skimmers

[dexter]

hi, just changing my 400l tank from tropical to marine. cleaned it out, filled it with ro water and salt. got some live rock rubble coming today to go in my filter. do i keep the sponges in with the live rock or just add some rowaphos? eggcrate on order to put in with the coral sand.going to order 30kg of live rock end of week. my main concern was what skimmer to get and when do i need to get it running on the tank. i was looking at the tunze internal skimmer or am i better with a hang on. i looked at the v2 600 but the reviews arn`t good, also i`d have to have a pump in the tank and not sure about this. i`m sorry i`m rabbiting on but fed up at looking at so many different skimmers. i`m sure with the knowledge on here you`ll help. cheers

[Linda]

Have a look at the Deltec MCE600. It's very neat for a hang on, and deltec have a very good reputation for skimmers - no pump in the tank either, and you can pick up secomd hand ones quite regularly.

I would take the sponges out of the filter unless you want to take them out and clean them every few days. If you want to filter particulate matter out, use some filter wool in it (but this will need changing weekly

Sounds like you are off to a good start

[Leyton]

I think Linda has pretty much covered it mate

Deltec are definitely one of the best for skimmers and with it being a hang on you will have more room in your tank
It's really a case of buy the best you can afford

[dexter]

thanks for the advice, 1 thing i didn`t mention is that the tank is a rena , its got a 4 inch trim around the top which means that the water level is 4 inches down from top of tank. if i hang a skimmer on will the pipes reach the water? also is it alright to have the skimmer the same end as the inlet for my canister filter? i want to keep the canister if possible because it gives a good flow around the tank. cheers