in order to keep my water clear. Will I need to do something similar with the Bak Pak or can I discontinue this?

Also, one of the posters("captexas") shared the opinion of adding more powerheads? How many powerheads would you recommend for a 42G Hex and what type of power? I currently have only one Rio 800.

Thank you in advance for any assistance. Also, if this isn't a good move and my money could be spent elsewhere preparing my tank for corals, I would greatly appreciate any guidance.

Thank You - Doug.

[Gin_Tseng]

dconyers just to let you know if you are going to get a CPR Bak Pak. There is a used one selling for I think $70 at Aquatek. It seems to be in good condition, I;m not sure if the rio works or now but there is one there and it also comes with the Bak Paksm pre-skimmer. You might want to call them to see if it is still there.

[dconyers]

justletmein -
Thank you for your quick and quality response. In regards to biological filtration, would the Bak-Pak2's biological filtration capabilities be sufficient enough to remove the Emperor? To my naive eye, it just looks like a bunch of plastic shreddings, which would theoretically give bacteria a place to live, but I question the amount of filtration that could be effectively accomplished. With my canopy, I can only have the Bak-Pak OR the Emperor, not both.

I presume that my 'live sand' is somewhat effective at biological filtration, or am I confused and it's only effective at breaking nitrate into nitrogen bubbles?

Am I correct to guess that my limestone rock is absolutely useless in aiding in biological fitration? Though it's reportedly pourous, I think it probably pales in comparison to the live rock you're talking about.

Another quick question regarding the Bak-Pak2 - Can it accomodate a heater as well, or is that only the Bak-Pak1?

Thanks, doug.

[TexasState]

Your Biowheel could be the sourcce of your nitrate reading.

[Andrew]

I've read that long term carbon use can be detrimental to the health of reefs & some corals (can anyone confirm this, or deny?)

[witecap4u]

I would say, if you have the money,

1.) Get some cured live rock(30lbs or so), and ditch the limestone, or use it as a base rock
2.) Get a bakpak or a prism skimmer, and a powerhead or two for circulation

With the bakpak, you can keep your heater in it, and you can also drop a bag of carbon/phosphate sponge or what ever in it(this is what i am doing).

[Richard]

Hi Doug,
As you can tell from the responses, you have a lot of options here. If it were my tank I would probably go with a Remora skimmer over the BakPak and use a canister filter such as an Ehiem to provide for biological, mechanical, and chemical filtration. I have not used the BakPak with the shredded plastic but have read that it is not very efficient as a biological filter and tends to accumulate detritus over time. This of course would be the most expensive way to go.
My second option would be to just go with a remora pro, powerheads, and plenty of liverock. I would ditch the limestone and go with something like fiji rock. Although the limestone may eventually look like LR it will not provide the type of biological activity you get from real liverock because it is not very porous (I'm assuming this is Texas Holy Rock). I have about 175 lbs of fiji rock in my 140 gal along with a wetdry filter, skimmer, and shallow sand bed and my nitrates stay well below 5 ppm even though I only do small water changes every 2 -3 months.
My third option would be to just keep Emperor add a powerhead or two and just keep up with frequent small water changes and possibly use chemical filtration (poly filter, nitrate/phosphate remover etc.) as needed.

All of these options will work just a matter of your preference. Although I would recommend you use alot of liverock regardless of your choice in filtration.

Richard

Oh yeah, yet another option might be a Skilter filter which is a power filter and protein skimmer all in one. I have never used these so really couldn't say how well they work. Maybe someone else has had some experience with them

[witecap4u]

I used a skilter400(the bigger one) for a while. It did work well as a mechanical filter, and the flow was good, however, as a skimmer, its not the best, better than none, but not as good as my bak pak. I still have it if you are interested, I would be willing to sell it to you. What ever you do, you should get some live rock.

cs