Newbe - Prisim Skimmer help!

[Djjonesy]

Hi All,

Am new to the Marine keeping, so im goin to ask a few questions. Any responses would be welcomed. I recently decided to change my RIO 240 to marine. I have the water, sand and about 8 KG of live rock at the moment. I also have 4 powerheads, 3 that are 980lph. But i fitted a hang on skimmer. Im not sure if its working right. It appears to bubble a little at full power in the "head" of the unit, and there are lots of micro bubbles at this point. If i turn the water flow down the bubbles are just reaching over the told of the "head unit" and the micro bubbles stop. Is this right or have i done something wrong? I filled the skimmer with water and then primed it as instructed, the water filled in the tube and i turned the cap and moved the air line across.
Any help would be great.

Thanks
Dan

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF Dan! About the skimmer, I'm not at all familiar with the Prizm skimmer, but know a few people here use them. Nevertheless, if the tank has just been set up or the skimmer is brand new, it may take some time for it to start producing anything. With most new skimmers, they have a break in period which can be from 1 day to 2 weeks sometimes. Even something as simple as putting your hand in the tank will cause the skimmer to shut down for a while. My skimmer will drop off totally when I feed my fish or put my hand in the tank for atleast 30 minutes to an hour...Hopefully someone will chime in pretty soon though who is familiar with the Pizm skimmer to give you more input. Hope you enjoy your time here man...

 

[jetaero]

Hi,

I really don't think you've done anything wrong, I've never personally got a red sea skimmer to work right... They're not of the best quality. I would reccomend getting an AquaC remora if you could get one, or atleast anything other than a red sea skimmer.

-Josh-

 

[wrightme43]

I used to think the prizam pro deluxe was a great skimmer. I was very very very wrong.
They leak, they dont hardly skim, then they over flow, they are junk. The best possible course of action is to get rid of it. When melted in a fire, they make a nice slag pile. They can also be smashed with a hammer, and yield nice sharp pieces of plastic.

 

[Krish]

When melted in a fire, they make a nice slag pile. They can also be smashed with a hammer, and yield nice sharp pieces of plastic.

ROFL! Ahh...But they are good for something then...

 

[wrightme43]

Ok well I guess they are good for something.

 

[jsmkmavity]

the prism is only really of any use as a means of oxygen exchange. it is too small for your tank, it really doesnt work that well even for a small tank, it wont stay adjusted right, one day you got skimmate, the next you got a cup full of water and a wet floor. if you clean it all the time and shut it off for a half hour each day it might stay somewhat adjusted but its a lot of work and a decent skimmer is not that much more, especially if you find one used.

 

[wrightme43]

Oh yeah, and if you paint them black and nail it to a tree, it should make a good bird house.
Ok now that enough. LOL
I have 3 prizam pro deluxe, and 3 normal prizams. They are junk!!!
I wasted my money. Dont be like me.
Be smart.

 

[Skimmy]

i dont have any fixes for you that dont include a gas can :evil:

that would be a good project for me, take something evil and make it good

 

[Skimmy]

remember the scene in star wars with the trash compactor?
now imagine that room filled with berlins and prisms.......aahhhhhh

 

[Krish]

Oh boy...If Mark says they are junk, then I'd get rid of it! His name isn't skimmerwhisperer for nothing!

 

[Djjonesy]

Thanks for the input guys. I didnt know that Red Sea skimmers werent that great. I got it off the guy who sold me the tank oringally. He had it working with no problems. Perhaps hes just lucky.
Anyway, recommendations and site links would be good for a new skimmer.
Thanks Again.

 

[Krish]

Anyway, recommendations and site links would be good for a new skimmer.
Thanks Again

Do you order from the US because I see you are from the UK? If so, I buy all of my stuff from one of the sponsors here www.premiumaquatics.com I personally have an AquaC EV-120 skimmer and love it! It took some time for me to get use to it and adjust it properly, but no complaints. Also, ASM skimmers as well as Euroreef skimmers are really good buys as well. I'm not sure what you have in terms of space for a skimmer, but I figured I'd name a few that are pretty common in the hobby

 

[Djjonesy]

I cant say that i have thought of getting stuff from the US. It usually turns out to be quite expensive because of tax with the goverment here.
I am goin to the "Marine Shop" at the weekend so i will have a look around there, but i seem to remeber the guys there telling me that Prisms are quite good. This is the only thing that i dont like about starting new hobbies, you never get told the right things lol. Good to know theres a forum full of people who know there stuff
Ive got two Tropical tanks and a Terrapin tank as well but they are no were near as good as the marine

 

[wrightme43]

Cool. I love chiclids as well.
The asm skimmers are awesome for the price. Probley the best value in terms of dollars spent to skimmer performance. Just my opinion though.

 

[Skimmy]

how many gallons is the rio 240?
it sounds like you need a hang on skimmer....
definately look at aqua c "remora" or "remora pro" unless you can to shell out 250 euro for a deltec "mce600" hang on skimmer, those are the best hang on skimmer

http://www.aquapro2000.de/Technique....html?osCsid=38bf3b42762fe3e3828c02241030114b

 

[aquariumdebacle]

The prism is not a bad design, it is just grossly over-exaggerated as to what it can do. Most skimmer manufacurers do this. That is why recommendations usually run two to three times less than stated volumes. The prism's can be used on a twenty or less gallon tank. Let's see that must be about forty liters to the rest of the planet! (I hate Ronald Reagan!) They just are not capable of skimming enough for anything larger. I would recommend the AquaC Remora model as it is a "Hang-On-Tank" model as well. It is far superior and for tanks less than a hundred gallons it is really all that is out there.

 

[Djjonesy]

Hi Guys,
The 240 is a 45 -50 Gallon Tank.
Thanks for all the input. Im a going to run this skimmer for awhile and see how it goes. I got a new external filter yesturday as well and it the water is crystal clear, salt levels are perfect and my cleaner shrimps appear to be having a good time . Just need to get some more live rock when i get the cash together.
The skimmer itself appears to be working. There are bubbles below the "funnel" and theres dirt building up in the collection cup. All seems good.

Thanks for all your help and am sure i will be asking more questions soon.

 

[tankrupt]

Djjonsey, ive got a prism pro and its not bad,once its primed and running close the flow to about 3/4 open the air valve fully, almost falling off , slowly adjust water flow until air bubbles in the body are not more than 1/3 overflowing in the out flow area in the body...use a flash light to see there are very few micro bubbles going to tank. ps these skimmers are very very fussy about tank water height too low it dont go