skimmer for 3000 gallons

[zemuron114]

im looking for an affordable skimmer to run my holding system in the 3000 gallon range. The most affordable and energy efficient is a must!

Thanks

 

[robcampman]

for enery efficiency i would go for several air-blower style skimmers. you can make them yourself pretty easy.. downside is you have to replace the wooden blocks very often.

I heard a rk2 skimmer is pretty massive, dont know if it can clear 3000 gallon..

 

[Jar*Head]

My H&S rated for 5000g system using 300w. But the price may not be affordable ($6.5K)

 

[zemuron114]

any links for those air blowers and how to make them?

6.5k is crazy. lol how well do they work? do you have a link?

 

[Jar*Head]

IMO, they work pretty well. here is the most recent Video with just 5 pumps

 

[stunreefer]

Honestly I cannot fathom any skimmer for a 3000 gal to be "affordable."

Also, I'm not sure how much they cost but RK2 systems can be monsters...

 

[GSMguy]

what about multiple smaller skimmers, say 3 skimmers rated for 1500G each.

replacement costs would be lower and you wont have all your chickens in one 10,000 dollar Bubble king. god forbid something happen to a 5 or 6 thousand dollar skimmer...

 

[sfsuphysics]

I concur, you have a 3000 gallon system and $6500 is out of the question? AND you want it energy efficient? What are you comparing to for energy efficiency? Hell a really high end skimmer for a tank 1/10th the size can easily cost you over a grand!

I know you can get large skimmers, that ain't a problem, I've seen the back rooms of the Steinhart aquarium and they have a multitude of skimmers for their tanks/water system (which is well over 200k gallons), in fact some are quite large
Here

I would say use multiple skimmers, but even then it could get quite costly. Definitely would also compare your bio load compared to the size, will you have an absolute boat load of fish in there just because you can? I keep 5 fish in my 180g sps tank, as a result I probably have a lower than average fish bioload for a tank that size.

Best bet, and I'm really just guessing here since a tank that size is something outside what I would ever consider. Home built (for affordable), air driven (for power consumption), and really look into that whole fish/coral load thing.

 

[zemuron114]

the skimmer is for a 2800-3500 gallon holding system for fish (I wholesale) so fish come and go and "bio-load" is loosely used since the bio load could be huge one day and zero the next. It just needs to skim well to pull out fish poop on a regular basis

I appreciate all the comments. I have a downdraft skimmer (i can't think of the name right now) for my 1200 gallon system and it skims well, but the pump is a iwaki which guzzles electricity, so i would like something that skims A LOT with a respectable amount of Watts being used...

thanks again!

 

[lancepender]

Get in contact with MTC. Ask for there HSA-5000 Skimmer.. Runs off of a hammerhead pump.

 

[zemuron114]

MTC???

 

[lancepender]

Marine Tech Concepts

 

[Nanook]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15186743#post15186743 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lancepender
Get in contact with MTC. Ask for there HSA-5000 Skimmer.. Runs off of a hammerhead pump.

I had that skimmer on my 1000g tank and would not recommend it for a system as large as his. It is a quad beckett that is 8" diameter with a 6" neck. While the skimmer is a powerhouse, it is not IMO nearly large enough for a system of that size.

 

[lancepender]

Hmmm? Thats nice to know... So, you didn't like it?? What didn't you like about it? Its not rated for what they say it's rated for??

I'll be getting one for my new 520 gal, 700 gal system..

 

[Nanook]

The first five photos are of the MTC 5000 quad beckett skimmer. While it is definitely a great skimmer, it just isn't big enough IMO for that large a system. For comparison, the skimmer in the last two photos is a GEO 18" diameter by 60" tall skimmer that is fed by an Iwaki 70 through a single beckett and it has a Baldor NW recirculating pump. This skimmer might be more in line with what you are looking for on a system that size.

 

[lancepender]

It doesn't look like you used the air meters on the 5000.. did you run it wide open?? What pump did you run on it?

 

[Nanook]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15202032#post15202032 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lancepender
Hmmm? Thats nice to know... So, you didn't like it?? What didn't you like about it? Its not rated for what they say it's rated for??

I'll be getting one for my new 520 gal, 700 gal system..

Well, as for ratings, that is a pretty vague area to guesstimate on. I fed my skimmer with a Hammerhead pump and it did OK, but I was running a large NW skimmer beside it as well. So that may factor in.

Things I didn't care for on the skimmer were the flat rubber o-rings that stuck when taking the skimmer apart. This could be solved by using some silicone grease. Then there is keeping the four beckett injectors clean every week or so. The skimmer also needed cleaning every few days at least or the foam would drop and the neck would collect the skimmate versus going in the cup.

The skimmer was also pretty noisy.

 

[Nanook]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15202052#post15202052 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lancepender
It doesn't look like you used the air meters on the 5000.. did you run it wide open?? What pump did you run on it?

I removed the air meters because the air flow controls on them did not allow for precise enough tuning. The owner sent me some new becketts with small gate valves that allowed me to control it much more precisely.

For my application, the skimmer didn't measure up to what I thought it should. I will say that for your system that skimmer will scream and you will probably be very happy with it. Jeff was a very helpful person and his customer service was tops as well.

 

[lancepender]

Good to know.. I have the 1000 on my 240 gal, 330 gal system. works pretty good. Took awhile to find the happy spot.. But, its good now. I only need to clean mine once or so a month..

Thanks for all the info..

For the price, Thinking I'll still go with the 5000..

 

[lancepender]

Do you still have the 5000?? If not, I think I might have talked to you about buy it awhile back..