Upgrading and Skimmer

Hi All,

As some of you may know I'm thinking (and hoping) to upgrade my tank soon. I've been looking into skimmers today and found the Vertex skimmers. What do you guys and gals think about that brand?

Also, quick question about heaters. Is it better to have two heaters or one? And if it is two, should each one be rated for less gallons than I actually will have? Won't they get too hot or something if they are both for the amount of gallons I have....(did that make sense?)

Thanks!!

 

It is better to have two. They should both be rated for just a little bit more than half the gallons you have. The reason for this is simple redundancy. If one heater sticks on the other will not come on and the one underpowered heater won't have enough power to overheat the tank two bad. If one fails and doesn't come on the other should be able to keep the tank warm until you notice the failure.

 

I really like my I-Tech cone. It's really pulling some serious junk. The Octopus XP 2000 is also a very nice skimmer. I don't know much about the Vertex skimmers.

As for heaters, I really don't trust them unless they're on a controller but they're a necessary evil. My stealth shut down and wouldn't power on anymore, usually it's the opposite and it cooks your tank. Titaniums are the way to go, on a controller (won't break), Azoo / Finnex are good. Finnex has their own controller, or if you want to, just buy the element and use a controller such as a Neptune Systems or Digital Aquatics tank controller.