Skimmer Q&A Thread

[mojo~]

Hi , reefers

I'm building a 154 g sps/acro dominated system with an 30 G sump .
And i am in the stage that i'm thinking about what skimmer to use.
I'm gonna use (like i do now) biopellets (=carbon dosing) , no refuge or LR in the sump.

I can't seem to make up my mind , and i'm left with 3 options :

option 1 :
http://www.aquareus.nl/powercone-200i-p-1578.html

the most economic one , but i like the adjustable pump

option 2 :
http://www.aquareus.nl/pyro-true-cone-200-p-1807.html

never heard of them before , but it seems well manufactored and doesn't take so much place in sump then option 1

option 3:
http://www.aquareus.nl/alpha-200-p-1690.html

this is the most expensive ( about 900 € or 1200 $) , but i know from experience that the pump doesn't make much noise (almost complete quit).
one thing also caught my eye on this model , the very wide neck ?? --> is this a pro or a con ?

experiences are much appreciated

greetingzz tntneon

well there have been a ton of issues around the powercone, The skimz eden pumps are not proven and unless you get the 5000 pumps the others are a little noisey. and yes the neck is a bit large. What about hte bk mini 180 gen 2, the atb 1050A or even the atb 840v2 would work well.

 

[mojo~]

What do you think of the cheap ebay skimmer? The SC150? I read another thread and it seemed like a good value. If not that skimmer what is the best value for a 75g

I had one of these and although it is super cheap and a great entry level skimmer the atman 2000 pump does not cycle very much water at all. if you are on a super tight budget then ok, but I would consider the oct nw 110 over the sc150. it will cylce more water than the atman 2000 and pulls about the same air.

 

[mojo~]

i've got my sro 2000int. the foam r really wet. any wait to get it dry?

my tank is now just filled up with live rocks. nothing more. the bubbles can only reach the half neck otherwise it overflows.

it sits at a depth of 6.5 inches.

you dont really have anyhting to skim yet but give it time and adjust the valve so the water level is slightly lower. You can run it at 6 inches as well if you have too. you will have to give it time.

 

[rownsurf]

The first one that pops to mind is the avast CS1 cone with the psk 1000 pump. This would work on both. The sea side aquatics cs2 would do well too. But a little large for the 75. yet another option would be the JNS sk2 and the sro 2000. The thing is all these use the same pump except the sro uses the bubble blaster all will do a fine job.

Mojo~

Thanks Mojo...I will looks into those 4 to get an idea on how skimmers have changed since my Euroreef. I'm sure I'll have some more questions!

Justin

 

[Jvak]

Mojo, I recently got a SRO 3000 INT Skimmer for my 150 Gallon DT with 55 Gallon Sump/Refugium. The tank has been running for quite a while and the last skimmer I had was always pulling gunk out. How long of a break in period will this new skimmer have? At times it seems to be working perfect and then the bubble level will drop significantly and not pull anything. Do i just keep the drain cup open and sit tight for a while?

 

[Todd100]

Does the outflow pipe need to be above the sump water height to prevent back pressure? Also, what would be the ideal amount of bubbles in a skimmer body(air bubbles vs. water level)?

 

[tntneon]

well there have been a ton of issues around the powercone, The skimz eden pumps are not proven and unless you get the 5000 pumps the others are a little noisey. and yes the neck is a bit large. What about hte bk mini 180 gen 2, the atb 1050A or even the atb 840v2 would work well.

Thx Mojo ,
Bk has crossed my mind too , gonna look at your suggestions , THX

greetingzz tntneon

 

[armison89]

what would be the top 3 best skimmers for a FOWLR system thats aroud 400 gallons. i would like the best skimmer at a desent price.

 

[biom]

What should be the minimum water flow through gravity feed DELTEC APF 600?

 

[mojo~]

Mojo, I recently got a SRO 3000 INT Skimmer for my 150 Gallon DT with 55 Gallon Sump/Refugium. The tank has been running for quite a while and the last skimmer I had was always pulling gunk out. How long of a break in period will this new skimmer have? At times it seems to be working perfect and then the bubble level will drop significantly and not pull anything. Do i just keep the drain cup open and sit tight for a while?

Give itsome time to slime up on the insideand it will becomemore stable. When this happends you can really dial it in.

 

[mojo~]

Does the outflow pipe need to be above the sump water height to prevent back pressure? Also, what would be the ideal amount of bubbles in a skimmer body(air bubbles vs. water level)?

No just dont have the 90 degree elbow going back down. If it just comes out the T and is under water it will be ok.

 

[mojo~]

what would be the top 3 best skimmers for a FOWLR system thats aroud 400 gallons. i would like the best skimmer at a desent price.

FOr a fowlr with ath range check out the Vertex in 280. the OCto xs 300 is another good choice. find you a old asm g4x and call it a day.

 

[mojo~]

What should be the minimum water flow through gravity feed DELTEC APF 600?

I would run at least 1.5x the system volume. so around 150gph on a 100g. tank.

A good pump for that skimmer though would be a maxi jet600.

 

[biom]

thank you Mojo~ was very helpful, the system volume is exactly 100g

 

[Todd100]

I just set up an ATB Mikro last week and don't like the pump on it due to noise and performance. It's a Sicce Syncra SK 400 that ATB said is pulling 300 liters of air. I don't know the water amount it's pushing with the air going. The pump sticker says its a 478 gph max pump. The neck of the skimmer is 3.75 inches wide. The skimmer has to be full of water past the collection cup bottom, or even higher to pull skimmate. I'm unhappy with the noise of the air silencer and could use a DIY suggestion. 300 liter of air isn't much in this skimmer, and I'm not real sure it's even doing an honest 300 since the foam cushion is less than an inch. After reading the forums that mention the Mikro I found out the pump used to be an Eheim 1250 or 1260...don't remember the exact model number. Victor said 700 liters was causing microbubbles but skimming great. He later said 500 wasn't causing micro bubbles but 700 would perform better if microbubbles weren't concerning. The Red Dragon pump for the BK 160 looks like what I want with very low noise and 600 liters of air. What would be some pros and cons vs the Bubble Blaster 1000 or any other pump that deserves mention?

 

[mojo~]

the 1000 would be a good pump on it. This is one atb skimmer I havent had personally. But I agree that if the id of the neck is that large then you would need more air than 300. I would call victor if you are not pleased. I am sure he would even take the skimmer back if you truly were not happy.

How long has it been running.

 

[rogergolf66]

Ok my skimmer is just to loud. Running I think a nw-200 ok well I am running sps tank bare bottom with bio pellets so need a good skimmer. Only 65 gallons of total water. What is a quiet vefficient skimmer thatsa good value?

Roger

 

[rogergolf66]

How is the eshopps?

 

[mojo~]

well the nw 200 is large for that setup.

the SRO 1000 would be good. The sea side aquatics cs1 would work great and is very quiet. even hasa foam pad the pump sets on to eliminate any him from the pump.

 

[Todd100]

I've had the Mikro running for 7-10 days skimming wet.