A tale of two skimmers.

[Mark Bianco]

Hi Roger,

I acquired another tank over the weekend and was looking for a little advise on skimmers. The tank is a 40 gl cube type 18 deep x 24 width x 24 tall sump-less. I intend on keeping mostly SPS, clams, 3 or 4 small fish, and a carpet anemone.

My original plans were to go with a HOB skimmer but after reading the reviews most all suffer from noise issues. I need a skimmer with the following requirements. Quiet as possible!! not too finicky, small footprint, and possibly capable of a mod to add a drain tube to the collection cup, as I am not not home for a week or two at a time.

The ones I am looking at are the 9001 and the 9004 either the standard or the dc model. Although most reviews are good for either model the 9004 has better overall ratings. WHich one of these or something else do you recommend, and why?

Thanks in advance.
Mark

 

[smatter]

I'd go with a 9004 DC on a 40g SPS tank. They really are unobtrusive tucked neatly into the corner of the tank. The surface skimming works brilliantly and it's much smaller than most overflow boxes. The 9001 would be undersized for your application.