Remora or Remora Pro

bunglito

Member
I only got a year in to saltwater and I'm thinkin I should step up an get a skimmer. I am wondering if I should go with the Remora or Remora Pro on a 55 gal. Not sure if the Pro is overkill. Just wondering on people's opinions. Thanks!
 
Yeah, there are people that love them and those who love to hate them. For your 55 I'd do the pro. I had one on a tank about 2 years ago and had good luck with it. There are others out there but I've heard good things about the pro unit on moderately stocked tanks. If you are going to load a bunch of fish in the tank, (heavy load) look at a Tunze DOC series skimmers. They are of course more expensive but about the same size and excellent skimmers. MarineDepot carries both.
 
Someone on here named BLOWNCHEVY346 or446 or something did a long term compare between remora and coralife and the coralife outperformed.
He even moded the remora to like a mag7 or9 and the coralife still did better.
I've been happy w/ mine.
 
Thanks for the replies! I have looked at the Coralife skimmers but I don't have a sump, nor the 5-7" required behind the tank. So I decided to go with remora. Also, it's just that there are so many tempting used remoras out there but not many pro's. Yes, yes, patience is the key. Thanks again.
 
I don't think you can ever go overkill with a skimmer (within reason of coure, if you stick a skimmer rated for 600gallon tank on a 55 then you'd have trouble, but . . . )

Bigger is always better with skimmers; you'll always wish you have more skimming power. As far as the picture, the collection cup is the same for the Remora and Remora Pro (unless they have slightly different sizes). IMO the preskimmer box is a must. Looking back, I probably would have bought the biggest pump possible to go on my Remora Pro.

As far as all the haters go, you can find negative comments on absolutely everything on RC, so take all the negative comments with a grain of salt.
 
Experience Confirms AquaC Claims

Experience Confirms AquaC Claims

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8977918#post8977918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by J. Montgomery
As far as all the haters go, you can find negative comments on absolutely everything on RC, so take all the negative comments with a grain of salt.
The "Two weeks of collection" caption and photograph was from AquaC. Here it is again: http://www.proteinskimmer.com/products/Remora.htm

I owned an AquaC Remora with the larger MJ1200 pump and the surface skimming box. In two weeks, it collects exactly what AquaC claims. In other words, my experience confirms the expectation that AquaC has set in its Remora webpage.
 
I've owned a Remora and a Remora Pro. I've gotten more skimmate than that picture shows, and darker, in a day or two. Both with and without a larger pump. It is pretty lame they have that pic on the website. It makes their product look bad.
 
I got better stuff than that (and more) as well with a stock remora with an MJ1200. In a lightly stocked, lightly fed tank to boot. Nitrate 0, Phosphate 0, no problem algae, no fuge :)
 
Quality Control & Controlled Experiment

Quality Control & Controlled Experiment

The prevailing hypothesis is that the quality control on the Remora skimmers is variable. Some Remora units collect more, others collect less.

Some Remora owners find that the depth of the clean-out screw has an impact on skimming. Some Remora owners (and AquaC) find no significance in the depth of the clean-out screw.

My experience happens to match the AquaC "Two weeks of collection" webpage (http://www.proteinskimmer.com/products/Remora.htm). The bio-load in my system was not the limiting factor. I replaced my Remora (MJ-1200 + surface box) with a Tunze 9010. The Tunze has been collecting a full cup (200ml-300 ml) daily and has visibly enhanced my water quality. I consider my experience to be a controlled experiment: same system and same initial parameters.

One way to evaluate a skimmer is to replace it and see if the second skimmer produces better results. If the results are equal, one can claim that the bio-load was the limiting factor. If the results are different, then one of the skimmers was the limiting factor.

Another way to estimate skimmer performance is to listen to the manufacturer. According to AquaC (http://www.proteinskimmer.com/specs.htm), the Remoras are meant for the following size tanks:

Remora (20g - 75g)
Remora Pro (40g - 125g)

The 1st figure in each pair represents a "heavy" bio-load. The 2nd figure represents a "light" bioload. A buyer should give greater weight to the first figure.

I called AquaC about my 75 gallon tank. AquaC told me that my Remora was undersized for my system. I upgraded because of AquaC's candor.
 
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My Tunze 9010 skims wet compared to my Remora, so you can't really go off of volume when comparing, I don't think. For me, the Remora worked really well. The few folks locally I know that run Remoras also like them.
 
Just wondering if running two smaller skimmers would be the same as running one larger???? So maybe two remoras on a larger tank, (say 150gallon)?

My experience with them has been mixed, some seem to skim good, others ok....I think maintenance is key as with all skimmers, but remoras more so.
 
Modded Remoras

Modded Remoras

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8979225#post8979225 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crumbletop
My Tunze 9010 skims wet compared to my Remora, so you can't really go off of volume when comparing, I don't think. For me, the Remora worked really well. The few folks locally I know that run Remoras also like them.
The Remora is a first skimmer for many, including me. Many owners are fond of their first skimmer. The AquaC forums are filled with owners that are modifying their units for greater performance. These modifications include the use of surface skimmer boxes and more powerful pumps. To upgrade a Remora with a Mag-Drive Supreme 7 (700gph) pump or a Rio 10HF (660gph) pump is not unheard of, even in this thread.

Some Remora owners, including me, may not remember whether it was the original configuration or the modified configuration that gave them their results. Nevertheless, comparing “apples with oranges” should be avoided.

Equal in “wetness” (or “dryness”) are skimmates from my Remora/MJ-1200/surface box, my Tunze 9010, and the AquaC “Two weeks of collection” photograph (http://www.proteinskimmer.com/products/Remora.htm).

The color was different. I recall that my Remora produced “weak green tea” and green scum as opposed to the “urine color” and brown scum from the Tunze. My Tunze 9010 had the same yellow-brown color with and without the sump kit. I attributed the green color to bacteria that grew during the two week Remora collection cycle.

During the break-in period, my Tunze ran without the sump kit and produced less skimmate (250ml in 4 days). After the break-in period and with the sump kit, it produces 200-300 ml per day.
 
Re: Modded Remoras

Re: Modded Remoras

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8979371#post8979371 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Raf
Just wondering if running two smaller skimmers would be the same as running one larger???? So maybe two remoras on a larger tank, (say 150gallon)?

I know people who run multiple skimmers on the same tank (nice tanks too :)). I think I remember reading a Calfo article or thread once where he recommended running multiple skimmers as a reasonable thing to do.


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8979683#post8979683 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pjf
The Remora is a first skimmer for many, including me. Many owners are fond of their first skimmer. The AquaC forums are filled with owners that are modifying their units for greater performance. These modifications include the use of surface skimmer boxes and more powerful pumps. To upgrade a Remora with a Mag-Drive Supreme 7 (700gph) pump or a Rio 10HF (660gph) pump is not unheard of, even in this thread.

Some Remora owners, including me, may not remember whether it was the original configuration or the modified configuration that gave them their results. Nevertheless, comparing “apples with oranges” should be avoided.

Well to be clear, I don't think my Remora worked well because of any nostalgia. It worked well, period. For the price, I think it does a pretty nice job.
 
There isn't any object data on skimmers, so there's lots of guessing involved. We simply don't know how the skimmers perform, and under what conditions they work best.
 
Speaking from Experience

Speaking from Experience

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8977918#post8977918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by J. Montgomery
As far as the picture, the collection cup is the same for the Remora and Remora Pro (unless they have slightly different sizes). IMO the preskimmer box is a must. Looking back, I probably would have bought the biggest pump possible to go on my Remora Pro.
There is only one person in this thread with a 55-gallon FOWLR system similar to bunglito’s. His “Current Tanks” line states that he is using the following skimmer: “AquaC Remora Pro w/ Rio1400 & pre-skimmer.”

Despite his pre-skimmer box, he is not totally satisfied and wishes he had “bought the biggest pump possible to go on my Remora Pro.”
 
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