Comline skimmer

[burt]

I've just brought a new 3130/2 comline skimmer,could anyone tell me the differences between the new DOC skimmers and the old Comline? as when i brought it i didn't know it was a older model,although i did get it very cheap. I am now wondering if it was a good
buy.The model i have also comes with a different pump, supplied with,it is a 240.04 which is the pump out of the 3140/2.After purchase the guy said this would upgrade the
skimmer,meaning i got an even better deal.Its still under warrenty but i dont know if i should take it back to tunze or not.any advice would be appreciated!!I haven't set it up yet as house move pending so i not sure if it will work. Thanks
burt

 

[rvitko]

The 3130/2 basically works like a 9010 on in tank mode with the shutter closed, it is a more passive plankton safe skimmer on a smaller tank (less than 120) or low load it should be fine, the bigger pump would give it more power.

 

[burt]

I was told it would be fine on 150gal tank,so what size tank would it be rated for with the
larger pump? will it work as well or any better with this larger pump?
thanks for your help
burt

 

[rvitko]

I think it can do a 150 with that pump. It really depends on what you keep, it probably won't cut it for a full blown SPS tank, things will live but the nutrient load will be enough to prevent the SPS from really being colorful. For most anything else it will be fine.

 

[burt]

rvitko,thanks for reply.
I was planning a sps system around 125gal with large refugium,keping 3 larger fish and 4 smaller.Would this be O.K? Obviously i would want the sps to be as colorful as possible and nutrients kept to a minimum so would I be better off with a larger skimmer,or another brand. I would like to keep the tunze as i love the concept of them being plankton friendly,but not at the expense of uncolorfull sps.
much appreciated .
burt

 

[rvitko]

The problem is the plankton friendly concept does not aggressively skim the water. The SPS will be healthy and grow but that skimmer cannot strip the water so much that the brown zooxanthellae are kept to a minimum and the bright pigments show through. You really need a big needlewheel type skimmer to do that. I can tell you this, the local store has a reef display tank and it had been running a 9020 DOC skimmer, the tank is 180 gallons. The SPS were doing OK but only the tips had any color. The LPS though and a large ritteri were thriving. Last September we got a prototype 9440 Master DOC skimmer for MACNA. We hooked it up at the shop on the same tank. In a few months the SPS were dramatically more colorful but the anemone declined and eventually died. The LPS also don't expand like they used to. It really depends on what you keep. The good news on the anemone is that, while that was my 6 year old ritteri, he had split about 9 months ago and I have the clone at home in a 58 with a 9010 skimmer. He is doing great, that is the problem when people rate and compare skimmers, what works great in one setting may be not so good in another.