Skimmer for a 120 SPS System

[jroovers]

hmm I found the Royal Exclusives Alpha 170 more than enough skimmer for my 120. Even when fully stocked with sps..they are well made skimmers like the bubble king line also offered.

Not sure I'm following you... is this skimmer comparable to the ATB mentioned above?

 

[Drae]

Paying anything close to a grand for a skimmer for a 120 gallon tank is unnecessary imho. The atb 840 v2 for 649$ is the most I'd pay and I don't think I'd even pay that since you can get the aquamaxx cone 3 that runs basically the same sicce pump for under 500$. I wouldn't even put a 8" diameter skimmer on anything less than 180 gallon tank honestly. Its just not necessary with these newer more balanced skimmers. jmo and experience with skimmers.

 

[viggen]

But he's looking at getting a 180g tank in the near future

We r all looking forward to hearing how the skimmer works for you!

I wonder how much r&d time some of these companies spend on their skimmers thus the issues you were having with your octopus 2k skimmer. Skimmer shopping myself and trying to narrow it down

 

[fessoclown]

I am super happy with my Avast CS1. It pulls serious poop. I had to build it myself but I saved hundreds of dollars. It was a fun and easy build. Quality Recirculating skimmer with a Sicce PSK1000 and a self-cleaning neck for about $400 and doesn't get sexier then this:

http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/youbuilt/CS1-Cone-Skimmer-Kit

 

[tom obrecht]

pm to Drae

 

[novicereef]

If you have Skimz sm-121, let me know your experience. I'm about to get one for my 80 gal tank.

 

[jroovers]

But he's looking at getting a 180g tank in the near future

We r all looking forward to hearing how the skimmer works for you!

I wonder how much r&d time some of these companies spend on their skimmers thus the issues you were having with your octopus 2k skimmer. Skimmer shopping myself and trying to narrow it down

Its supposed to be delivered tomorrow - so with any luck, it will be up and running by early evening. I will follow-up and post how it goes.

I am super happy with my Avast CS1. It pulls serious poop. I had to build it myself but I saved hundreds of dollars. It was a fun and easy build. Quality Recirculating skimmer with a Sicce PSK1000 and a self-cleaning neck for about $400 and doesn't get sexier then this:

http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/youbuilt/CS1-Cone-Skimmer-Kit

That is a nice looking skimmer... I like the compact footprint with the pump under the body, and I also like the BP reactor plumbed right into the pump... is that standard, or of your own design? To be honest, I could care less how "sexy" a skimmer looks, I want something that works... after all, it sits out of sight in my less than sexy sump. Also, for $400 I'd rather not have to build something... for $335 I got something that ideally is plug and play. For some they like to build things, for me it is a struggle!

 

[azjohnny]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I haven't really had the time to get on this yet, so in the meantime I'm unplugging my SRO every time I leave the house and go to bed to prevent overflows.

I've heard some good things about the Skimz skimmers, so I'm going to look into those. I like how the pump is inside the skimmer body, which makes for a smaller footprint. Also heard good things about the Vertex skimmers, so those are on my list.

If you are having overflow issues with a SRO skimmer, remove the volute and inspect for any obstructions ( salt creep is common). The area where the air comes in is pretty small and a small object can make a big difference

 

[d2mini]

I'm using this on my new 120g SPS tank:

Skimmate is tea colored because I just added new liverock yesterday and haven't tuned the skimmer in yet. The Lifereef is a nice design that just "works" and doesn't rely on a proprietary pump that will go bad and cost a lot of dough.

Yep, no more needlewheels and other gizmos for me. Loving my new LifeReef skimmer. Pulls out some nasty stuff.

 

[Drae]

^^^ And dennis took an alpha offline to run that lifereef. Balance balance balance!

 

[ksed]

Balance, neck size, etc. But lets not forget that it has a lot more contact time than the Alpha.

 

[D-Nak]

If you want something well built, then ATB and Royal Exclusiv are excellent choices, but they are extremely expensive (mostly due to the fact that they're built in either Austria or Germany, not China or DIY), worth it if you like having high-end toys that are built to last.

I have an ATB 840 v2 on my 120, and it works like a champ. I would encourage you to seek out an ATB skimmer, but to be completely honest, I think they're now overpriced, and I worry about the future of ATB, especially in the U.S.. Two years ago, when I bought mine, there weren't many worthy competitors so paying a bit more made sense. Nowadays, there are a lot of choices, and while ATB is still a good choice in terms of quality and reliability, their prices don't reflect what's going on in the skimmer industry. Some of the Chinese knock-offs are actually decent and remain competitively priced, and are more technologically advanced than ATB (at least to what's currently available to the U.S. market). I don't think they have a solid U.S. distributor anymore so getting them may be more difficult, as will service and ordering/receiving replacement parts. I've seen quite a few demo ATB units, some of the newer ones with DC pumps, but I haven't seen anyone in the U.S. selling them.

 

[OffDaHook]

My ATB 840 V2 on a 120. Pretty Quite Skimmer.

 

[jroovers]

So what is the advantage to the ATB skimmer if they haven't come down in price? I didn't take that close of a look as they were out of my price range.

My AquaMaxx/JNS Cone 2 is up and running. Ran it in a vinegar/warm water bath for a few hours, and then into the sump it went... it is already pulling out nastiness, hopefully it keeps it up!

 

[Drae]

You got a winner for sure. Very balanced and worthy unit.