30GAL Coralife Marine filter with skimmer

[CamoFan]

Good morning everyone,

I recently moved and lost all but 1 fish in the process. In frustration and anger, I got rid of the 75 and now have a 20GAL long tank. Current stock is x2 clowns (mocha storm and snowflake), royal gramma and a yellow watchman/pistol pair. I have a question about the filter in the title.

Is this a decent filter/skimmer combo? I have the skimmer going right now and it's making foam but over the course of the night, the collection cup filled up halfway with very dark green skim. I do have some GHA in the tank right now (tank is roughly 1.5 weeks old) and the diatoms have faded. Live rocks and sand were used along with Dr.Tim's to get the cycle going. No issues so far. Everyone is an active swimmer and eats well but the micro bubbles are freaking them out. I assume the skimmer needs to break in? I didn't use it at first because there was no waste in the tank.

For those that do have this filter or have used it, do you recommend I keep using it or is there something better in the same form factor?

 

[TX_REEF]

if it works well got you, I'd stick with it. There aren't many combined HOB mechanical filter/protein skimmer combos on the market from reputable brands.

 

[CamoFan]

if it works well got you, I'd stick with it. There aren't many combined HOB mechanical filter/protein skimmer combos on the market from reputable brands.

I think the biggest thing I don't like is that it has a filter cartridge but a sump might be impactable given it's only a 20 long. I could be wrong though.

 

[TX_REEF]

I think the biggest thing I don't like is that it has a filter cartridge but a sump might be impactable given it's only a 20 long. I could be wrong though.

I never like to "push" people to get a sump, especially on smaller tanks, but a sump is never a bad idea if you have time time and motivation to set one up. If you think you'd like to go that route, feel free to check out my tank thread - I walk through a very simple DIY sump setup. if you do decide to go with a sump, you can easily use a standard 10 gallon tank to do so.

 

[CamoFan]

I never like to "push" people to get a sump, especially on smaller tanks, but a sump is never a bad idea if you have time time and motivation to set one up. If you think you'd like to go that route, feel free to check out my tank thread - I walk through a very simple DIY sump setup. if you do decide to go with a sump, you can easily use a standard 10 gallon tank to do so.

I can probably make some space next to the tank for a 10G sump, I'll check it out.