DIY Skimmer recommendation

J

John_A

New member
Not sure all the info you need to consider but the body itself will be 6 inch acrylic tube standing 18 inches high I am wanting this to roughly skim around a 200 gallon water volume if not a little more so toss me your ideas! :)
 
6" body is way too small, You will need at least 10-12" for that much water volume IMO
Look at all the new Octos they are all 12' diameter in that size range. You can most likely buy a used one for less than what the parts would cost you not counting the time involved plus buying a decent pump is around 200.00+
And without the knowledge of air/flow ratio's it may not even work well after your done.
As cheap as skimmers are these day's that's one DIY i would pass on. JMO
Bill
 
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John,

Orthocardia (bart) has a MASSIVE diy skimmer. it uses a beckett injector. it is about 10" diameter and is about 6 foot tall. it does a decent job, but I think I get more funk out of my MRC than he does.
 
Im wanting a good skimmer in the $200 price range that will be rated for around 200 gal I'll have the 125 plus the 55 sump and would like to have a skimmer that will cover that will a medium to heavy bioload
 
I have read good things about Grey Seas Aquatics skimmers, but even though that one says rated for 100-200 gallons - I would use on 100 gallons, not 200. Maybe a 200 fish only. Buy a good used skimmer, you can find great deals since the economy is still crap.
 
I sold Brandon my DNW200 Octo for 200.00 if i remember right, They are not the latest skimmers but it did a good job on my 300gal system with lots of SPS
Any of the Octo's, SWX or I-Tech if you can find one would be a good choice. The Reeflo 200 with the dart pump is a great choice and there's a guy selling one for 350.00 with the Gold motor on it, That's a steal as new they were around 1,000.00 and will handle up to 400gal heavy stocked IMO
Bill
PS All the people i have seen buy that swabbie thing have them up for sale pretty quick, I don't think they work to well. Like Zack said that one may be good for 100gal but I would be afraid of the no name pump they use.
 
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The cost is in the pump for a good quality skimmer (unless you want one of the new cone skimmers). Buy one with a BubbleBlaster or Askoll 1500 pump IMO. Those things outperform all others from what I've experienced. I'd go with at least a 8" diameter for that size tank; 10"+ is much better and the cost difference is minimal. DIY without a mill is going to be tough because you'd be much better off with a bubble plate. Cone you can probably live without unless you're into the latest/greatest. Like Bill said, deals can be had in your price range (maybe a bit more) if you keep your eyes open. I just bought a 3 pump recirculating DAS EX-3 for $240. It is an old skimmer but is licensed by Deltec and works very well. Good luck.
 
Hello Dave

Hello Dave

cee said:
The cost is in the pump for a good quality skimmer (unless you want one of the new cone skimmers). Buy one with a BubbleBlaster or Askoll 1500 pump IMO. Those things outperform all others from what I've experienced. I'd go with at least a 8" diameter for that size tank; 10"+ is much better and the cost difference is minimal. DIY without a mill is going to be tough because you'd be much better off with a bubble plate. Cone you can probably live without unless you're into the latest/greatest. Like Bill said, deals can be had in your price range (maybe a bit more) if you keep your eyes open. I just bought a 3 pump recirculating DAS EX-3 for $240. It is an old skimmer but is licensed by Deltec and works very well. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Hello Dave, It's certainly been awhile how are you?? Are you coming to our swap?? Also Good advice on the skimmer, There's lots of deals out there and ATI is coming out with a new line with some new kind of Pinwheel that is going to beat them all and they are going to be cheaper than their old line.
Bill:thumbsup:
 
PPPSSSSTTT!!!!!

a birdie told me there should be one of those or even better at the swap in January!

and yes, those are great skimmers.
 
Thanks for that! Only thing is says its rated just for 125 :/ I found a better deal on the one posted earlier its for a 225 gallon tank $275 plus free shipping :D
 
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