Skimmer Q&A Thread

[cet98]

that's a great price ($585) for Royal Exclusive Alpha 170 Cone Protein Skimmer! never seen that price before, but I just checked saltysupply.com, it appears the skimmer is listed for $779. do I have to enter any promotion code in order to get this price?

look in the "Outlet" selection under protein skimmers

 

[FirstContact]

Yes, you need to go to their outlet page. Then go under skimmers.

 

[FirstContact]

Hi Mojo, Hi Everyone,

I am looking for some advice.

I have a 46g bow front, 30 gallon sump (100g volume rubbermaid) and a 20g refugium. I would like to upgrade to a 120g DT when I have the money. I'm starting corals and want to build quality pieces one at a time.

I was looking at Vertex In180, and the alpha 170 on sale $585 at Salty Supply.

Are these doable on my current system and proposed upgrade? What would you suggest?

Anyone?

 

[cet98]

Any opinions on the SWC 120 or 160 cone skimmers? Mojo, have you had any experience with these?

my "not so technical" review :lol:

OK... I am, by no means, anywhere near qualified to be a "skimmer expert" such as Mojo, but I can have a first impression.....right???!!!!

well then, here is it....

I received my SWC160 cone and I can honestly say.... WOW!!!SWEET!!!....BOOYEAH!!!! (technically speaking of course )
The very first thing I noticed was the "feel" of quality.

It is not the heaviest skimmer by far, but it feels very solid to me and the craftmanship was certainly better than I expected from a sub $300 unit.

The clear body is made from 1/8" thick acrylic while all the white plates/caps/base plates are made from 1/4" thick material. As mentioned, the seam on the cone body is bearly visible and very well done IMO.

The Atman pump at this point appears to virtually silent in my estimation (update: there is some humming, but within a stand/cabinet you can not detect the sound)

About the only noise produced so far seems to be coming from the silenser intake. So overall, with this skimmer being mounted in a cabinet below my tank, I expect I won't hear much sound, if any, from this skimmer...

All in all, I am extremely impressed so far with this $250 skimmer. I am truly thrilled that in this price range SWC can produce such a well made product.

here's a quick vid in action:

SWC160 cone

have yet to hear Mojo's review of the 120 cone, but I think he's waiting on a PW impeller...

HTH some

 

[mojo~]

I do have a swc 120.
Nice little skimmer. Works well and well built . But probably limited to a well stcked 55gallon tank.

 

[FirstContact]

Thanks everyone!

 

[OldNemo]

I do have a swc 120.
Nice little skimmer. Works well and well built . But probably limited to a well stcked 55gallon tank.

Have you modded it at all? Footprint size accurate on SWE site? I am about ready to buy a Vertex IN-80 for my SPS 40br but am waiting for a detailed review on the 120 cone first.

Thanks.

 

[mojo~]

Well the Vertex in 100 is a little better than the 80. Same pump between the 80 and 100.

But the SWC 120 has a solid build and is a great unit. It truly is for smaller systems. Not over rated. It uses a atman 1100 pump and is really quiet. It is built pretty well and a good bang for the buck skimmer. Great for those tanks 60 gallon or less.

 

[OldNemo]

Well the Vertex in 100 is a little better than the 80. Same pump between the 80 and 100.

But the SWC 120 has a solid build and is a great unit. It truly is for smaller systems. Not over rated. It uses a atman 1100 pump and is really quiet. It is built pretty well and a good bang for the buck skimmer. Great for those tanks 60 gallon or less.

Sweet! Just pre-ordered! Should be perfect for the 40br.

 

[rtparty]

Mojo,

Are there any other pumps that can be used with an ASM skimmer? I don't have an ASM but the question was brought up in my local club and people swear there is no other pump that will work on an ASM.

There has to be other pumps that work on an ASM, even if it means a little jimmy riggin to get it to work properly.

 

[Bolo Tran]

Hey mojo. Do you think think the swc 160 cone can handle a 120? Also how do you feel about the bubble magus bm200-p? Can't decide between the 2 as they are similarly priced. Thanks

 

[mojo~]

Mojo,

Are there any other pumps that can be used with an ASM skimmer? I don't have an ASM but the question was brought up in my local club and people swear there is no other pump that will work on an ASM.

There has to be other pumps that work on an ASM, even if it means a little jimmy riggin to get it to work properly.

THe Tunze 9410 is a great pump that will work. Quiet and Tunze reliability.
U can still buy the sedra pumps that will work on them. OR The Vertex in series pumps will works as well.

 

[mojo~]

Hey mojo. Do you think think the swc 160 cone can handle a 120? Also how do you feel about the bubble magus bm200-p? Can't decide between the 2 as they are similarly priced. Thanks

Well I would say the 160 would be fine. Nice fit actually. The bm200 uses a sicce pump and well with it internal that could be a headache waiting to happen.
The sicce pump has the rotational issue without a custom volute.

I would go with a swc 160, the vertex in 180, the ATB 840. Or even the NAC 7 bubble magus. The newer Super Reef octos are pretty nice as well.

 

[waldomas]

Mojo,

Do you think the Tunze 9410 would be enough for the ASM G4?

 

[mojo~]

I would use the 9420

 

[Powdermonkey]

Mojo,

I have a 144g dt and a 40g breeder for a sump. It is/will be mostly SPS and LPS corals and of course will have a mid/heavy bio-load. I have read a ton of your threads but am still really confused on what to get. Should I go with the MSX, Super Reef Octopus, or even a cone skimmer. My only limitation is must be insump and keep it under a grand if possible. I would really appreciate it if you could help me out.

 

[mojo~]

First Choice would be the ATB 1050A Awesome build, Best customer service, And top of the line performance.

Next would be either a msx 250A, the super reef octo 5000sss, a Hurricone cat one, are a Warner MArine AS200.

Those are the ones I would be looking at. So any where from $500 to $1000.

All would work well. You could go a little cheaper if you had to. But if you want to be happy and not worry if you were getting the best little skimmer you could get in performance. Then I would stick with one of the ones listed.

Mojo~

 

[Powdermonkey]

Mojo,
These are your picks in that order. And do you recommend calcium reactors as well?

Thanks

 

[MikeFisher1972]

how about the Super reef Octopus 5000 internal

how about the Super reef Octopus 5000 internal

Mojo i was wondering how well this unit worked and the bubble blaster hy5000 pump?
I like the price and want a good skimmer for my 235gDT + 125gDT 125g sump.

 

[mojo~]

Mojo,
These are your picks in that order. And do you recommend calcium reactors as well?

Thanks

Not in anyorder other than the ATB.

Calcium reactor I would Say ATB, Geo, then The aquaC is really nice as well the Vertex is a ok bang for buck. The ATB is really sweet.