Smitty's 40 Gallon Breeder - I miss this tank :(

I'm planning my next piece of equipment. I am thinking of getting the Hydor Koralia Slim-Skim Internal Protein Skimmer. What do you all think? My current shopping list consist of:

36" 156W (4x 39W) T5 HO Light Fixture Extendable Series
GFO Media Reactor Kit w/ Maxijet 1200
Hydor Koralia Powerhead 680 gph
Odyssea WP1000 Water Pump
eshopps overflow PF-300
50 Pound box Key Largo Rock

 

I'm thinking of changing the protein skimmer to the CPR Bak-Pak 2R+

CPR seems to make a quality product as well, and I haven't really found anything negative about them as of yet. Seems to be a solid product, and I only have a 40 breeder.

 

I just bought some Boyd Chemiclean Red Slime Cyano Bacteria Remover tonight. I started using it just about 10 minutes ago. I've heard a lot of good things about it. I will post updates as I start to notice any differences.

 

Was there something that turned you away from the Slim Skim? You seemed to really like it, from my review.

I've never used the CPR BakPak, so I can't really comment on that.

 

I'm still up in the air about which one to get. I have read good reviews on both models. I guess you could say nothing has really turned me away from it, just doing more research is all. I really like both models. I like that the slim skim is rated for more water volume than the BakPak is.

Edit: I guess the difference in volume is only about 5 gallons, so not much difference there and the price difference is only about $18. I will most likely be going with one of these two models though.

 

Id go light fixture first, since you are thinking about a monti
And why are you thinking about more rocks, may I ask. (sorry if I missed anything)

 

I am wanting more rock because I would like to get a ratio of at least 1 pound per gallon. Right now I only have around 20 pounds of LR.

 

From what I read and researched, the 50lbs of DRY rocks are a LOT of rocks for a 40B. Unless you want extra on the side, the rocks might become as much as 75lbs of worth of live rocks. Just my 2 cents
(By the way, I just ordered some dry rocks too, since I dont have enough rocks in my 90 either.)

 

I will have to look into that, but 50 pounds should only be 50 pounds. I don't see how it would end up being a total of 75 pounds. From what I have read, some people even recommend 2 pounds per gallon.

 

No no, if you add 50lbs of dry rocks, they will become 75 maybe even more pounds of live rocks equivalent after they absorb water and whatnot. I was told and I have measured myself that it gave me like 2/3 dry/wet rock ratio. Of course it all depends how porous they are, roughly that ratio.