Review on AquaMaxx HOB-1.5 Hang-On-Back Protein Skimmer - Maximized Efficiency for Optimal Filtration by Angela Patra

I started my 36g reef aquarium about 2 years ago. I read everything online and at first I felt like I could save money on a protein skimmer and use it on more coral/fish if I kept doing water changes. Everything was going well and I was having great success until the green algae took control of me. It flowed like a forest and even got to the point of damaging my corals. Now I only have 2 fish and I feed them once a day so my biological load is low. I've been changing water frequently (5g every 2 days), scraping it off walls and rocks and it's still growing in record time. In the end I gave up and went with the skimmer. I need a hob because I don't have a sump and from all the research I could find this seemed the best/easiest. Arrived well packaged. My main complaints about the build were that the instructions weren't very clear and there weren't many YouTube videos showing the build, but it's pretty easy and took about 10 minutes to figure out. On the first run it immediately "shooted" and I only needed minor adjustments to get the amount of skimming I wanted. Within 2 days the bowl was half filled with so-called raw sewage and after a month my algae problem was completely gone. I had a power outage and when the power came back it started up smoothly on its own (but you have to use a surge protector). My only complaint while working is that the return pump pumps out quite a few microbubbles. They make a product specifically for this problem, but it's a bit annoying. Overall I am very happy with this product and definitely consider it a must have for any saltwater aquarium.