Need skimmer upgrade advice

[ai-reefer]

I have a 120 reef tank, mostly soft corals for now, i'm slowly starting to add more corals and i want a better skimmer.

I have Aqua C Urchin Pro which is not doing its job.

The problem is that i have really small space to work with. The Urchin is really small so it fits. There is some space outside the sump.

Inside the sump 12.5"L x 7.5"W x 29"H

Outside the sump 22"L x 12.5"W x 29"H

I might be able to get something where the pump goes in the sump and the skimmer stays outside.

What do you guys think i should get?

I'll post a pic of the sump in a couple of hours.

 

[sandalscout]

I THINK that size foot print should allow you to run at least a DNW150 Octopus, but if you can get a DNW200 in there, I think that'd be a great fit. A few of us are running Octopus DNW skimmers, and I've not heard any of us say one bad thing about them.

 

[ai-reefer]

omg the measurements on that DNW 200 are so close its freaky..

I'll have to go with the 150

Specifications:

- 5.85" Diameter
- 26.52" Tall
- Equiped with with needle wheel impeller recirculating pump
- - Requires additional feed pump with gph rating at approx. 1.5 times volume of your system.
- Recommended for aquariums up to 185 gallons
- Footprint 7" x 15"

That should be a perfect fit.

 

[sandalscout]

You might look at the newer DDNW150, the 150 MIGHT be pushing it on a heavily stocked and well fed 120, but then again, it's a bit large on my 90, so it may be just a perfect match. I think that the DDNW150 might be a slightly better fit, or at least err on the side of caution, especially since BRS is selling it for only $20 more than AquaCave is selling the DNW150. Honestly, either would probably be a fine fit, and if needed, you could go with the newer style pinwheel to get even more foam, but with such a little price difference, if you can fit it, the DDNW150 looks pretty sweet!

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Prote...topus-Recirculating-Skimmer/product_info.html

 

[NeveSSL]

The DDNW150 would be nice for sure. FWIW, Matt, all of the new ones come with the new style pinwheel.

So aireefer, I would personally definitely recommend the DDNW150 if you're planning on having it well stocked, maybe the DNW150 if not.

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

Oh, and Emerald Bay will match any of the online prices on the Octopus skimmers, FWIW.

Brandon

 

[ai-reefer]

wow that is nice. I had a budjet of $300 so it is almost perfect.

Is the new one bigger? it looks bigger than the older one.

Is it safe to have those pumps hanging like that? I would think it would put stress on the acrylic. Looks really cool.

Does Emerald Bay match the price including tax?

Also i only have 29.5" of space and the new one is taller than the old one.

Do you guys think i will enough space to fit the new one 27.25"

THe new one says its rated upto 350 and the old one is 185

Allows the user to input the exact amount of water desired to be skimmed.
Requires a feed pump or plumbed from an overflow to inject water into skimmer.
Needlewheel pump driven.
2 OTP 2000 pumps at 500 gph each included.

In sump or out of sump.
High performance venturi air injection system.

Rating: Up to 350 gallons.
Diameter = 6" Height = 27.25"
Footprint= 16" x 7"
New pinwheel impeller increases the performance by 30%.

 

[sandalscout]

Branden, I forgot that they were actually shipping them with the new pinwheels, only time that might be an issue is with older stock that has been sitting for a while.

The diameter of the DDNW and the DNW is the same, and I think that the height is due to the more dense foaming capabilities, but I don't think it'll be a problem. The collection cup fitting is different on both of the pictures above than on my own, but it should still be a union style fitting and thus only needs maybe 1/4" clearance to get the cup off.

oh, and it's funny that you mention the pump orientation, my instructions actually show the pumps hanging off the side like the DDNW (which would save some room on the dual design) so my single pump is hanging in that fashion as well. Brandon is running his the other direction, with the pump resting on the base plate. Honestly, if you are careful while mounting it, it should not be any problem at all. The unions are more fragile than the acrylic body, and they are pretty tough. The weakest part of the entire skimmer, at least in my experience, is the air inlet elbow fitting, I tightened mine too much and cracked it ever so slightly. I siliconed over it and it held fine for several months until I ordered a new one.

 

[NeveSSL]

I don't know if they can/will match including tax, but I'm sure they could come close and would probably work with ya. I'd much rather spend my money at an LFS than on the internet, especially if they can come within a few $.

I agree with Matt... that should be plenty of clearance to get the cup off. My skimmer cup technically doesn't need any space to get it off as I can just unscrew it (the union fitting Matt spoke of), push the ring up, and slide it off.

And its not an issues having the pumps on it like. That's not to say its invincible, and yeah, they could pose a potential "break risk", but if you use common sense you'll be fine. Just make sure you don't pickup the whole skimmer by any single connection.

Let us know if you get it! I thought about the dual one, too, but it was out of my price range.

Brandon

 

[ai-reefer]

I'm a business man myself so i would much rather buy it locally than online + i know how gentle the UPS guys are with those packages lol

I don't go to Emerald Bay that much, its just not very clean in there but they gave some awesome deals on corals before, atleast 50% cheaper than the critter. Do they keep those skimmers in stock or do you have to order them?

Man you guys got me all excited, i want one now hehe

I would have to do some plumbing though damit

 

[sandalscout]

Brandon, sorry I misspelled your name, no idea how it screwed it up once, and got it right once.

I know Ebay had some in stock, but not sure on the DDNW, it shouldn't take them too long to get them in though.

How do you plan to feed into it? I tied into my overflow, and it has worked extremely well, requires one less pump, and is probably a hair less quiet too.

Brandon, do you use a feed pump?

 

[NeveSSL]

:lol: Well, Emerald Bay is not a hospital, but I've never found it to be dirty.

Anyway, they always have a few in stock, but usually just the usual suspects... the smaller in sump and recirc pumps. You would probably have to order the DDNW150... I seriously doubt they would have it in stock.

No big deal on the name, Matt.

I feed mine by my overflow, too, but I have a small Eheim pump that I'm probably going to feed it with, simply because the side of my sump that my skimmer used to fit in isn't getting any surface agitation so gunk is forming on the top... heh...

Although, now that I think about it, I could just set my autotopoff above the bubble trap and that gunk could move around... hmmm....

Brandon

 

[ai-reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14763081#post14763081 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NeveSSL
:lol: Well, Emerald Bay is not a hospital, but I've never found it to be dirty.


I feed mine by my overflow, too, but I have a small Eheim pump that I'm probably going to feed it with, simply because the side of my sump that my skimmer used to fit in isn't getting any surface agitation so gunk is forming on the top... heh...

Although, now that I think about it, I could just set my autotopoff above the bubble trap and that gunk could move around... hmmm....

Brandon

I'm not saying they have trash on the floor but theres some multicolored gunk leaking from those rusting pipes, its been that way for a long time and i've always wondered why their display tank is way up there where no one can see it lol, but they are very friendly people to deal with and i would definetly buy from them.

I'm in the very same situation, theres gunk piling up on the surface where the skimmer sits.

So i have an idea, :idea: what if i made a small overflow that will feed a pump and that pump can feed the skimmer. So all that oil thats collected on that chamber surface would go directly into the skimmer. You could attach the pump inlet directly to the new small second overflow.

Something like this but it would have to be big enough to sustain the pumps water requirement.

What do you guys think about that? dumbest idea ever? lol

 

[NeveSSL]

Two things:

You will need something large enough to handle 1.5x the volume of your aquarium.

Secondly, it will need to be able to surface skim as much as possible.

If this thing is in your sump, you'll probably be fine as it should be water that is already from the surface. If not, you won't be as effective cleaning your water if the water that makes it to your skimmer is clean.

Brandon

 

[ai-reefer]

That box up there is actually made for a mag drive 3 which i have, and i think it pumps just over 300g per hour, that should be good to feed the skimmer right?

Or i could feed it directly from the drain, either way its not gona get clean water since its coming directly from the overflow, i can see the evidence in that skimmer section.

As far as the skimmer, would you say this is the best one(DDNW-150) for $300 - $400, given the dimensions ofcource.

Bill you wanna chime in on this

 

[poolkeeper1]

I do not recomend using any extra pumps or boxes to run your skimmer, Best fed by overflow for two reasons> It's free and Nutrients. As far as which Skimmer I would get whatever fits in his space by Octopus but one with either a Sicce or Askoll pump for performance and operating cost! Plus they just work better out of the box IMO. I'll look around later and see what I would suggest. You have the Octo Extreme, Octo Pro, Hurricone to mention a few. Look on Reef Specialty's site They sell all the Octo line.

 

[ai-reefer]

Thanks. I'll look at other models. If i remove the skimmer i'll have an empty chamber, maybe i can grow some chaeto on the other side too

 

[poolkeeper1]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1613631
If this fits and you have the cash this Is a great Skimmer!!!

 

[poolkeeper1]

This Is actually affordable, Also a nice Skimmer
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1610624

 

[ai-reefer]

wow he wants $1400 for it though

I was looking at this skimmer just now

On the ReefSpecialty site it says that this skimmer is made by ATB
Reef Specialty Octopus Extreme

Quote

"(THIS IS NOT A CORALVUE/OCTOPUS PRODUCT - this is manufactured by ATB)
Reef Specialty will not be replacing the CV Octo Extreme impellers with the new ATB impellers. These are ATB impellers and have nothing to do with the Octo Extreme line that is manufactured by Coral Vue. We are offering them courtesy of ATB for any skimmer utilizing the Sicce psk 2500 pump which includes skimmer lines like: Bubble Master, Orca, MSX and Octopus."

and on the Aquacave site it says that the skimmer is made by Coralvue
Aquacave Octopus Extreme

they both make the same skimmer?