Recommend me a Skimmer

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cscultho

New member
I'm starting to purchase my equipment for my Red Sea reefer 250 and don't know what skimmer to purchase. Please offer up some good skimmers with a good track record and what skimmers I should avoid. I'd like to stay under $200 if possible....

Thanks for your support


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Does anybody have experience with the Bubble Magnus Curve 5? Is this a good choice for a skimmer for a 65g tank?
 
cscultho said:
I'm starting to purchase my equipment for my Red Sea reefer 250 and don't know what skimmer to purchase. Please offer up some good skimmers with a good track record and what skimmers I should avoid. I'd like to stay under $200 if possible....

Thanks for your support


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Simplicity 120DC $200 with free shipping on Drs Foster & Smith.
 
At your budget, get the Reef Dynamics INS80 for $180 from Aquarium Source while they're still available. This is new old stock as Reef Dynamics is no more, but this is an absolute beast of a skimmer. It uses a Sicce pinwheel pump, so you could always source a replacement pump if need be.
 
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I am looking for something similar and need a space saving model. I was looking at skimz but they have poor reviews on the motors and the model with SICCE pump is expensive.

I had a vertex 180i and that was amazing gear and I found Vertex Somatic 60S Skimmer. 200 bucks, up to 600L/hr air draw, SICCE pump.

I plan on picking one up from either BRS or premium aquatics in the next few days.
 
I was was lucky and was able to pick up one of the last few remaining RLSS r5i DC skimmers for $140 along with a spare replacement pump from Salty Supply before they sold out. Otherwise, I would've gone with the INS80 for my future upgrade.
 
cscultho said:
OMG...how does one choose.


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Couple things that might narrow it down:
1. Required Footprint. Big difference from a 6 inch to 9 inch print
2. Required Water Level. Skimmer specs fit different levels.
3. Pump. DC or AC...and name brand. Pump is the heart.
4. After all that, another consideration for me was barrel size.

Lots of good choices for around 2 bills. Good luck!
 
I just had the same issue. omg alot of choices!! I end up with the simplicity 320. Im still setting up my system so not skimming yet. At this point all i can say is its well built. I called simplicity with a few noob questions and the guys are helpful and nice.
 
robsk said:
Couple things that might narrow it down:
1. Required Footprint. Big difference from a 6 inch to 9 inch print
2. Required Water Level. Skimmer specs fit different levels.
3. Pump. DC or AC...and name brand. Pump is the heart.
4. After all that, another consideration for me was barrel size.

Lots of good choices for around 2 bills. Good luck!
Click to expand...

I think that is a good list and pretty much what I did when looking for my new skimmer but I was looking at footprint and pump the most. A junk pump is a big deal on equipment like that that should last many years.

I also recommend you look at the specs, particularly the air flow rating. It's hard to get apples to apples look at skimmers but with the nicer designed ones I look to the airflow ratings as it's the air that does the work. No it's not universal, but a good start.

For example the vertex somatic I recommended and just bought (with BRS 10x point) for $200-$20(the 10x points) is SICCE pump and adjustable air flow between 400-600 L/hr. That is some serious air flow for the price. For comparison the aquamaxx cone co1 is 360L/hr (at $290) and the co2 is 720l/hr (at $380). The somatic seems like a good value being a vertex and under 200 bucks as the OP requested!

Clearly there is more, however I find that to be a useful metric on pump and skimmer performance.
 
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