Skimmer Q&A Thread

the alpha 250 is a different apple it has a neck that is pretty large for its air draw. If you go too big now i dont think you will be happy.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15014008#post15014008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mojo~
the alpha 250 is a different apple it has a neck that is pretty large for its air draw. If you go too big now i dont think you will be happy.

can you explain what do you mean: " that it has neck that is pretty large for it's air draw" ?
 
read the alpha review I did or check out all the info under premiums aquatics website thre is a alpha review forum there too.
 
maybe you right i didn't read that but they claim that it's pull 1800LPH it's about 30 LPM on 5.75" OD neck it's not bad this amount of air normal can handle on that neck diameter , i also did test on 12" base with 6.5" OD neck with 32 LPM and it's skim well but the skimmer more high than this one... air not working all the time eaqual with water .......and some time the diffuser block the flow to and the result can be different ..... for example on the same skimmer if the holes on the diffuser will be different the same skimmer can perform better/less....
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15014101#post15014101 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ksed
Mojo

Going over size on any skimmers or just the Alfa series is not recommended?

Thanks
Kevin

The alpha's mostly. They just are not over rated like most skimmers are. They are more of true rating. not inflated at all.
 
Kevin ,

IMO with all the test i did it's depend alot on your bioload ....... i realy don't believe on the skimmer rate..... if you put hang on filter now on your tank and put there just white filter floss you will see that it's start get dirty quick and in one day it will be dark brown.... skimmer can't collect all..... rating it's for marketing IMO ....lol .and when you got heavy bioload is better to have big skimmer or 2 small .
 
Thank you for your guys input!
I think I am going with the 250. I have around 180gal now and plan to add more fish so that will help with the bioload. Plus I feed pretty heavy and my tangs like to eat! Another tank is planned to be added to the system eventually or replacing the 150 with something larger all together. Thats several months away though.

Thanks again for your input!
 
Mojo This is my WM K-2 with three days of running.

134592DSC04182__Small_.JPG

134592DSC04181__Medium___Small_.JPG

134592DSC04180__Medium_.JPG
 
I like this skimmer a lot. Once I found the sweet spot for my settings I have not change it once. My old MRC that is all I did was making adjustments just to keep it skimming.
 
I have a fairly stocked 125 fowlr with a few softies and lps and just purchased the msx 160. Would have preferred to have gotten the msx 200, but sump space won't permit. Knowing that this skimmer may be a bit undersized, I was thinking of puting the large atb pinwheel on it which I have read pushes the skimmer pretty much to its max. Will it run extremely loud being pushed so hard (going in the living room) and/or have startup problems? Is the large atb too much for the 160 and/or real hard to dial in? Should this be sufficient for my system? Thanks.
 
You will be fine. I just sent you a pm about your questions as well. It may rattle on startup for a second or two. Mine did only on startup and then was pretty quiet. I think you will be pleased with the performance upgrade of the large ATB PPW.
 
its really pretty similar in performance. Yo can tweak a mesh to get a little more but most people start having startup issues and having to blow in the tube at that point. THe large ATB pinwheel worked very well for me. Out of say 100 people that I have heard have them. 1 person had issues with their sicce starting up. So to say 100% that you will not have an issue would be false. But I am 99% sure you will be fine. :)
Good luck with it. I wouldnt really worry. ts not super huge. its just enough to draw a nice steady air draw in your skimmer . Mine pulled around 30 scfh on a 160. where the msx wheel pulled 24-to 26 and the coralvue wheel pulled 18. So just some comparison.

Mojo~
 
For me the large PPW works better than mesh in everyway, it starts and draws 34scfh can't beat that, I've heard of up to 40scfh on different bodies with the ATB wheel.
 
Great thread!

I have a question. I currently have a heavily stocked 120 gallon SPS tank with a 50 gallon sump, 40 gallon frag tank and 10 gallon fuge. So about 200 gallons of water volume.

I have been debating on getting either the:
MSX 250
MSX 300
Octo Extreme 300

Maybe the vertex 180 or 280

Your recommendations please!

-Scott
 
the octo extreme and the msx are basically the same. The msx comes with a better pinwheel and the msx machines a small section in the volute to help make room for those who mesh mod. The msx 250 is probably the best skimmer in that group. The vertex in 280 isnt a bad skimmer but the resun pumps just havent had enough time to prove if they are up to par yet.
Not sure what your budget is. Other skimmers that will work really well are the Warner Marine as 200. The K2 would work ok. It just wont cycle the same amount of water as a 2 sicce skimmer.
So with that said. their are many skimmers that will work well for you. The ATB 840 and 1050, the k2 the wm as 200, the vertex in 180, the bk gen 2 bk mini 180. all offer great performance. But again if your like the MSX 250 I am sure you will be really happy with its performance. I believe that are going to come out with a askoll pump version too.
 
Thay already have an Askoll upgrade option for the larger MSX skimmers. I went with the MSX-300 in expectation of upgrading over the Sicces. I've seen the custom volutes they make (turned out of solid PVC stock) for the Askoll and it's a high quality part. Should pull 100-120 scfh easy enough.
 
Back
Top