Advice needed to choose skimmer

[pszemol]

Hi, I am currently running 58 gallons reef tank, DSB with 10 gallon sump with a hang-of-the-back SeaClone skimmer.

I have there quite a large hepatus tang, two adult maroon clowns, large bubble-tip anemone and royal gramma. Some inverts and corals, too... Mostly soft corals, mushrooms, buttons, etc.

I am constantly battling algae growths of different kinds. Have been using phosphate removers recently to get rid of reddish cyano but while cyano is gone with phosphates at 0.05 I still have heavy&ugly brown growth on almost all surfaces - algae forever, no luck! I have limited feedings to minimum - tang is swimming with colapsed belly already, but it does not work at all.

I will do water change, clean the rocks/walls, but after couple of days everything is ugly again...

I think I need to upgrade my skimmer to get down with nutrients. Seaclone removes a lot of gunk, but frequently gets clogged and requires cleaning and adjusting frequently.

My under-the-tank cabinet is about 24" 1/2 high. Sump is currently a simple 10g AGA tank, but can be replaced for something more sophisticated to suit the new skimmer. The return pump is QuietOne 3000 (about 700gph submersible).

What will the best suited skimmer for my bioload and size of the cabinet ? I need it to be reliable, not requiring frequent cleaning and adjusting and must remove a lot of gunk from the water, of course... I would prefer it fit under my tank inside the cabinet but if I have to go with HOB type I will.

Please advice,
Thanks!

 

[chevegan]

I don't know how much cash you have to get this but this is a post I just put on another guy asking a skimmer question.

"If you really don't have the money there are numerous skimmers out there that will work well till you have the money down the road. The Typhoon from Trigger systems is great for 67 bucks but you need an outside collector of some sort. If you can though spend a 100 bucks and get a Pacific coast/Octopus Any of these will be good "

 

[sjm817]

I'd get a bigger sump than the 10G if you can.
Stick with an in sump skimmer. They work better than HOBs and there is a much better selection.

What is your budget? Here are a couple
Euro-Reef RS80 "promo" model $180
Octopus NW150 $140

 

[chevegan]

I agree, but as usual it comes down to what's in your wallet lol. Oh forgot,if you MUST have a HOB the coralife superskimmer is cheap and nice

 

[pjf]

Tunze 9010

Tunze 9010

If you have a small sump, a compact skimmer, such as the Tunze 9010 will fit. My 9010 collects a cup of wet skim daily. It is still fairly new and I plan to adjust the air intake for dryer skim in the near future.

The Tunze has made a world of difference. My water is clearer, the nuisance algae has slowed, and the cyano has stopped. With a good skimmer, I believe that it is possible to starve nuisance algae and cyano into submission.

 

[pszemol]

Let's put budgetary considerations aside.
Please recommend the best skimmer available for my tank/bioload/stand - let *me* worry about the cost of purchasing it later

Remember, I have only 24"H cabinet. I have checked some skimmers before and they were 27" or more of high.

sjm817:
What sump would you recommend to buy?
My cabinet opening is about 23" 7/8 x 17".

 

[sjm817]

The 24" is workable, Most skimmers need very little extra height to remove the cup. That RS80 is 22" high.

I dont buy ready made sumps. I make them out of a standard aquarium as do a lot of people. You just need to add in some baffles.


You posted the opening size, what is the footprint inside the stand that you have available?

 

[pjf]

Among AGA standard tanks (http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/standard.shtml), only two will fit through your cabinet opening:

10gal Leader 20x10x12
15gal High 20x10x18

Some sump skimmers, such as a Tunze, will require a platform if the water level is above a foot high. Therefore, I would stick with your 10-gallon sump.

Although the Tunze can be suspended with a bracket or magnet, I understand that it is stronger when configured to rest on a platform or on the bottom of the sump.

 

[chevegan]

If money isn't an issue then http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=22 is an awesome choice.

 

[sjm817]

You can fit a larger sump in through a cabinet door opening. I would use a 20 Long (30x12x12) or a 20H (24x12x16) under it.

For the Skimmer, stick with a needlewheel skimmer. The Euro-Reef RS80 would be a good one for that size setup, the Octopus NW150 would also work well. Another to check out, especially if you want a very quiet skimmer is an H&S 110-F2000.

 

[pszemol]

Thank you for suggestions about the skimmer... I would like it to be quiet, too

The space in the cabinet is a bit less than 36"x18" (this is 36"x18" tank) and it will be hard to imagine squeezing there any bigger sump than the door opening. I do not want to disassemble the tank. There are couple of 50# bags of sand there on the bottom, so even if I pour the water out it is still way too heavy to move. The tank sits in the corner of the room, so back and right walls are touching the room walls.

I was thinking to trim 1/8" of the opening walls (they will stay behind the doors) to fit AGA 20 gallon high which is 24" long. What do you think about this idea ?

 

[sjm817]

The 20L would work fine. I dont think it would be too hard to get a 30" long tank in either. Put it in the long way and turn it in. Like putting a couch through a doorway. For quiet, the H&S or Tunze would be the way to go.

 

[pszemol]

I am looking at the design of the H&S system and I see nothing special compared to my SeaClone skimmer.
What is the secret here ?

Maybe my old SeaClone could be upgraded with a needle-wheel impeller for its MaxiJet 1200 and will run more efficiently with finer bubbles ?

BTW - what strucked me is the low high of the H&S systems. It has to impart the air/water contact time. Maybe the good way would be to forget about putting skimmer in the sump area, and put it behind the tank using whole cabinet+tank high instead ?
Skimmer narrow but tall like this could provide very long time for the air/water contact and maybe it would work better ?

Anybody experimented with DIY 5-feet tall skimmers put behind the tank ? I could pump water from the sump, mix it with air bubbles down in the sump area, squirt it into the tall skimmer collumn and have the outflow running to the tank, like HOB SeaClone is doing now...

What do you think abour this idea ?