Skimmer for 1100 gallons

JustinS

New member
Im setting up a system with 2 large displays connected with a common sump. One is a 700 gallon tank and the other is 400 gallons, both reefs. There will be about 350-500 gallons of sump volume. Im looking for a skimmer for the system. The ones I am currently considering are Reeflo orca III, ETSS 3000, and possibly MRC 60" industrial needle wheel. I dont have the space for multiples, and the bubble kings are absolutely ridiculously overpriced at that size. Any suggestions?
 
Use a large dual beckett. It would probably more energy efficient with this size tank. Precision Marine and MRC make great becketts. I know a few of the guys even run a custom GEO beckett.

T
 
Wow, some great suggestions here. I liked the euroreef, but its foot print was too big and looked like a nightmare to maintain with all those pumps.
I dont think an Aqua C would keep up. I have a 1000 on a 8x 30 gallon clownfish rack and it does well there, but it struggled with a 500 gallon tank previously, Im not sure I would put a 2000 on something over 1000 gallons.
Im still debating beckett or downdraft because I know they pull a lot of gunk, but in my experience they need constant fiddling. I think the only downdraft that fits my space is the etss 3000 and the only beckett that would fit is the MRC4848 which I dont think is rated high enough for my system. The industrial MRC is out of the running due to the footprint being too big. Right now it looks like the SRO 9000 is in the lead.
 
Yes if you don’t keep the beckets clean you do have to adjust it regularly but I’ve never seen a skimmer produce as much skim as this skimmer can. MR-6R Recirculating Protein Skimmer with the reeflo hammerhead pump used for recirculating is amazing.

The MR-C4848 rated at 3000gallons // Orca Pro III rated at 1000+ gallons // MR-6R rated at 1450 gallons.
Plus the guys at MRC can customize the skimmers for your needs.
 
Im surprised no one mentioned Deltec.

They are unmatched in performance, and are much smaller than comparable skimmers in it's volume capacity range.

If for some reason Deltec will not work for you, go with the Reef Octopus SUPER SRO 8000EXT or 900EXT.

If you can go with Deltec, pick the TC3070S. It is rated up to 1,280 US Gallons.
 
I had considered the deltecs, but there seemed to be a lot of problems with the pumps. I should look into it and see if they have fixed the issues people were having with them.
 
I'm going to have a system of similar size and will likely end up with 1000+ gallons after it's all said and done. I've been very happy with my SRO 3000 and will likely be buying a SRO 7000 or 8000 external to power the system. Great support from Coralvue and always have amazing customer service which is important should you ever be in need:)
 
Im surprised no one mentioned Deltec.

They are unmatched in performance, and are much smaller than comparable skimmers in it's volume capacity range.

If for some reason Deltec will not work for you, go with the Reef Octopus SUPER SRO 8000EXT or 900EXT.

If you can go with Deltec, pick the TC3070S. It is rated up to 1,280 US Gallons.

Did they ever resolve their lack of customer service in the US? I remember that power to the state of Virginia was out and the guy went to a conference and that the reps from England were having to cover the excuses for months.

They had a forum here but they decided that RC was too large and they could not properly help those with equipment issues so they left and created their own website.
 
Did they ever resolve their lack of customer service in the US? I remember that power to the state of Virginia was out and the guy went to a conference and that the reps from England were having to cover the excuses for months.

They had a forum here but they decided that RC was too large and they could not properly help those with equipment issues so they left and created their own website.

Honestly, I dont see a problem with their customer service. I've posted in their online forum and they respond within a day. I also have phone numbers of Deltec reps and they have never failed to answer my questions. The only customer service related issue I see is replacing equipment like pumps. (Not that it should ever happen, the parts are all very high quality) but they do charge a LOT for replacement parts. So if you go with Deltec, you're getting cutting edge performance, just make sure you take good care of the unit and you will be more than happy.
 
I am glad that you had great service from them in the past and hopefully they have taken care of those situations. I was simply passing on what has been discussed here on RC by others.

I can see if one person or a small handful makes a statement about bad service etc. but it seemed like a trend with Deltec. As you said great performance etc. should also have great support.

If it is mechanical it will break down at some point and if you have to wait for a long period of time to get a replacement part that sort of puts a damper on supporting that company.
 
I had considered the deltecs, but there seemed to be a lot of problems with the pumps. I should look into it and see if they have fixed the issues people were having with them.

The pumps had some bugs when first came out, but now they are one of the most reliable pumps of any skimmer.
They perform great. Balanced skimmer.

Highly recommend it.
 
Im setting up a system with 2 large displays connected with a common sump. One is a 700 gallon tank and the other is 400 gallons, both reefs. There will be about 350-500 gallons of sump volume. Im looking for a skimmer for the system. The ones I am currently considering are Reeflo orca III, ETSS 3000, and possibly MRC 60" industrial needle wheel. I dont have the space for multiples, and the bubble kings are absolutely ridiculously overpriced at that size. Any suggestions?

The bubble kings might be over priced at any size but they are awesome skimmers and worth every penny IMO. What about the ATB skimmers? as they are very similar to the bubble kings in quality and performance I hear. I currently own a bubble king but have decided to try out an ATB next time I buy a skimmer.
 
I'm sure the Bubble king is nice, but I could buy the Octopus 9000, etss 3000, the reeflo orca AND the Deltec 3070 for what the Bubble king 650 costs. I have a hard time believing that the bubble kings performance is that superior to warrant pricing like that.
 
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