Refugium or Protein skimmer?

Hey everyone! Once Again im new to this and am currently cycling a new 20 gallon tank and I'm not sure wether to get a protein skimmer or a refugium with a protein skimmer attached, and do I have to get a powerhead/pump for them? What about this: Refugiums


Thanks in advance!



-M

 

What fish are you planning on keeping? Any corals? what type of lighting?

 

Planning on either a pair of clowns and some firefish/dragonettes and some cleaners. And soft corals mostly, anything I can put under two T5's, I'm thinking about upgrading to four though. I have a double 22" fixture now.

 

I don't know about the quality of the skimmer but that is a great idea. You will want to get a light for the refugium to grow macro algae.

 

Well many people will disagree but you do not need a protein skimmer. If your parameters are in check you should be fine. A refugium can help a ton if you are planning on getting the dragonettes though.

In my opinion I would go with the refugium for now and then later on when you have more corals I would get a skimmer

 

A skimmer would be nice however with a tank that small I dont think you would really need one. I would add a fuge, and then if you decide you need a skimmer later on you can use a HOB on the fuge. I just think the fuge would be more beneficial now.

 

Well I think I'd get that combo linked above if I got one cause I don't have an extra $200.00 layin around for a refugium, but $60 sounds good to me haha

 

Not a cheap hobby, is it?

My only advice would be to do it right the first time. If not, it ends up costing so much more in the long run.

You could likely piece together a good second-hand refugium for little more than $60.

 

i use this, best 80$ ive ever spent for the tank,,i can take pics it you want...i got mine off ebay..i was real weird about buying something "cheap" but it has the same specs as the cpr one, exact, i checked it..and when i saw my friends and how well the skimmer worked i bought it asap, i couldnt believe how well it worked..and i have never bought any cheap piece of equipment for my tank..so the pump may go out, but hey i got an extra 200$ in my pocket and can buy a 30$ pump when time comes...i strongly recommend this product..

oh yeah and a cpr bak pak 2 reef skimmer was replaced by this if that says anything about this product..

 

Thats a pretty cool idea, but i would look for someone who has experience with something like this, maybe do alot of reviews and such, but i would eventually get a skimmer, im not sure if you would need one right away, but maybe a few months down the road pick up a skimmer, they have some pretty good used ones on the for sale section of 3reef!