new here.... got 6 billion questions

[liv]

Hi,
I just joined this forum.

nice site, full of info.,.. and more importantly.. in the region!

I am building a reef aquarium. I'm at the stage of building my protean skimmer. I am thinking of choosing forced air bubbles over ventury.. is this a mistake. Its just much easier.. and looks about the same in filtration qualities.

also, where is the best spot to shop for pumps, filters, etc ?

also, any air pump I should be looking at ?
All i'll most likely ever use it for is for the air rock in the protean skimmer.

thanks in advance,

Liv.

[vpilieci]

A downdraft skimmer is better than either venturi or forced air... it's easy to build. You can fin dout more here...

http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa052200e.htm

[liv]

Hi,
thanks for the reply !

I was wondering, do you have to clean the bio balls once in a while ? and if so, how hard is it ?

also, how big should be the tower ? height and width ?
I got a 130G tank.

I need 5 to 6 turn around per hour.
I found that the laguna 3000 or 5000 model might be what I need.
how can I calculate the power lost when pushing the power backup.
is there an easy calculation.. like 1" tube x feet = 50gph less



thanks

[vpilieci]

better instructions...

http://www.aqualink.com/marine/downdraft.html

And while I disagree with his hypothesis of counter current versus downdraft... you can find a lot of good info about flow rates here...
http://www.hawkfish.org/snailman/skimmer101.htm

P.S. you don't need to change (or clean) the bio-balls unless you are noticing that algae is slowing down the flow rate.

vP

[vpilieci]

Oh, regarding in/out... many people have a bigger return than intake... IE: a 1.5 inch intake and a 3 inch return... this should keep the flow moving.

[liv]

i'll keep this in mind.
so as for the pump,anybody got a favorite to suggest ?
as of now, my best option seems to be with a laguna 3000.
it pushes 1200gph but with about 30% loss over transport.. I should end up pretty close to the magic number.