Prizm Skimmer.....any good?
- Thread starter tim000
- Start date
If you only have a 15g tank then it'll probably be alright. I had one on my 55g and it was worthless. Personally, I would save up a little more and go with a CPR backpak or a Remora. This is one of those hobbies where any money you try and save up front costs you alot more when you have to upgrade to what you should have bought and throw out your inexpensive solution.
I have a prizm skimmer on a 20 gal. and it works fine, But You cannot be lazy. It does require adjustment almost daily. If you add certain addivites or do a 10% water change i notice mine will produce a lot of wet foam (very dilute skimmate) and has to be adjusted to slow down. After a few hours i need to adjust it back up once the tank settles from the water change. It works well but you have to keep an eye on it. I dont mind because i spend so much time "inside" my tank. But if given a second chance and a few more $$ i would have gone with the CPR back pack.
I have had a prizm skimmer on my 29 gal tank for about 4 months now. I have not had any problems with it, as far as constant readjustments, I clean the collection cup ever few days, it seems to skim pretty well. Once a month i take it apart and soak the whole thing in a bucket of hot water with a cup or so of vinegar. (per the lady at red sea that i talked to) (dont submerge the pump) I did just purchase the new "upgrade kit" it adds a surface skimmer to the input pipe and a basket filter that fits in the output area. i put phosgard in mine.
I am using one now. It does a pretty good job of skimming but:
1-Puts a lot of bubbles into the tank
2-You have to power down and re-prime to clean
3-The design makes it very difficult to clean the reaction chamber
4-I get a lot of salt creep where the collection cup connects to the reaction
chamber
5-Requires constant adjustment
It has some good features and is compact, but I would (and will) get something else.
1-Puts a lot of bubbles into the tank
2-You have to power down and re-prime to clean
3-The design makes it very difficult to clean the reaction chamber
4-I get a lot of salt creep where the collection cup connects to the reaction
chamber
5-Requires constant adjustment
It has some good features and is compact, but I would (and will) get something else.
Well. I have 2 prozms. I like redundance. and they work great. The thing is you HAVE to make sure you keep them cleam. I seldom ever have to readjust them. They do not put excess air bubbles into my tank and to reprime all you have to do is queeze the tube between you thumb and forefinger, and itr will start right up. Attempt did you say that you have a upgrade for yours I would like to get a surface skimmer or can you post a picuture of it so I can see what it looks like. I think for the size tank you are talking about a prizm will work fine and you can get themon ebay fairly cheap. Also you can check with Bigalsonine.com and get them for about 65.00 new
John Wray
freedom75
have you ever thought about building your own skimmer? the cpr is incredibly easy to build. if you can find one to look at, take the dimensions and make one out of acrylic. you could even find other plans for other skimmers online. just a thought.
Good point. There's a ton of DIY info out there. I built a couple skimmers back in the day, and it's enlightening, but I just let the pros build them for me now. A CPR would be pretty easy to duplicate. However, once you've bought all the acrylic, pump, plumbing, etc. the price is probably close to what you can find a used one for. Just don't publish the plans....
I've got one on a 54g corner tank,use to be on a 29g.It works fine and I don't have to adjust it all the time.The one thing I find is mine collects air at the top of the tube that draws in water to skimmer and will lose prim eventually.So once a day I pinch the air tube just like Freedom75 said and the air gets drawn out.As long as I do this it never loses prim,you can see when the air starts to collect there and it takes a few seconds during the time I'm doing my daily checks anyway.This tank does have a low bioload but the skimmer seems to pull out a good amount of gunk.
The PrizmII is better designed than the original. However, I would still go for the CPR backpak anyday on a small tank.
I run a 10 gal nano at the LFS without a skimmer. But, it is a maintenance nightmare.
We change 2 gal/day just to keep the oil slick off the top,
:lol: But what else are we going to do there, sell the fish?
I run a 10 gal nano at the LFS without a skimmer. But, it is a maintenance nightmare.
We change 2 gal/day just to keep the oil slick off the top,
:lol: But what else are we going to do there, sell the fish?
Thanks Attempt. That is what I needed to know . I will look and see if I can find one. I think one would do it I would not need one on both of mine. By the way. I run 2 of these Skimmers but I have a 72 gallon Bow front with a Heavy Bio Load . 2 purc's 1 Foxface , 1 Pink tail Hawian trigger 1 Purple Fire Goby,1 Yellow Watchman. and assorted shrimp and about 12 corals. They both Pull a Heavy load and gunk on a weekly bases. They are working better than the RedSea Burlin hangon that I had and they are much more compact. If you do not mind a little time then they are really good. if you are lazy and do not do daily or weekly maintenance on your tank look else were :lol:
John Wray
Freedom75
Newts, I have found that if you keep the input tube (and the airline tubing) clean it doesnt collect air bubbles in it as much. As i said in my first post, I called Redsea and the lady i spoke to said about once a month take the skimmer apart and soak it in a bucket of hot water with 1-2 cups of vinegar (i use white vinegar) for an hour or so.. it will loosen all the buildup inside the skimmer, to make it more efficient. I usually run a pipe cleaner though the airline tubes and the input tube.
For all you non-believers out there, I realize that i could have purchased a better skimmer, but for my tank its perfect (29gal) and with the addition of the surface skimmer, its even better.
Freedom75, If yours LFS doesnt stock them or cant order them (they were just released this month) I can give you the # for the shop her that has them in stock if you like. It cost me 35.00, but i see it as well worth it
For all you non-believers out there, I realize that i could have purchased a better skimmer, but for my tank its perfect (29gal) and with the addition of the surface skimmer, its even better.
Freedom75, If yours LFS doesnt stock them or cant order them (they were just released this month) I can give you the # for the shop her that has them in stock if you like. It cost me 35.00, but i see it as well worth it
Freedom75@work":js2mrbh7 said:
if you are lazy and do not do daily or weekly maintenance on your tank look else were :lol:
John Wray
Freedom75
I do weekly tank maintenance which includes cleaning my Prizm (origional version). I still have to adjust it almost every day to get a dry foam. Mine also releases very fine bubbles into the aquarium. I think these fine bubbles slowly accumulate in the siphon tube (just past the flow control valve) and gradually decrease the flow until the pump finally breaks prime. I think this is the reason I have to adjust it so often. I wonder if the media cartridge in the upgrade kit could be used as a bubble trap? If so, I think it would slove my problem. I would rather spend $30 on the upgrade kit than buy a new skimmer. :wink:
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
