Fact or Fiction - Skimmers

[Inflames]

those zeovit skimmers are horribly ugly.

 

[stony_corals]

Follow the threads that Hanmeister listed. There's a reason for the design according to the manufacturer - plankton friendlyness and that they do not remove the good elements....

 

[Inflames]

I see borneman was doing a breakdown of skimmate on a link off one of those sites to marinedepot. Too bad he hasnt eluded to any trace elements in skimmate.

 

[nyvp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9549532#post9549532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stony_corals
Are those ratings by the manufacturer? Again, I don't care what the number say... when I put my hand up against the output from the skimmer, I don't feel air and skimmate being thrown out... The numbers are pretty meaningless...

Yes there is a lot of air blasting out of the cone. I actualy had to add holes to release the amount of air stuck in the top. The rating of 80 litters an hr is from manufacturer to answer your question.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

These are venturi's but different? Are these worth the cash or is there something better for same price?
http://www.fragfarmer.com/BPS-5C-Bermuda-Aquatics-Protein-Skimmer-p-510.html

 

[J4Life]

Eagles I think that the Octopus Recirc 200 would be a much better skimmer than that one for the price. Plus there has been a lot of mods of those skimmers and the individuals are getting some really good output from them. But you could just save your money and go skimmerless.

http://www.marinesolutionsinc.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_35&products_id=74

HTH's some,
Bill

 

[gasman059]

Or just go DD and b done w/o tinkering LOL

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

j4life....the 200 rc is 8" in diameter....is't that a little much for 70 total gallons?
-what do you dislike about the linked skimmer?

gasman....ETSS 600 is too big for my sump though.

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9562211#post9562211 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E-A-G-L-E-S
j4life....the 200 rc is 8" in diameter....is't that a little much for 70 total gallons?
-what do you dislike about the linked skimmer?

gasman....ETSS 600 is too big for my sump though.

Hey Eagles the price to me is more than I would spend on any skimmer. I bought and NW 200 Octopus for my 75 gallon tank and add a 55 gallon sump. However I am not using at all right now and my tank looks the best it has in months. I ran it for a couple of months and it can really pull some skimmate out, but I think I like the skimmerless approach a whole lot better. Plus I feed really heavy. My corals look great and no issues with unwanted algae either. I attribute that to the clean up crew and dsb. Plus I do use carbon.

If size is a concern you could go a little smaller and use the 150.

http://www.marinesolutionsinc.com/c...opus-Recirc-Needlewheel-150/product_info.html

I don't think you can get a better skimmer for the price than the Octopus skimmers but I do like a bargin.

 

[kodyboy]

you could always get the DD octopus.........

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

Which of these would be best?
1. Das EX-1 = $260
2. Octopus DNW-150 Recirc. = $302
3. Euro Reef RS 100 = $288
4. Euro Reef RS 135 = $328
5. Aqua Euro 265 Recirc. = $270

 

[kodyboy]

probably the aquaeuro 265 recirc

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

What's their customer service like? is the mesh mod being utilized on these skimmers as well?

 

[hahnmeister]

I forgot, who carries the DAS?

Im considering a AquaEuro 265 myself...

but I expect I will be modding the heck out of it with a mesh mod and maybe even some larger pumps/ redone plumbing. I may even slice off the top and add a flange so I can actually stick my hand inside the main chamber. I see one or two weak points with this skimmer... the pumps are undersized FWIW (450lph per pump). The octopus recirc 200 (30" high version) is pretty much the same body, but perhaps an easier pump to mesh mod.

The second weakness, and one that the Octo shares (only the 200, not the 110 and 150 though), is the plumbing from the pump to the body. It is small (1/2" on the dual pump and 3/4" on the octo single), and has a 90 degree elbow... this is costing about 50lph of air right off the bat for the Gen-X style pumps, and even with the mesh-mod, this plumbing could be too restrictive to allow for the best performance...

This is the way it should be done (on a Recirc 200 'shorty', as well as how the 110 and 150 octos are done)

with the elbow on the intake, not the outlet.

For the cost of the AE 265 though, Im thinking I can drill it and strap on an eheim needlewheel (ER sells the 1260/1262 needlewheels for $100).

Cant wait until the Aqua-Excels show up though...
http://www.aquaexcel.cn/En_product_view.asp?ArticleID=110
http://www.aquaexcel.cn/En_Product_new.asp

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

hahn.....
1.Which ER skimmers in non-recirc. use Eheim nw's?
2. Which of the skimmers in the post three above yours would be best of that group?

petorama carries DAS...

 

[kodyboy]

eheim needlewheel + octo/euroreef sounds very promising

 

[hahnmeister]

I dont think ER offers a non-recirc Eheim.

The potential of the Octo 200 and AE 265 are about the same, but the AE at reefnut is much cheaper... much cheaper. The bodies are about the same other than the plumbing though. 8" diameter, 30" tall.

FWIW, right now these are on sale, and 28" tall... http://www.protein-skimmer.com/shop...d=36730&merchantid=446996&shop=itemdetail.asp
They have better plumbing (straight shot from the pump), and have a flange so you can get into the body.

 

[kodyboy]

never had one but the orcas look like nice skimmers

 

[hahnmeister]

And they can be made custom... for a decent price and all.

Hmm... I just got an idea... I wonder if I could get an orca made... 8" diamter, 4' tall, with no pumps/plumbing. Then I could just put on my two eheim 1262's with mesh/needlewheels. Hmm....

 

[kodyboy]

why not?