Large skimmer recomendations

[elegance coral]

I'm looking for a skimmer for a very very heavily stocked.... okay.... lets call it what it is...... OVER stocked 300 gallon. LOL I'd like to get as close to 3000 LPH air draw as I can. The skimmer needs to fit in the stand of a Marineland DD tank. So roughly two foot tall, maybe a little taller. I would prefer an internal skimmer if possible. I've looked at the Vertex Alpha 300, but they seem to be hard to find. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
EC

 

[slief]

I just sold my Alpha 300 and upgraded to a Supermarin 250 with the RD3 Speedy pump. It was a very worthy upgrade for my 600 gallon system with 70 or so heavily fed fish. That would be my recommendation to you. Supermarin 250 would probably be perfect and is a very easy skimmer to dial in. Much more so than the Alpha. Also, I think the Alpha 300 would be oversized. It's a finicky skimmer and unless there is a constant supply of dissolved organics, it will knock them down and then slow down substantially until the dissolved solids build back up. It has a really large neck diameter which in my opinion is part of the issue. It proved a bit inconsistent for my bio load largely due to that. Granted I have a healthy refugium, four 7" filter socks and about 1000 pounds of live rock to help export and break down waste but I wouldn't recommend the Alpha for you.

The Supermarin's are one of the best skimmers you can get and I think a 250 would be perfect for you. The 300 is nice but would probably be overkill and it also has a really big foot print. My Supermarin has been incredibly consistent unlike the Alpha.

 

[FFrankie]

Check out the KZ skimmers.
Not cheap but will perform

 

[elegance coral]

Thanks slief.
I was just reading up on the bubble king 300 while you posted this. I'll check the 250 too.
If you don't want to post it on the open forum, could you PM me about where you got the skimmer? It seems to be hard to find these larger, more expensive, skimmers in stock anywhere.

 

[FFrankie]

http://www.korallen-zucht.de/en/shop/products--technology/skimmers/38_revolution-m-skimmer.html

 

[Raoul5Duke]

I just started running this on my 360 gallon tank:

JNS Shark Series 7 Skimmer fed by 2x Modified Sicce 5.0 pumps. The skimmer is rated up to 1,000 gallons, has air intake of 3,000 LPH and 16 inch diameter chamber. I was recommended this skimmer by Drae in the skimmer forum who informed me that it’s the same skimmer as the AquaMaxx Cone 7, just rebranded and cheaper!

So far I am happy with it and it meets the 3,000 LPH you mentioned. Difficult to find, but much cheaper than the BKs

 

[slief]

Thanks slief.
I was just reading up on the bubble king 300 while you posted this. I'll check the 250 too.
If you don't want to post it on the open forum, could you PM me about where you got the skimmer? It seems to be hard to find these larger, more expensive, skimmers in stock anywhere.

I purchased from Premium Aquatics. If you find a better price (BRS), premium will match it and they usually have the inventory too. Since BK is building up inventory at their new facility in Florida, inventory on these skimmers and parts will be much more readily available in the coming weeks. If I were you, I'd strongly consider the SM250 although you could probably get away with the 300 despite the fact that it really would be oversized for your system.

 

[diegoluv]

Those bubble kings are really nice. My lfs uses them on their sps tanks and they always have a nice thick and chunky skim mate.

 

[slief]

Check out the KZ skimmers.
Not cheap but will perform

As nice as the KZ's look, there are next to no users here in the US and non existent support here too. With Bubble King/Royal Exclusiv's new facility in Florida, it's going to be hard to beat their quality and their new ability to support the US market.

I'd go BK over KZ in a heart beat. The BK's are proven to be one of if not the best skimmer vendors out there.