Quote:
Originally Posted by bobboman  My questions are what is this white stuff floating on the surface? And will lowering the water level help? And do i really need a protein skimmer to get rid of all the white stuff? |
Oh yeah, I forgot about the Protein
Skimmer question. Let me blather on some more...
Do you need the Protein
Skimmer for the white stuff? I think your
LFS was trying to arrive at a quick answer and possibly a quick sell. The short answer is - no. Will you eventually need a Protein
Skimmer to help pull excess nutrients/proteins out of the water? The answer is probably, and if you want to minimize
nitrate accumulation - most probably.
The main problem is that your
LFS got you to buy a $30
skimmer. They probably carry the Fission because it is an impulse buy for those who are not familiar with
skimmers. At the risk of sounding snobby, the sight of the Fission
skimmer on an
LFS shelf is one sign (to me) of the credibility of the
LFS.
IMHO, there is no way to build a decent
skimmer for $30. I have also read several accounts that the Fission
skimmers are finnicky and fiddly and have really watery skim...and the collection cup is tiny. I have also spoke to one retailer who admitted that they were going to stop selling the Fission because they have had so many customer complaints.
YMMV, but the same $30 would be better spent toward a second hand Remora, Tunze or other well-built/efficient
skimmer.
