Today I’ll be looking at a couple All In One (AIO) skimmers for nano tanks. Specifically, I’ll be looking at solutions for my tank – the JBJ 28g HQI tank. Nano tank purists (like myself) have the mindset that part of the challenge of a keeping a nano tank is keeping your equipment self contained – or All In One. Others will argue that just because you have a small tank, does not mean you have to keep all the equipment in house (some will even go as far as to add sumps onto their tanks – essentially turning their nano tank into a larger tank with a smaller display). The argument rages on, but today I’ll be looking at a couple of skimmers you can buy and use within the rear compartments of your nano tank and still stay true to your AIO roots.
- Tunze 9002 ($145) – It’s Tunze, which pretty much speaks for it’s self. If you do any google searches you’ll quickly find that this a favorite amongst the AIO purists (and other hobbyists that want a quality skimmer at a pretty good price). The major beef seems to be that the collection cup is a weird size, and thus needs to be changed out or modified in order to work with my specific tank (JBJ 28g HQI). You can certainly do your own Do It Yourself (DYI) project – or just bounce over to InTank Designs and pick one up a custom made Skinny Tunze Cup
- Sapphire Aquatics NC24/28 (n/a) -There are several above average elements of this skimmer, and there are also some areas it leaves lacking. Construction is awesome, pump is SUPER quiet, The collection cup fits without any modification to the hood (and is VERY easily removable), price is good for what you get, customer service WAS great (company went out of business). For those of you that missed out, I wrote a more extensive review of this skimmer last week. Just follow the link above and you’ll get the full 411
Next week we’ll be looking at a few more protein skimmer options, this time Hang Off the Back (HOB) which opens nano tanks up to a lot more options and power when it comes to picking a scum kickin skimmer.
