protein scammers, blah. My LCS has a perfect alternative

[Ballyhoo]

you know, I got the G200 Max, but darn protein scammer, IMHO is a bomb. Constant bubbling over, and error messages. Would only work if I let the release valve out and open. complained to my LCS not the vendor of my system.
I asked him, "do I really need a protein scammer?" He directed me to the back of his store where he has a large 6 footskimmer. He says it doesn't do anything . " there is no skim here, " he said. As for me, my skimmer just takes up a huge space in my sump. I told him I wanna get rid of it and not use it, he said OK buy six of these bars that are already cultured. I had one so he sold me five and a large bag of cultivated water.
I asked about a refugium and he said it will be a much better option than a scammer. Now there's a really nice empty space in my sump Where that scammer was.

 

[Ballyhoo]

keeping the reef matt though.

 

[Mwatts12]

Yeah. Sounds like quite the plan. I’m a huge fan of my protein scammer.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

ok.. wha?

 

[Northern Flicker]

Props for sticking to the bit that long

 

[Ballyhoo]

protein scammers are a money grab. What do they do break down compound waste inti smaller compounds? I guess these porous bars can act as a depositors , for lack of better terms. IDK. I just don't like my protein skimmer right now and my LCS did not disagree with me. I may be Fos no pun intended.

 

[taricha]

I like my skimmer for the aeration even when it is removing almost nothing.
(Some people's skimmers remove a lot)

 

[ryanjohn1]

Them bars are just a big of scam. Same bacteria needed for tank is already in and on the live rock in your tank.

 

[Reefering1]

Sounds like the lcs s the scammer, skimming your wallet/ bank account

 

[exnisstech]

Bars are nothing more than surface area for bacteria to grow. Skimmer isn't necessary but those bars are nothing special
EDIT no skimmer here and no majic bars and the tank is fine. I think you have been scammed JMO

 

[SpyC]

I checked your other threads to help decide if this was a troll post or not. Seems your lfs is not very good. Your tank is new and even the best skimmers won't pull anything out of a new tank. You need proteins in the water for it to skim and hold a steady foam head. It can also take weeks, depends on the skimmer, for it to break it. You will get multiple overflows of the skimmer if you don't have a bioload matching the skimmer's ratings or if the skimmer is still breaking in. Your lfs is keen on improper guidance and selling you snake oil.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Bars are nothing more than surface area for bacteria to grow. Skimmer isn't necessary but those bars are nothing special
EDIT no skimmer here and no majic bars and the tank is fine. I think you have been scammed JMO

This, if anything, yank the reefmat. Most people Don't need them but are hell bent on wasting their money on them.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I wouldn't call a skimmer a money grab. Everyone runs their tank different, nothing wrong with that.

He successfully convinced you to buy more stuff on the spot - thats a good sales guy, thats what I see here.

 

[Doctorgori]

any longevity in this hobby equates to wasted money,
you could have got a Skilter

 

[Sophie"s mom]

you know, I got the G200 Max, but darn protein scammer, IMHO is a bomb. Constant bubbling over, and error messages. Would only work if I let the release valve out and open. complained to my LCS not the vendor of my system.
I asked him, "do I really need a protein scammer?" He directed me to the back of his store where he has a large 6 footskimmer. He says it doesn't do anything . " there is no skim here, " he said. As for me, my skimmer just takes up a huge space in my sump. I told him I wanna get rid of it and not use it, he said OK buy six of these bars that are already cultured. I had one so he sold me five and a large bag of cultivated water.
I asked about a refugium and he said it will be a much better option than a scammer. Now there's a really nice empty space in my sump Where that scammer was.

Every tank is different, as well how each individual maintains their tank is different. Personally, I really like my skimmer for a few reasons. The airration it adds, the gunk is removes, I just like mine. I agree with others on here about the bars just look like they will do what live rocks do, just add to the biological filter. But who knows. I guess time will tell if the idea works.

 

[Reign1]

As many have said and I agree it can take several weeks to "break in" the protein scammer. It doesnt sound like anything is wrong with yours you are just impatient and dont want to wait., in reefing you want to be patient it can save your a headache and heartbreak down the road. Also with that roller matt your tank is likely really clean and there would not be much skimmate to pull out. I had to turn my skimmer way down and restrict the air the first several weeks so it would not bubble over. It is fine now and regularly pulls out good muck.
In reefing there is no "only way to do it" just remember this and try to do as much research as possible.
Good luck .

 

[NanoNana]

SMH. Your tank is what? a month old now? Skimmer won’t do much yet. Just like your reef mat won’t do much yet. Your tendency to discount decades of experience in the month you’ve had a tank is literally mind boggling.
I don’t run a skimmer on my tank. Haven’t needed one yet. I know a guy that runs no filtration at all! He does a 30% water change every other week and that’s it. The only electronics are wave makers and lights. He set the tank up like this from the beginning. Never had a sump or a pump.
No skimmer is not novel just like cycling with fish is not novel just like figuring out on your own that fake plants probably are more trouble than they are worth after arguing with ppl about it, isn’t novel.
There was a better way to announce that you’ve removed your skimmer. Like maybe, “ I keep having issues with the skimmer, I’m not going to run it for a while and see how it works out” instead of the way you chose to present your decision because it really comes across like “hey all you fools who use skimmers have been scammed for decades now.”
Slow down and put your brain in gear before you put your fingers in motion. It’s your tank dude. Run it like you want to.
I stand behind a previous statement that your LFS is not doing you any favors. They are selling you gadgets rather than offering you education.

 

[Ballyhoo]

my scammer is back up and running, only because everything I've read on the Internet suggest they do more good than bad. But the place I went to yesterday was completely different place than I've ever ever been to. Its more a coral shop. i'm sure that this LCS is highly successful, it's owner is probably a bit ambivalent on skimmers. He's more into refuges and other forms of filtration.
Beyond that, I'm a little bit resentful of the amount of space that scammer takes up in my slump.
edit
also, I think he made very little money on the amount of bars he sold me, I was watching him for quite a while and he was making hundreds of dollars of sales on his corals. I should say at between $80 and $200 per head and people rolling in and out of there this guy did not need to sell me any bars.
he also taught me about how to assess healthy coral, by looking at the white fleshy part on each head. Guy knows his stuff.
I don't normally name names, but big thumbs up for kung fu Coral. This guy is like the kung fu dude of Coral. He is the coral whisperer.

 

[VintageReefer]

Unfortunately. And I’m stereotyping. But it happens a lot. Most LFS have terrible advice and if they don’t have a product you need they will suggest something else just to make a sale. If they sell you something that doesn’t work, they will sell you something else to make a sale. Brick and mortar and family businesses need to stay in business and pay the bills. And they don’t have the online market as major websites like tidal gardens or live aquaria. These websites customers are nationwide and they ship to them. The LFS is limited to people within roughly 30 minutes (60 if it’s a really good place) who happen to also keep reef tanks. It’s minute compared to major websites customer base. And unfortunately, many LFS, simply aren’t good at keeping tanks long term. They rotate their stock and keep things a week or two and then it’s sold, or dies, and they make a new order to replace it.

You really should find a coral place that knows what they are doing and still vet that advice with the forum. We have many experienced people here, marine biologists, scientists, engineers, authors in the saltwater scene. Some people have been doing this for decades. We have the current standards, and we know the old ones that work and dont work.

Always double check your info and take it with a grain of salt if the info comes as part of a sale. IE- if you have this problem, just buy this and it will fix it. Pop out the phone and search the forum, google, Amazon reviews etc and see if it actually works

I give advice here, and I have 24 years of successful reef experience. My advice is free and regardless if someone listens or not, either way I don’t profit. If I say you should buy this to fix a problem, I have no benefit or motive other than actually wanting to help. I dont know why your LFS sold you melafix as a dip, there are much better options. My guess is they don’t stock them and sold you what they carry. You should pick up and keep these products on hand in the future as you accumulate more coral:

Lugols solution - for cuts or signs of infection
revive - for damaged coral, cleansing, or as a dip
coral rx - my go to dip for pests

PS I don’t use a skimmer either. Used to, I see the value, they are good, but I don’t have a need anymore. I would never tell someone they are junk or not needed just because I don’t need one

 

[Ballyhoo]

Unfortunately. And I’m stereotyping. But it happens a lot. Most LFS have terrible advice and if they don’t have a product you need they will suggest something else just to make a sale. If they sell you something that doesn’t work, they will sell you something else to make a sale. Brick and mortar and family businesses need to stay in business and pay the bills. And they don’t have the online market as major websites like tidal gardens or live aquaria. These websites customers are nationwide and they ship to them. The LFS is limited to people within roughly 30 minutes (60 if it’s a really good place) who happen to also keep reef tanks. It’s minute compared to major websites customer base. And unfortunately, many LFS, simply aren’t good at keeping tanks long term. They rotate their stock and keep things a week or two and then it’s sold, or dies, and they make a new order to replace it.

You really should find a coral place that knows what they are doing and still vet that advice with the forum. We have many experienced people here, marine biologists, scientists, engineers, authors in the saltwater scene. Some people have been doing this for decades. We have the current standards, and we know the old ones that work and dont work.

Always double check your info and take it with a grain of salt if the info comes as part of a sale. IE- if you have this problem, just buy this and it will fix it. Pop out the phone and search the forum, google, Amazon reviews etc and see if it actually works

I give advice here, and I have 24 years of successful reef experience. My advice is free and regardless if someone listens or not, either way I don’t profit. If I say you should buy this to fix a problem, I have no benefit or motive other than actually wanting to help. I dont know why your LFS sold you melafix as a dip, there are much better options. My guess is they don’t stock them and sold you what they carry. You should pick up and keep these products on hand in the future as you accumulate more coral:

Lugols solution - for cuts or signs of infection
revive - for damaged coral, cleansing, or as a dip
coral rx - my go to dip for pests

PS I don’t use a skimmer either. Used to, I see the value, they are good, but I don’t have a need anymore. I would never tell someone they are junk or not needed just because I don’t need one

The place I went to yesterday, is not the place that sold me the melafic. I just complained to him about the skimmer scammer and he told me instead of that. Try these bars. He told me that his 6 foot scammer, barely gets any skim, I would hope I would never order anything live online. This is the kind of thing I want to touch and see what species bring I home. like I said this guy was making good coin with people rolling in and out of there and paying between $80-$200 ahead of coral. I understand scale of economy and that these websites maybe doing larger business, I haven't been in this long enough to know. But I just dread think to get coral online when I can go to my LCS and look at how pretty they are and choose each particular one I want and talk to a live human being there about each particula coral, take it out look at the flesh around the head and see if it's nice or not .