Skimmer Replacement C130
- Thread starter dgilbert2
- Start date
Orlando-Jeff
Active Member
Got tired of my stock skimmer as well. One day it worked great. Next day it was overflowing. I decided just to not use a skimmer at all. With a tank as small as the 130, if you keep up with weekly water changes, I really don't think you need one. Just my opinion Besides, all the skimmers I've seen that you can use on the 130 are a couple hundred bucks and require some mods.
StevesLEDs
RS Sponsor
I agree with Jeff. A skimmer would do little to nothing with weekly water changes. If you don't do them as frequently, then getting a quality skimmer will definitely be necessary.
I ran a Biocube 29 with no skimmer for about 4 years with no issues at all, until I didn't change the water for 3 weeks due to a back injury.
Jeff
I ran a Biocube 29 with no skimmer for about 4 years with no issues at all, until I didn't change the water for 3 weeks due to a back injury.
Jeff
dgilbert2
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the interesting feedback. My stock skimmer, although noisy, each week does remove quite a lot of thick slim (I run quite dry). This has convinced me not to switch it off, as my view is all that dirt is better out than in 
This dirt is with only two small common clown fish fed once a week and a number of corals on a bare bottom, so the bio load I believe is quite low.
I've looked at the Tunze 9004 and I have seen it does fit in another thread, but really it looks too tight for my liking. Also, when the cup overflows, and one day it will, I'd be worried about water running over the rear of the tank and not back into it! Flood worry!
So not sure what to do, perhaps just got the live with the noise :-(
This dirt is with only two small common clown fish fed once a week and a number of corals on a bare bottom, so the bio load I believe is quite low.I've looked at the Tunze 9004 and I have seen it does fit in another thread, but really it looks too tight for my liking. Also, when the cup overflows, and one day it will, I'd be worried about water running over the rear of the tank and not back into it! Flood worry!
So not sure what to do, perhaps just got the live with the noise :-(
StevesLEDs
RS Sponsor
Try it out with no skimmer for a few weeks. If the water params are off, stick it back in there and see if it gets it corrected. If everything is holding steady, leave it out.
dgilbert2
Well-Known Member
Having run a tank for years without a skimmer, I'm not ready to switch it off to be honest, especially when I see how much dirt it removes each week.
What I did try last night was to extend the skimmer air inlet pipe with a 8" length of air tube. Surprisingly, its made things much quieter, but not totally quiet
Hopefully now this will be much more bearable. The other observation is that with the slight back pressure this length of pipe added, I needed to raise the skimmer gate slightly. This also seems to have reduced the "gurgling" sound.
I'll try things like this for a couple of weeks.
What I did try last night was to extend the skimmer air inlet pipe with a 8" length of air tube. Surprisingly, its made things much quieter, but not totally quiet
Hopefully now this will be much more bearable. The other observation is that with the slight back pressure this length of pipe added, I needed to raise the skimmer gate slightly. This also seems to have reduced the "gurgling" sound.
I'll try things like this for a couple of weeks.