Skimmer Q&A Thread

[ballebrian4u]

HEY i judt bought the in 180 and had a ? MOJO how can i know if its the second gen or the first? thanks for the addvice

 

[NyReefNoob]

gen 1 bubble plate is alot higher then on gen 2
trigger i have the 180 on my 80g overstock system , id def suggest the 250 for your water volume

 

[tntneon]

hi reefers ,

I'm in the planning off a new skimmer build :idea:.
I'm gonna make the body from an nalgene lab bottle with a volume of 3l
, the neck piece i'm gonna make from the 2" screw lit on it.
The new idea i have , is to make an up side down bubble plate to make it downdraft and the air/ water mixture is pumped in exentrical.
See details on the attachment.

any regards or tips on this ?

greetingzz tntneon

 

[shluffer]

temperature and specific gravity should have an impact on the viscosity of the water This should impact the optimal level of the water. Does this have an impact large enough to worry about? I have noticed that my water temp is lower than I want, so I have been slowly increasing it.

 

[rtparty]

Mojo,

I have hit quite a bump in the road. I ordered the Octo NW150 that Marine Solutions had for $99 on December 11th. They sent an email saying the skimmer shipped and would arrive the 18th. As of Christmas nothing arrived so I checked FedEx and they never even shipped my order! To say I am ****ed is an under statement! I contacted Rob and he said they are totally out of stock and I would not be able to get that skimmer from them.

He offered me a Bubble Magus NAC6 at no additional charge. I think the skimmers look cheap and I HATE the pump underneath the skimmer. I am really hesitant to trust a chinese knock off of any kind. I have read that you are running one and like it so I can at least trust that.

My tank is gonna be a 40 gallon breeder with a 29g sump and possibly a 15 gallon frag tank tied in. So a total of roughly 60-65 gallons of water. SPS dominate with some LPS here and there. There will be no zoos or leathers of any kind in my new system.

Is the Bubble Magus worth it? Should I be looking elsewhere? I can get skimmers at a wholesale price through my LFS and was thinking of either a Vertex or even a Reef Octopus through another company. At this point I am disappointed at Marine Solutions and would rather avoid them but am willing to take the Bubble Magus at a discounted price if I will be happy in the end.

Sorry for the novel!

 

[raynist]

Hey Mojo,

I am the owner of your mojo mini 100. I thnk this is the best skimmer I have owned!!

After observing your skimmer, I think I have found a deficiency on my 2 MSX 250A's. You skimmer has almost no turbulence in the reaction chamber. I thInk this is due to how you made the bubble plate as it is very thick and probably has the right size and number of holes. In looking at my 250A, there is mega turbulence in the reaction chamber. I looked at the bubble plate and it is very thin. I would say 80 of the bubble plate is drilled out. When I look at the area under the bubble plate in your skimmer, there are many bubbles rotating en mass lining up to go through the plate. On the 250A I see no such thing. The bubbles just go right up through the plate. Is this an area I may be able to improve this skimmer with a custom bubble plate?

Thanks
Ray

 

[mojo~]

Hey Mojo,

I am the owner of your mojo mini 100. I thnk this is the best skimmer I have owned!!

After observing your skimmer, I think I have found a deficiency on my 2 MSX 250A's. You skimmer has almost no turbulence in the reaction chamber. I thInk this is due to how you made the bubble plate as it is very thick and probably has the right size and number of holes. In looking at my 250A, there is mega turbulence in the reaction chamber. I looked at the bubble plate and it is very thin. I would say 80 of the bubble plate is drilled out. When I look at the area under the bubble plate in your skimmer, there are many bubbles rotating en mass lining up to go through the plate. On the 250A I see no such thing. The bubbles just go right up through the plate. Is this an area I may be able to improve this skimmer with a custom bubble plate?

Thanks
Ray

Yes.
The three skimmers I have built all use my bubble plate. I found this to be the best design. To thin of a plate and its pointless in my opinion. At least for turbulence.

ill get caught up tomorrow. On vacation

 

[tntneon]

hey mojo ,
what do you think of a bubble plate that is up-side down ?
making it down draft , to improve contact time ?

greetingzz tntneon

 

[mojo~]

so what do you perfer vertex 180 or msx 200 or a octupus becse i am going to buy it in the moning and i have no clue and i am realing on you to help me !!!

I prefer the vertex 180 just due to the rotational issues of the stock sicce. I am not a fan of the skimmer overflowing on startup.

 

[mojo~]

Hey, Mojo.... just curious. I might go to a 180g in the future. I have a 90g with a 60g sump fuge. now I could turn the 90g into a sump fuge, or keep the one I have.... however, I could use the 90g as a sump and turn the 60g into a full fuge. What would you suggest for a 180g with probably another 100g in a sump and fuge. I think my K2 would be maxed in that setup.

The k2 is good but I dont hink it will move enough water to support 200g.

The ATB 1050A, THe SWC 1a, THe msx 250A THe super reef octo 5000 i think it is, and the Vertex in 280 would all be great choices.

 

[mojo~]

Mojo

I am putting together a 40 breeder SPS dominate tank. I plan on a heavy bioload. My sump is a 20g.

Any better skimmers out there for this size than a OctoXtreme 160?

Thanks.

if you already have the 160 then just keep it.
if not the vertex in 100 would be good, the BM NA6/7 and the newer SWC small cone the swc 120. would be good but they wont be out for another couple weeks.

 

[mojo~]

Mojo,

I have hit quite a bump in the road. I ordered the Octo NW150 that Marine Solutions had for $99 on December 11th. They sent an email saying the skimmer shipped and would arrive the 18th. As of Christmas nothing arrived so I checked FedEx and they never even shipped my order! To say I am ****ed is an under statement! I contacted Rob and he said they are totally out of stock and I would not be able to get that skimmer from them.

He offered me a Bubble Magus NAC6 at no additional charge. I think the skimmers look cheap and I HATE the pump underneath the skimmer. I am really hesitant to trust a chinese knock off of any kind. I have read that you are running one and like it so I can at least trust that.

My tank is gonna be a 40 gallon breeder with a 29g sump and possibly a 15 gallon frag tank tied in. So a total of roughly 60-65 gallons of water. SPS dominate with some LPS here and there. There will be no zoos or leathers of any kind in my new system.

Is the Bubble Magus worth it? Should I be looking elsewhere? I can get skimmers at a wholesale price through my LFS and was thinking of either a Vertex or even a Reef Octopus through another company. At this point I am disappointed at Marine Solutions and would rather avoid them but am willing to take the Bubble Magus at a discounted price if I will be happy in the end.

Sorry for the novel!

Well the Octo's are from Honya in china as well I believe. lol
But to be honest the NA6 when putting together the bubble plate felta little cheap to me. The rest of the skimmer was ok. The finish is good and the pump is quiet. The skimmer is running well and I can not complain about performance at the pricepoint the skimmer has. I think it would be a good skimmer for you especially at $100.

I would probably go that route. Good luck.

Mojo~

 

[OldNemo]

if you already have the 160 then just keep it.
if not the vertex in 100 would be good, the BM NA6/7 and the newer SWC small cone the swc 120. would be good but they wont be out for another couple weeks.

No I have not purchased the Octo 160 yet, but it was at the top of my list as the LFS sells them and raves about them. Is the Vertex quieter even with the newer pinwheel on the 160? Since I am going SPS, I want to make sue I have even skimmer. Space is limited. Plus I like the price of the Vertex better.

have you tested the SWC 120 or 160? My tank will not be set up until February at the earliest. Do you know anything about the pumps? Size wise they look perfect but I want to make sure I get something efficient for a 40 g SPS with heavy bio.

Thanks

 

[ptan]

skimmer question

skimmer question

a quick question... im going to setup a 270 gallons display tank with 120 gallons sump tank... it will be sps dominated tank.... will octopus cone skimmer xp-5000 enough? thanks everyone....

 

[tangtang clown]

ballebrian, I would recommend getting a skimmer with a bubble blaster pump b/c I think they perform better than the sicce. You can ask charlie davidson how he likes the
bb3000 over the pump that came with his vertex 180.

 

[rgonzalez]

Question:

Just purchased a Reef Octopus SWC NW 200 Protein Skimmer. Does anyone know if this piece of equipment works best with a clean or dirty neck? Any experiences?

 

[klm]

Need some Mojo -
I asked on a different thread whether it was worth replacing my AquaC Remora on my 90gal tank w/39gal sump - the resounding answer was "dump the remora". Now the question, which skimmer for a budget minded wife for around $200. Comes down to;
Reef Octopus NWB 150
Vertex IN 100 In-Sump - STILL NOT SURE OF THE FOOTPRINT - DIFF. FOR DIFF. SITES
Bubble Magus NAC6
Which do you think will give - more bang for the buck, and be as quite as possible (both very important to my significant other .

Thanks for the input....

 

[mojo~]

for a 90g with a 39g sump well stocked I would go with the vertex in 180. I think the 100 will be a bit small. the na6 might do a little better but you may also check out the grey seas aquatics compact six. Another option as well.
The octo will move more water and cycle more than the others will out of the box.

 

[mojo~]

ballebrian, I would recommend getting a skimmer with a bubble blaster pump b/c I think they perform better than the sicce. You can ask charlie davidson how he likes the
bb3000 over the pump that came with his vertex 180.

The bb3000 and the vertex pump on the 180 are totally different. Not a fair comparison. But you will pay more for the bubbleblaster as well.

 

[cykenp]

For a 90 gal SPS only w/29 sump, dosing vodka/MB7:

Considering Vertex IN180 but worried about the pump so my other choices are SWC Xtreme 200 (I like the custom pin and impeller), GSA cone skimmer w/Sicce, or Octopus extreme 200. What do you guys think?