Skimmer Q&A Thread

SNAKEMANVET said:
Is a swc 300a to big for a medium bio-load 240.The skimmer I am useing now is to small.It is a octopus 150.
Click to expand...

well it would doa great job for sure. it will crush your ol 150.... lol. The 300 a and 250a use same pump the 300A has a large 12in body and might actually be a little large but if you have some tangs in there I am sure they will feed the skimmer some nasty poo
 
Mojo, I just bought a used ATB 1050 but I'm a little confused about how deep the water should be that it sits in. The web site says 8-8 1/2 inches. The sticker on the skimmer shows about 6 1/2 inches. I have it in 6 1/2 now and is working good but I'm wondering if it would improve at 8 or 8 1/2. Thanks
 
yea most of the time at that low of a water level they will suck air from all the water they pull. run it a bit deeper if you can just give it some time to break in and make sure it doesnt overflow.
 
mojo~ said:
Both of those will work well. I really like the small foot print and how quiet the mini is. IT has a larger air silencer that is padded on the inside too. So if quiet is at the top of your list both are quiet but the BK mini will edge out the ATB. The ATB has great customer service and uses the same basic pump as the BK. Good luck it would be a hard choice for sure. I have my favorite for sure but its a matter of taste and what our priorities are for sure.

Mojo~
Click to expand...

thanks for the quick reply mojo. so the BK has a noticible difference in noise compared to the atb. it is an extra $300 or so though. any other points to help me justify the extra cash to the financial planner? :uhoh2:
 
ludiNano said:
Why does the SRO xp 3000 external have a higher gallons rating then the internal.

And

Do the skimz line only have the skimmer pump inside the body. I thought that it didn't perform as well that way.
Click to expand...

Still looking for an opinion on this. I got drowned out by JG1's sweet pics.
 
I originally posted this question on the ETSS Skimmer Club thread but I did not get a response. So, hopefully, someone can help me here. I am currently running an ETSS SumpBuddy40 on my 90 gal. I routinely clean the collection cup, tower, injector assembly and riser tube. I have not cleaned the mixing box (body) but it is starting to look like it needs to be cleaned. Can any SumpBuddy40 owners tell me if they periodically clean their mixing box and how they accomplish this. Also, I was thinking that I could soak it in a vinegar and water solution. Anybody see a problem with this and if so, why? Thank you
 
no i never cleaned mine when i had it reguards to the sump buddy. worse case you could let it run in a bucket of vinegar but alot might not come out
 
I thought cleaning a skimmer with vinegar restart a portion of the breakin on the skimmer. Hopefully someone can chime in shortly...
 
vitodog said:
I originally posted this question on the ETSS Skimmer Club thread but I did not get a response. So, hopefully, someone can help me here. I am currently running an ETSS SumpBuddy40 on my 90 gal. I routinely clean the collection cup, tower, injector assembly and riser tube. I have not cleaned the mixing box (body) but it is starting to look like it needs to be cleaned. Can any SumpBuddy40 owners tell me if they periodically clean their mixing box and how they accomplish this. Also, I was thinking that I could soak it in a vinegar and water solution. Anybody see a problem with this and if so, why? Thank you
Click to expand...
you can clean it but afterwards the skimmer will have to break in again. Not a big deal. Vinegar is the best thing to use. How many balls are you running in yours ? 3 or 4? just curious. Less balls = more air draw just fyi. I found 4 to be better in most cases (small ones)
 
just fyi to all those out there. I check this about every afternoon. So If I cant get back right away be patient. I will answer anyones question the best I can. Sometimes Ill check this during the day on my phone. But usually I wait until after dinner.

Thanks again and happy skimming. :)

Mojo~
 
super stooge said:
hey guys, thank you for running a thread like this. its really helpful.

im currently planning a future 180 gal + sump and am trying to decide on which skimmer i should go for. my current front runners are an ATB elegance 200 or Bubble king mini 200

im looking for something that will perform well, be reliable and quiet. the tank will be in a bedroom so noise has to be kept at minimum. im looking to buy something on the higher end of the scale from the start, rather than buying something cheap and upgrading anyway.

any advice you could give regarding the above two skimmers or on another model i should look at would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

FWIW, I had the ATB Elegance Pro and had a terrible experience. I would have to disassemble it every 2-3 weeks (which, with this skimmer, is a huge PITA), take apart the pump, re-seat the impeller and reassemble it (about a 45 min. process). Additionally, two impellers broke. When it worked, it worked well, but I was expecting a much better experience with a $900 skimmer.

I had horrible experience with ATB customer service as well. I know Mojo and others have had great experiences with ATB, but mine was not.

Now the Elegance 200 may be better. It would certainly be easier to disassemble.

HTH
 
mojo~ said:
you can clean it but afterwards the skimmer will have to break in again. Not a big deal. Vinegar is the best thing to use. How many balls are you running in yours ? 3 or 4? just curious. Less balls = more air draw just fyi. I found 4 to be better in most cases (small ones)
Click to expand...

Thanks Mojo. I run 4, small. Skimmer works great, just can't see the water level in the mixing box right now. Thanks again, much appreciated.
 
This is a great thread. Can I bother you with a recommendation?

I'm adding a sump to my tank and looking for an in-sump skimmer. It's a 75gal DT with a 40B sump. Light bio-load now, medium in the future. I'd like to keep it under $350. The baffles aren't in the sump yet and I have plenty of room so footprint isn't an issue. Noise is a big issue though since the tank is in the living room.

Thanks in advance!
 
the jns sk2 is 389 but is 5% off and would be both quiet and a great performer. The Bubble magus Nac 7, The Sro 2000 int and the reef octo XS 160 would all be a great fit. The octo XS uses the newer sicce pump and its pretty quiet and the 160XS rolls in at $299. Make sure you get the XS series as it comes with the better pump compared to the older xtreme series
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Replacement Pump for Vertex Omega 150 Protein Skimmer
Replies
4
Views
2K
r1racer
R
S
Why do oversized protein skimmers not adequately remove protein from a tank?
Replies
17
Views
3K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
S
Small Sump Leak - Worth fixing?
Replies
1
Views
128
griss
griss
Broken reefer
Skimmer
Replies
7
Views
762
wvned
wvned
S
Back up power supply
2
Replies
24
Views
3K
ironwill723
ironwill723
Back
Top