Redsea Prizm Skimmer

Hi Kalib... thanx. From the picture was wondering if its some additional accessory.

Originally Posted by KaLiB

I've been looking for a skimmer for my 2x1x1 tank. In the end, got for myself a redsea prizm deluxe skimmer yesterday, after much consideration. Due to space constraints and reading reviews on the internet, i decided that this skimmer would be a good choice for me.

I won't bore you with all the technical stuff, here's a link to the product itself.

The skimmer comes with a surface skimmer attachment(good for those who don't have a sump) and a filter media basket within the skimmer itself. There's also a bag of activated carbon that comes along with the package. Its good for chemical filtration but i feel that the small size of the basket doesn't make it so suitable for biological filtration unless the tank is very small.

The skimmer profile is very slim and compact. It is good when space is limited. Despite its small and compact size, its skimming capacity is enough for an aquarium up to 400litres. I've attached pics below for your viewing.

Setting up of the skimmer is quite straightforward affair with the instruction manual explaining the necessary steps in detail.

From what was mentioned, it could take 2days for the skimmer to break in. However, just leaving it to run for less than 24hrs, it is already starting to skim organics from the tank but would need more time to fully break in. I would try to get a pic of the skimmate at a later stage.

However, the skimmer produces quite a bit of noise(sounds like a mix of sound from air injection and the pump). This is not an issue for me as i put my tank in the living room. The noise is noticeable from quite a distance especially in a quiet environment. A problem i encountered while setting up is the introduction of micro bubbles to the tank. I left the valve fully open(according to the manual), which caused micro bubbles to enter the tank the moment air was drawn into the skimmer. I believe opening only half of the valve should reduce/prevent this problem. The micro bubble problem can be managed by slowly tuning the skimmer accordingly. Of course, besides all this, the product comes with a hefty price tag.

Notice the small and compact profile, it is hung along the length of a 2ft tank:

A look of it from the side, very slim:

Removable collection cup, already starting to foam:

Another view:

i would prefer the Deltec hangon skimmer instead..

Originally Posted by Oceanus

i would prefer the Deltec hangon skimmer instead..

May i know why is that better than this? Juz curious as i'm researching on skimmer for my future 40cm cube reef setup

hmmm how often u need to clean this skimmer?

is it noise well i think i going to put a marine tank in my room hee hee

Originally Posted by Fei Yi

hmmm how often u need to clean this skimmer?

is it noise well i think i going to put a marine tank in my room hee hee

U mean the collection cup? I clear and clean the cup twice a week. Clean the skimmer once a month. Initially quite noisy as its in my bed room, but now use to it and dun even notice the sound.

[KaLiB]

IMO, for sleeping unless your very particular with sound it should not pose much of a problem. I clean the collection cup and wipe the opening of any skimmate buildup once a week.

Bro how u able to get those black kopi o skimmate? Mine running for 1 mth plus, skimmate colour only like tea colour.

[KaLiB]

You need to slowly tune the water level in the skimmer. Lowering the level is likely to give thicker and dryer skimmate like kopi-o. Sometimes the skimmate is thin due to low dissolved organic level in the tank.

[guppymoss]

used to run a wavemaker alongside my hang on filter on my 2 x 1 x 1.5 feet tank....buying a prizm deluxe soon...

question...will there be a gd amt of water circulation with the hangon filter plus the prizm running together ?? -- intend take out the wavemaker when installing prizm...

[KaLiB]

Both the prizm and hang-on filter contribute little water flow when compared to a wavemaker, I would advise keeping the wavemaker.

The returns of the prizm skimmer is actually rather slow moving after you begin tuning the skimmer.