Skimmer Q&A Thread

[lbaldrey]

I have a H&S 150...great skimmer but whenever I feed or put my hands in the tank to move a coral or pick up a coral that has fallen the foam head is lost and it takes several hours to a day almost to get back to skimming. The only way I know of is to avoid sticking my hands in the tank...is there something that I can do to stop it from being so finicky?

 

[mojo~]

Would it fit say 8 by 12''? I'm making the sump so I'm willing to go up to 12 by 12''.

you will have to do some research on different sites. From my experience and not having one in front of me. I would say without a doubt it would fit. but some sites that sell them give foot print size.

 

[mojo~]

I have a H&S 150...great skimmer but whenever I feed or put my hands in the tank to move a coral or pick up a coral that has fallen the foam head is lost and it takes several hours to a day almost to get back to skimming. The only way I know of is to avoid sticking my hands in the tank...is there something that I can do to stop it from being so finicky?

feeding and sticking your hands in the tank are typically two of the most common things to kill your foam head. Make sure you run your specific gravity around 1.024 - 25 or so to ensure you can regain the proper surface tension in the water more quickly. The skimmer you have is built like a tank and does work well. But it does not pull a lot of air. Not a big deal but I have found that sometimes a skimmer that doesnt pull as much air and pulls more water has a little longer time regaining the foam head. Make sure your skimmer venturi is clean and not clogged. It should not take a day to come back. I would make sure your water parameters are up to par. And make sure your hands are clean before putting them in the tank. Also you can rinse your food before feeding as well.


Mojo~

 

[Felixc395]

you will have to do some research on different sites. From my experience and not having one in front of me. I would say without a doubt it would fit. but some sites that sell them give foot print size.

Thanks! Would you recommend this octopus skimmer or an NAC6? Which would be better for my 75 gallon?

 

[lbaldrey]

feeding and sticking your hands in the tank are typically two of the most common things to kill your foam head. Make sure you run your specific gravity around 1.024 - 25 or so to ensure you can regain the proper surface tension in the water more quickly. The skimmer you have is built like a tank and does work well. But it does not pull a lot of air. Not a big deal but I have found that sometimes a skimmer that doesnt pull as much air and pulls more water has a little longer time regaining the foam head. Make sure your skimmer venturi is clean and not clogged. It should not take a day to come back. I would make sure your water parameters are up to par. And make sure your hands are clean before putting them in the tank. Also you can rinse your food before feeding as well.
Mojo~

I cleaned it out 2 weeks ago by running muriatic and water mixed...its sparkling and skimming like new. I get a full cup now with the Bio Pellets in 4 days.

I find that theres a bit of excess turbulence in the body and would like to cut that down a bit...What do you suggest?

Would a DIY bubble plate help? or maybe a 45deg elbow?

Thx Mojo.

 

[mojo~]

Thanks! Would you recommend this octopus skimmer or an NAC6? Which would be better for my 75 gallon?

the Nac 6 would be a better fit over the nw150 in my opinion.

 

[mojo~]

I cleaned it out 2 weeks ago by running muriatic and water mixed...its sparkling and skimming like new. I get a full cup now with the Bio Pellets in 4 days.

I find that theres a bit of excess turbulence in the body and would like to cut that down a bit...What do you suggest?

Would a DIY bubble plate help? or maybe a 45deg elbow?

Thx Mojo.

if you just cleaned it it will have to break back in. a bubble plate will not help with regaining a foam head. see what happends with the bio pellets .give it a little more time.

 

[lbaldrey]

lol Mojo, ive been thinking about this awhile back even before it was cleaned or adding bio-pellets.

In a normal operation setup it seems to have a little extra turbulence...anyway Ill let it be.

 

[lbaldrey]

Its been 2 weeks and its back to its skimming ways...

I meant that even in normal operation I tend to feel that a little less turbulence in the neck will improve the foam head a lot more.

 

[lananthony]

I currently own a coralife 210 and I'm not liking the results im getting from it. I currently have a 120gal tank and will be upgrading to a 210gal next year. Is the SWC 200 worth it?

 

[cadams2]

MOJO.....ok I followed along when you did the Vertex IN-100 gen1 review and ended up buying one for my 75 display (almost 2 yrs ago). Well it ran good up until last week, the pump finally seized up and now the debate is buy a new pump OEM, upgrade the pump, or another skimmer. I have looked at the BB upgrade but kind of hard to swallow when I can buy a new skimmer for 20 dollars more. Please enlighten me on some possible suggestions. I have a baby on the way so the budget is tight. Thanks

 

[mojo~]

I currently own a coralife 210 and I'm not liking the results im getting from it. I currently have a 120gal tank and will be upgrading to a 210gal next year. Is the SWC 200 worth it?

I would look at the vertex in 180 or the SRO 2000 for now. if you go to a 210 then I would look at the SRO 3000. there are other options that wil work too. need a little more info but that will get you started

 

[mojo~]

MOJO.....ok I followed along when you did the Vertex IN-100 gen1 review and ended up buying one for my 75 display (almost 2 yrs ago). Well it ran good up until last week, the pump finally seized up and now the debate is buy a new pump OEM, upgrade the pump, or another skimmer. I have looked at the BB upgrade but kind of hard to swallow when I can buy a new skimmer for 20 dollars more. Please enlighten me on some possible suggestions. I have a baby on the way so the budget is tight. Thanks

well if you like what you have then just get the oem pump. The bb 1000 is a nice upgrade but like you said it isnt much more to just buy a new skimmer.

So if what you have is working well and you are happy I would replace the pump with another oem pump. Otherwise I dont think i would put a different pump on it. I would get a new skimmer before I did that. just my two cents.

 

[spoiled739]

odyssea skimmers?

odyssea skimmers?

I have run my 55 gallon tank for over 3 years without a skimmer, but i recently upgraded my lighting and had a major cyano outbreak. I am looking for a good fairly inexpensive way to export nutrients and since this tank is at my parents house, i thought a skimmer would be perfect. however as a college student i would like to cut some costs and in the long run possibly upgrade. has anyone heard or used the odyssea skimmers? they are quite a bit cheaper than the bak pak skimmers and look similar but do they run and work similar?

 

[MstgKillr]

I have a H&S A200 on my 215 gallon mostly SPS tank. I am planning an upgrade to a 300DD tank. I know the A200 is supposed to be rated up to 300 gallons but is it still a good skimmer. How much better are the new skimmers compaired to what I have now. If I were to buy a new skimmer for my 300DD, which one should I get.

 

[mjaustin22]

Hey, great thread!!!
I'm looking for a nice skimmer for my up and coming 58g sps dominant tank with 27g tall sump, not sure of the total water volume. I've been looking at the bubble magus nac7, swc 160 cone or one of the reef octopus. Any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance.

 

[ashok sakthivel]

Hi,
I was thinking of an aqua c ev 180 for my 120 G mixed reef tank. I have with me an extra eheim compact+ 3000 pump. I was wondering if this will be ok to run the skimmer.

Thanks in advance

 

[mojo~]

Hey, great thread!!!
I'm looking for a nice skimmer for my up and coming 58g sps dominant tank with 27g tall sump, not sure of the total water volume. I've been looking at the bubble magus nac7, swc 160 cone or one of the reef octopus. Any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance.

the swc 160, the nac 7 and the sro 1000 would all work really well.

 

[mojo~]

Hi,
I was thinking of an aqua c ev 180 for my 120 G mixed reef tank. I have with me an extra eheim compact+ 3000 pump. I was wondering if this will be ok to run the skimmer.

Thanks in advance

if its what you already have then I would say yea run it. but if you are going to buy a skimmer I would look at something a little more current.

 

[Mikigo]

Hello
My current skimmer is 4 years old. So I'm looking to upgrade. System is 680 g sps display with another 400 g sump, frag... Should I go with one large or two smaller skimmers? What would you recommend that's efficient but not break the bank.
Thanks Mojo for your great work.