skimmer preferences

[cabin]

Researching my new tank. Anyone have an opinion on the best skimmer brand/model to get for 120 gallon tank? Anthony Calfo mentioned 3 brands favorably in one of his posts: ASM, Euroreef and Aqua C. I haven't been nuts about my Aqua C Remora in the 25 gallon tank, which makes me hesitate on the Aqua C. I'd love to hear about other people's experiences....I'm currently running my 75 gallon tank skimmerless, but the phosphate slowly climbs and I'm leary of taking that risk with my 120.

 

[Laverna]

I had a very similar question and with the help of others here in SWAM ~ I went with the ASM. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=900297

 

[ME2003]

I have had an ASM G-2x for 1 1/2 years and really like it.
It is easy to clean and runs well. I went with the 2x because it
saves some electricty over a G3. It is on my 140 gallon tank.

 

[Naturebatslast]

Some at the BRS just started to up Octopus brand and like, especially for 160. Others freak for an ASM with the recirculation mods. Personally, I have a Aqua C EV120 and have mixed opinions. I love the fact it has no moving parts, that was key for myself. I did not want to replace needle wheels. I also like the guest fitting, so I can drip kalk or Ca effeulent directly into the skimmer. And it pretty easy to clean. But, I'm driving it with a Mag 5 (the recommended pump) and, IMO,I don't think it's powerful enough. I would like to upgrade with a Ehiem 1260, and think that would do the trick.
Outputwise, it is finiky. It takes a while to recover after feeding and submersing your hands. If it's not in a ventilated area, output is iffy, but I run a small fan on the sump. Their customer service is excellent, and I found it out firsthand, and wound up corresponding with the president of Aqua C. The problem was actually a fauly pump, not the skimmer.
Best of Luck.

 

[cabin]

Thank you all for that information, it is very helpful. Does anyone have any comments on noise factor? My main complaint with skimmers I have used is how darn noisy they are.

Mike, is that an oceansmotion 4-way on your return line? If so, how do you like it?

 

[Ewan]

Your aqua C has as many moving parts as my NW. I'd agree with your planned upgrade to an eheim pump for that skimmer. Actually, most of the best skimmers on the market rely on an eheim 1260.

Wynne, what's your budget for this skimmer?

-Rob

 

[cabin]

Rob,
My budget is about $350, but yesterday I found the EuroReef CS180 on sale at Marine Depot for $439, so I was considering making the stretch. Curiously, today I can't find it on the Marine Depot site at all, on sale or otherwise!

 

[laurentb]

i also have the AquaC EV 120 that i run with a Mag 5. if anyone know if i can get better result with an other pump, please post your opinion

 

[Ewan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7912721#post7912721 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cabin
Rob,
My budget is about $350, but yesterday I found the EuroReef CS180 on sale at Marine Depot for $439, so I was considering making the stretch. Curiously, today I can't find it on the Marine Depot site at all, on sale or otherwise!

Don't forget to check Premium Aquatics and custom aquatics too... they're all pretty competitive.

If I were considering spending $400'ish on a skimmer, I'd be looking at the H&S line. As mentioned, the Octopus skimmers are also a new, but an inexpensive NW skimmer built to challenge the higher-priced NW skimmers. I use a euroreef, and it's pretty decent.

I end up getting in to debates about how much money I spent on equipment, but in my personal experience, spending the little bit extra up front will save a LOT on upgrades that would have happened otherwise. There are brands of skimmers that are notoriously expensive, but they're PROVEN. Personally, I'm big in to equipment that is going to perform with minimal fuss. I ran a downdraft skimmer for almost 2 years, and it was the most finicky piece of *skimmer* that I've ever used. That's why I'm so big on the needlewheels, so little fuss. Very predictable and strong skimming. They also used [proportionally] less electricity, and this could mean less heat added to your system. That was my experience anyway. This was compared to my downdraft with a mag9.5.

You don't need to spend a fortune, but find out everything you can about the skimmer you want to buy. Some items may not seem like a big deal. but they cause grief down the road. A perfect example would be my true-union on my euroreef skimmer cup. Every day I have to lean in to my stand and untwist a union about 20 times to get the cup off, and another 20 turns to put it back on. It requires that much more ambition to clean the skimmer cup....

Euroreef has since fixed that...

Regardless, Some folks are handy with DIY, and like to tweak things on a daily basis. Me, I'm handy with a credit card I think your biggest challenge is to decide the type of skimmer you want (needlewheel, spray induction, beckett, etc) and then we'll tweak the selection based on your budget.

I seriously spend WAYYY too much time reading about skimmers. From all over the world even.

-Rob

 

[ME2003]

"Mike, is that an oceansmotion 4-way on your return line? If so, how do you like it?"
It works well. It cycles between 4 outputs and creates a lot of random current. I purchased it to save power and get the most current.
I also have a tunze and a maxijet prop mod 1200 in the tank for
current.
One question is when using a oceansmotion 4-way is the size of
the return pump. This is a complex issue. You need to move enough
water through your sump for good protein skimming. The larger the pump the more noise and power. The larger pumps create more current in a 4 way return. I went with a Velocity T2 return for low power and low noise.



The ease of removing the collection cup is a feature I like on the
ASM. It sound like it has been fixed on the Euroreef. Noise can be
an issue with any protein skimmer. I believe the ASM/Euroreef NW
design creates the least noise. You can further reduce it with pads under the sump and the skimmer. The cs180 uses a gen-x pump.
I have seen some debate on its noise level but I would do a search
on RC and decide yourself.
Just to make it even more complex there is discusion of an ehiem mod to euroreefs and ASM has a recirc mod.
If you get a euroreef cs180 or ASM g3, I think you will like it.
Sometimes they go a little overboard in the discusions to get that
extra 10%. I have seen some of the best setups and they do not get maintained/cleaned often enough.

 

[Naturebatslast]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7912646#post7912646 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ewan
Your aqua C has as many moving parts as my NW.

The Aqua C EV has zero (0) moving parts, only a pump to drive it.

 

[Ewan]

Same as a needlewheel. The needlewheel is built in to the impeller.

 

[Oskie]

I'm on my 2nd Aqua C Remora at this point. I could never get the damn thing to work on my 65 gal tank and sold it. But then I needed something small for my 30 gal cube and found a used one through Anna. Strangely enough it works great! Pulls all kinds of stinky goo from the tank. Maybe I've just gotten better at fiddling with it. In between I tried an ASM G2 with the recirculation mod. Like Mike says it's easy to clean as the cup comes off the top. I never got it set up correctly (inexperience on my part) and sold it before getting the 2nd Remora.

Now of course I'm thinking of adding a sump under my cube to up the water volume a bit and help stabilize the water. My plan is to put the Remora on the sump and free-up some space on the back of the cube.

I suspect the Remora C would be too small for a 120 gal. Just my thoughts. It sounds like you're on pretty solid footing with what you're looking at.

Steve

 

[Driftwood]

There is a Remora Pro and it goes up to 120 gallons. I like the remora simply because there is not really anything to fiddle with. Just adjust the o-ring for wet/dry skim.

 

[cabin]

On my Aqua C Remora (not the Pro), the o-ring cracked and fell apart in less than a year. I've been using it without this ability to adjust. There is also a plastic screw that I periodically have to remove in order to clean inside the device. The instructions say it will be rare to have to do that, but it stops getting much effluent so I take that screw off, clean, and then it improves. What I don't like about the screw is that, being plastic, it is not going to last, and it is a pain to get the thread started to put it back on. I have to be extra careful not to rip the threads (because of it being plastic) and it is hard to get my fingers in there to do it.

 

[Oskie]

You're right about the screw being poorly designed; however it would be easy to get some additional "O-rings" from the manufacturer. It looks like the pPro is pretty good, but I'd bet you'd like the ETSS or ASM skimmers, or any of the other higher priced models.

Good Luck
Steve