Skimmer Q&A Thread

autopro said:
Mojo:

I am trying to decide on a skimmer for my 65 gal. plus 30 gal. sump. I will have a medium to heavy biolad with a mixture of SPS and LPS. I will wave a refugium in the sump also. The main reason at looking at these 3 skimmers is the good ratings and the fact that they are not too tall, I do not have much room under the stand. Is there a reason to spend the $100.00 extra on the most expensive of the three?

So my three choices are:
Bubble Magus NAC6
Bubble Magus NAC7
SWC 160 Cone

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

They all use the same pump. They will all work well. Similar performance. the SWC is built a little better. Stronger materials. Overall you will be happy with any of the three. just make sure you buy the one you like. or the 100 bucks you save now may cost you more later.
 
So I'm planning a 105 gallon mixed reef(with a strong emphasis on SPS corals) and a heavy bioload, given this I started looking at a couple different skimmers. Right now I think I've narrowed my options down to:

-Bubble Magus NAC7
-SWC 160 Cone
-Reef Octopus 200 Extreme
-Reef Octopus SRO 2000 (internal)
-Vertex IN-180

These are all in the 250-350$ budget range that I'm in. I'm thinking the first two options may be a write off given that the tank will be largely SPS based and have a high bioload. Right not I'm leaning toward the Octopus 200 Extreme but am kind of put off by the pump rotational issues, is this an easy problem to identify and fix or will the hassle not be a worth the effort?

Another question I have is based on some advice I was given by a LFS, where I was told the Vertex IN-180 would be far too big for my tank and "wouldn't skim a thing". This seems to conflict with alot of the posts on this thread, would there be any truth to this?
 
Mojo, if I replace the MW impeller that comes with the NAC6 atman 2500 pump with a SWC 160 cone NW/MW impeller, would it perform better?
 
about 100 lph difference maybe. That doesnt always mean better. But if you dont need the impeller then why fix it? now the venturi might be a hair larger on the swc atman too. I cant remember off hand. Ill have to look at my notes.

Mojo~
 
H&s a200

H&s a200

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.
 
ok well i got a bk mini 160 now :) bought it used on here and it is only on day 2 super quiet, built like a tank for sure, but if it came down to it id have to take the vertex in 180 price being the reason. so after i run this for a few months might have to pull the vertex back out. next skimmer will be a cone to see myself if it is any better or not
 
after u use the mini u will like how easy it is to clean plus the neck comes out of the cup for even better cleaning.
 
design good, kind of a fragile skimmer. a lot of the 160 version broke in shipping. Sicce pumps are used and you can buy sicce pump based skimmer cheaper than the ATI.
 
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