Skimmer Q&A Thread

[mojo~]

Darn I didnt even look at the aquamaxx . I did some research and liked the skimz sm201 & looking at utube and other reveiws it made me happy in my pants so I ordered one.problem is customes is tough so its on back order.
The post above.as.far as the sk201 they told me that the skimmers is sensitive to water height changes due to evaporation so you need to keep and eye on it . I haven't had any first hand dealings with it but thats what they told me . If your going to order a.skimz check out liverock and reef they have them for $50 cheaper rhen anyone else and no shipping charges . So I ordered some test kits with the money I saved .

you can get skimz from the states and skip customs, Aquacave....

The sm 201 is has amuch better pump than the sk201. I have had them both. The eden 5000 pump on the sm201 is queit and performs great.

 

[mojo~]

Octopus Super Reef 2000S Super Space Saver Skimmer i dont have a big sump but that would fit i can maybe fit another inch i have a decently stocked 120 with lps and maybe some sps and clams down the line.... what do you recommend.... do you think the octupus super reef is good?

that skimmer will work great. Good fit for your volume.

 

[mojo~]

Mojo what do you think of the aquamaxx cone 3 vs the skimz sm201 ? Having a terrible time getting my hands on the skimz so thinking about getting something else that's good for around 280g water volume.

are you talking about the jns sk 3 ? its a great skimmer . The SM201 uses the eden 5000 and is a good pump too.


Guys most of the skimz skimmers are on hold at the moment as they are having a pinwheel change. At least that is what I have been told. mostly on anything with the eden 2000 and 2800 pumps.

 

[mojo~]

Hey mojo, didn't you have an Elagence 200 skimmer? The reason I ask is I got my hands on one and at start up the Airstar is only pulling 560-570lph air draw? I was told by ATB rep that this would take 2-5days to break in? I have never had a pump with air draw this low at start up. 24hrs later and a half of collection cup of nog from a BK SM 200 poured into my test tank and the air draw is 600lph? Did yours come with a green pinwheel or a red pinwheel. I find it strange that of all the different skimmers I have had that this one has such a low air draw at start up. This pump has a green pinwheel that looks like the pinwheels the sicce's come with?

something is worng with 1, the pump, two, the airline , 3 your meter.

my pinwheel was purple. should pull about 1300 lph of air. it should be pulling close to airdraw in 24 hours.

 

[mojo~]

Hi Mojo,

What do you think of the BK Double-cone 200 for a 90 gallon mix reef with LPS and SPS? Do you think its too big?
I wanted to put a Supermarine 200 but I am limited because of skimmer compartment size but the Double-cone 180 or the 200 would fit well.


I can always built a new sump if you think this would be the better choice along with the Supermarine 200 but I don`t know if this one is also too big for my tank size?

please let me know what you think.

Thank you in advance :thumbsup:

well yea its too big plus its not really a double cone. The sm 200 would be way too big as well. I would look at the bk mini 180 gen2 as the biggest bk skimmer I would suggest. you could even get away with the 160...

To big and it wont pull anything or very little.

 

[mojo~]

Think im getting narrowed down, tried to pickup a skimz but having a hard time getting it, so thinking about changing the order.
280g water volume looking at these

Skimz SM201 (wait it out but really need to get something asap)
Aquamaxx Cone 3
Bubble Magus BM-NAC9
SRO 3000 or 5000

Also looked at the SWC 300 only thing I didnt like was the pump used 80 watts if I saw correctly as where most of these other skimmers are 1/3 that wattage.

Let me know what you guys think of that list above.

the Sro 5000 would most likley be my top choice but all of those would work.

 

[migas_01]

well yea its too big plus its not really a double cone. The sm 200 would be way too big as well. I would look at the bk mini 180 gen2 as the biggest bk skimmer I would suggest. you could even get away with the 160...

To big and it wont pull anything or very little.

Hi Mojo thank you for your help.

I have a mini bk 160 at the moment would like to upgrade to a little bigger.
What do you think about the BK double-cone 180 its rated up to 500 liters?

 

[HulaDad]

I'm running an Octo extreme 200 on my 180g right now, I'm building a 400g FOWLR tank to replace the 180 with. I really like how my Octo performs, but I have been checking out the Bubble Magnus skimmers. Should I stick with the Octo or try out the BM's? I'm lost when it comes out to picking out which model too. Some of the rated tank sizes are so close, should I just get one rated for a 500-600g tank? Thanks in advance for your knowledge...

 

[NyReefNoob]

migas if your really set on upgrading from the bk mini 160 which is more then enough skimmer for a super heavy stocked 90g i wouldnt even look at the BK cone, get the alpha which is the exact same skimmer, pump and all for a few hundred less. or even the bk mini 180, a atb 840 also or the skimz sm181 kone, i truelly dont think you will see much of a differance if you upgrade other then it running in-consistant because it is too much skimmer for your tank, we have close to the same water volume and ive had around 10 skimmers on this system, currently using a WM K2 which is too much for the tank and it is heavily stocked sps tank with a decent amount of fish

 

[migas_01]

I am from Portugal and its not easy to buy the Vertex material in here or even in Europe. I know the Vertex Alphas 170 had problems at the beginning.

Does anywone know how the Bubble King Double cone 180, 200 or 250 are? do they do their work well?

I know Klaus Jansen from Royal Exclusive wrote on the Bubble king forum a long time ago the Mini Bubble king models where for people with little space in the sump and Supermarines and other Bubble king models where the TOP in performance issues. So my question is if the Double Cone 180, 200 and 250 are better in performance than the minis??

 

[migas_01]

I am from Portugal and its not easy to buy the Vertex material in here or even in Europe. I know the Vertex Alphas 170 had problems at the beginning.

Does anywone know how the Bubble King Double cone 180, 200 or 250 are? do they do their work well?

I know Klaus Jansen from Royal Exclusive wrote on the Bubble king forum a long time ago the Mini Bubble king models where for people with little space in the sump and Supermarines and other Bubble king models where the TOP in performance issues. So my question is if the Double Cone 180, 200 and 250 are better in performance than the minis??

Mojo please let me know what do you think about these skimmers. Do you think the Double cones are better than the Minis?

Wouldn`t the contact time of air\water be longer than in the minis leading to faster skimming?

Double Cone Model 180 = for aquaria up. 500 liters (adjustable: 400 - 700 liters of air power)
Basic dimensions: 180 = 25 x 34 cm, height: 53 cm

 

[Clownin Aroun]

How do you feel about a Eshopps cone skimmer on a 120 VERY STOCKED! the s-150 or the s-200???

 

[looneytunes]

Hi Mojo, I am looking for a skimmer for my tank(3 more weeks:bounce3. Total volume will be around 160 gal. I want to be able to keep my options open so lets say heavily stocked with everything. The company making my sump does skimmers as well,Trigger Systems, are these any good or what would you recommend. Thank you.

Recommended Water Level: 7-11"
Maximum Aquarium Size: 300 gallons
Power Consumption: 23 watts
Air Intake: 1000 lph

Features

Footprint sensitive with pump mounted underneath
Low profile water level adjusting valve
Rubber feet to reduce vibration/noise
Waste air recirculating: takes some of the smelly/humid air that leaves the skimmer and puts it back into the skimmer, cap provided if not used
Air silencer to reduce air intake hissing noise
Drain fitting on collection cup, cap provided if not used
Ozone input - cap provided if not used, can be used for other filters where output is desired to be aerated or put into protein skimmer
Water flow under skimmer is not restricted - better flow through sump
Bubble turbulence reducing chamber

 

[ksed]

I am from Portugal and its not easy to buy the Vertex material in here or even in Europe. I know the Vertex Alphas 170 had problems at the beginning.

Does anywone know how the Bubble King Double cone 180, 200 or 250 are? do they do their work well?

I know Klaus Jansen from Royal Exclusive wrote on the Bubble king forum a long time ago the Mini Bubble king models where for people with little space in the sump and Supermarines and other Bubble king models where the TOP in performance issues. So my question is if the Double Cone 180, 200 and 250 are better in performance than the minis??

The Mini's I believe are better. First they have more air and water input than the double cones, also mini's are very well balanced.
Perhaps Mojo can give you more in site.

 

[mojo~]

migas if your really set on upgrading from the bk mini 160 which is more then enough skimmer for a super heavy stocked 90g i wouldnt even look at the BK cone, get the alpha which is the exact same skimmer, pump and all for a few hundred less. or even the bk mini 180, a atb 840 also or the skimz sm181 kone, i truelly dont think you will see much of a differance if you upgrade other then it running in-consistant because it is too much skimmer for your tank, we have close to the same water volume and ive had around 10 skimmers on this system, currently using a WM K2 which is too much for the tank and it is heavily stocked sps tank with a decent amount of fish

The alpha is not exact same as the bk. Both made by royal exclusive. But the alpha just are not balanced as well in my opinion.

 

[ken6217]

I am looking for a skimmer for 40 gallon tank with another 10 gallons in the sump. I want something rated higher than my tank size but not too large where the skimmer doesn't perform well. Tank will have both LPS and SPS. Would like the ability to to put about 8-10 small fish in as well.

Would the SWC-120 do the trick? Any other suggestions? I think the footprint can't be larger than 7x10 approx.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[ap2honda]

Hello Mojo could you recommend me a protein skimmer? Id like to stay around 500.00 unless a 700.00 dollar skimmer is really well worth it and why.
I have a 130 gallon reef tank these are my tank specs:
*125lbs of buna ultra rock
*the 130 tank be mainly sps dominated with lps and very few softies (zoas/paly/mushroom)
*20 gallon sump for skimmer and a seperate 10 gallon refugium with chaeto
* my fish list are, 1 hippo blue tang,1 powder blue tang, 1 fox face,1 blue/green chromis, 1 clown fish, 1 six line wrasse, 1 mandarin goby, 1 flame hawkfish, 1 diamon goby and maybe 1 or two more fish in the future.
*1 1/2 to 2 inch sand bed

I currently have an about 2 month old Reef Octopus nwb-150 with the new pin wheel and have an opportunity to sell it and upgrade. What do you recommend and why? I'd prefer a good solid working skimmer with a very good pump ( I read on your post about some starting backwards not sure if thats bad) my sump dimensions for the in sump protein skimmer are Length 16incehs x 12 width inches the height can be up to 24 inches.
Thanks for the Help in advance Mojo!

 

[TheFishMan65]

Mojo, a general skimmer question. I may be redoing a sump. I would like it to sport up to a 180 gallons. What size would you make the skimmer area?
Thanks

 

[Drae]

Thanks for the reply mojo. Another one for you. Pound for pound skimmer under a grand? I'd really like a nice one. Plus i hit last night at the casino for 600$ ( basically the 500$ I've given them over the past 2 months trying to win a new system, lol). Thanks. Best 3 would be awesome.

 

[clownfish2020]

which skimmer for my 55 gallon burmuda rogue or octopus 160 extreme

which skimmer for my 55 gallon burmuda rogue or octopus 160 extreme

Can you please tell me if I should keep my skimmer ( hang on back burmuda aquatics rogue powered by a rio 1700) or switch to a octopus reef 160 extreme (the old model with sicce psk 2500 pump - I got a good deal on a used one for $95). My tank is a 55 gallon with 6 false clownfish, live rock and soft corrals - mushrooms, leather and a hammer .

Thanks