Best skimmer for 10 gal nano

[mharris7]

I was thinking of adding some kind of small skimmer for the 10gal mentioned here: http://www.maast.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=4319

I haven't done a lot of small tanks - do you guys think a skimmer is worth while? I've been considering things from the Red Sea Prism to the Red Sea air powered skimmers you buy at Petco, or those Queen Turbo skimmers you see on Ebay for about $40. I was thinking of something HOB, to take up less real estate, but lemme hear your thoughts.

-Mike

[alexwolf]

Bak Pak? Or maybe a Remora? I have a Bak Pak 2r on my 7 gal nano

[kaiser]

Red Sea Prizm. Get one on ebay for about $50.00

[matt]

Ditto on the prizm; I doubt if a remora will fit, and for a 10, the prizm works fine. Maybe the best thing about a skimmer for a 10 is it really helps with O2 and ph issues. You'll get some skimmate, probably not much. But, I still think it's very helpful for the stability of the small system.

[TexasState]

Say NO to noisy Prizm! Get a Bak Pak if you need to use a heater for your tank. Otherwise, stick with Remora.

[kaiser]

I been running a prizm for several month. No noise at all. You just have to hook the airline into the cup.

[adamRS80]

I have both the Prizm and BakPak on my tank and in my experience the BakPak is much better. The Prizm does make more noise even though neither are obnoxious. Other than having to clean the Rio's venturi every once and a while you can't go wrong. I put a Rio 800 RVT on mine and it's got more flow and seems to work better than the 600. Point is that the prizm is impossible to clean, isn't built as well, can be difficult to adjust, and doesn't have much flow (although suppposedly more efficient) so in a small reef you might like the flow from the CPR. I would say consider air driven because I got one from Vinh and it works really well but since you want some water flow you won't get much out of the air driven ones, plus they're really not cheaper when you buy a decent air pump and replace wood airstones all the time.

[TexasState]

Kaiser,
I have went through two Prizm b4. I actually read the manual, they're too loud for me to even want to look at my reef tank. They are very good at skimming if it's adjusted right. But the adjustment process is too sensitive. Set it wrong and the cup will flood with water.
---------
If you change water in your 10G weekly, or twice a month, you shouldn't really need a skimmer.

[mharris7]

Stability is always a good thing.

I used to sell the Red Sea Prism skimmers - my opinion of 'em was that they were actually ok little skimmers. All the ones I saw that were loud usually had a crimp or obstruction of some kind in the air line. As many as they crank out I could see a couple having issues though.

I actually thought about one of these too: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2382476806&category=46 313

I know it's kinda cheesy looking but a couple of folks on RC say they actually work ok.... only thing is that it is an in tank design - might take up a little room.