Skimmer Q&A Thread

[autodave]

Mojo- I was thinking about getting a Seaside Aquatics CS2,the tank I have right now is 90g mixed reef,med. load,but was thinking about going up to a 150g in the future.Is the CS2 to big for my 90g? Thanks

 

[TheFishTeen]

Bump on my question...

Hey Mojo, how would you compare the performance of the Deltec AP851 to other skimmers within its category?

 

[mojo~]

mojo~ what do you think of the Cadlights TIA 1150? I am not considering purchsaing one, but I just don't understand how a skimmer that only pulls 283l/h of air can be rated for a 90-120g tank. Any insight?

not sure I woulb be skeptical of ratings on any skimmer.

 

[mojo~]

That is the best option as I am in Vietnam and get multiple power cuts per week. Mojo I know you have tested many skimmers so is there any you can recommend that are as hassle free as possible? I like the simplicity of the Tunze Master DOC but I do not like the price however if that is the only alternative then I'll bite the bullet.

what do you have available there for brands of skimmers And I can help direct you accordingly.

 

[epsaxon]

what do you have available there for brands of skimmers And I can help direct you accordingly.

The best I could do locally is Aqua Excel or Bubble Magus clones from Hong Kong or Taiwan. Any other brand would need to be imported just as with my SWC. Another restriction is the pump must be 220v 50Hz or at least have a 220v 50Hx European version that I can purchase separately like I did for my SWC. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have bought the Tunze Hydrofoamer Silence 9420 pump instead of the Sicce PSK 2500.

 

[gibbus123]

Well simply put...no.lol that pump is really big.it will cause your skimmer to over flow besides the fact the out put is bigger and won't line up.the 150 isn't bad.a mesh mod would be a better option.

Thanks! I'm goingc w the mesh mod then.

 

[mojo~]

It's a 120 gallon (4x2x2) with a 40 gallon sump. There is a bit over 100lbs of LR In it. The tank has been running for 5 years with an ASM G2 on it. There are 10 fish total, a regal tang, yellow tang, 2x perc clowns, 2x barred goby, 3x yellow tailed damsel, and a six line wrasse so nothing huge. It's a mixed reef, mostly LPS, zoas, and rics, and just a few sps. The ASM was taken out about 2 weeks ago when te pump crashed, so I got a SRO 2000xp to replace it so the tank has been skimmerless for about 3 weeks so there is some algae has built up and the SRO just has been impossible to set. One hour it's producing large black bubbles, then the next the skimmer is only half full of water... Next to no bubbles. Any other questions just ask

So the skimmer is new, The turn the skimmer on and set the valve wide open. THe water level in the skimmer will be very low. This is fine... Let it run over night this way.. You are going to want to bump it up as you will see this great big foam head starting to collect. It will surge up and down during this time as well... Now I assume the water level is constant. No changes in water hieght. With that said, you will slowly... I repeat slowly start to bring up the level and then let it sit for at least a couple hours.some of the foam head may start to collect. The adjustments should be small. If you make a small adjustment to it and set the skimmer this way it will typically take about a week to set it. For a new skimmer this isnt so bad. it will be skimming a little during this time. And will be skimming more towards the end. Now Most people, Myself included like to turn them on set them and then wait for the cup to fill up with nasty skimate. You just have to remember that all this plastic has oils and stuff on it. Pump housing, impeller, skimmer body ect.. So it all has to wear off . AS it breaks in you will see soem really crazy water patterns in the skimmer body. Little air bubbles on the side of the body as well too. It will have to slime up and get a bacteria layer on everything before it can start skimming well. The longer you have it, the better it should work.

 

[mojo~]

Mojo- I was thinking about getting a Seaside Aquatics CS2,the tank I have right now is 90g mixed reef,med. load,but was thinking about going up to a 150g in the future.Is the CS2 to big for my 90g? Thanks

As long as your 90 g is well stocked you will be pleased with your purchase and it will still be great on your 150 later. If you are lightly stocked I would look at the cs1 ssa. But the CS2 is really nice. It will do a really nice job for you I am sure.

 

[mojo~]

Bump on my question...

Well lets see, Its an older skimmer and back then it was great. But with and approx 8 inch body, These were metric I believe 200 mm is around 7.8 in. The pump pulls around 600 lph of air as well. Now none of the numbers on htis are off the chart for sure. But it was well balanced and would skim well. By todays standards for something in its same physical size for example. An 8 inch body skimmer typically is pulling around 1000lph of air. Similar amounts of water throughput too. For example, For a new external like the SRO 2000 ext. you are looking at just over $500. It uses the bb2000 pump and pulls closer to 1100 lph of air. This would be what you would buy today...

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/pr...nal-skimmers/super-reef-octopus-2000-external


If it is something you own, I would just keep it and run it. As it is still a great skimmer. But if you are in the market to pick up a skimmer. I would look at something like the sro 2000 ext. if external is what you are looking for.

Mojo~

 

[mojo~]

The best I could do locally is Aqua Excel or Bubble Magus clones from Hong Kong or Taiwan. Any other brand would need to be imported just as with my SWC. Another restriction is the pump must be 220v 50Hz or at least have a 220v 50Hx European version that I can purchase separately like I did for my SWC. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have bought the Tunze Hydrofoamer Silence 9420 pump instead of the Sicce PSK 2500.

well the AE skimmers over there use the aquabee pump I believe. Now, I am not saying that they set the world on fire but they do run well and are pretty reliable.
the AE1002 would be good , the AE bp-cs over there uses the Aquabee pump I believe. Here in the states it uses the psk 2500 pump which you are wanting to get away from.

The tunze are nice but pricey. Take a look at those two posted above and see what you think. They should both be 220v aquabee pumps. I kow for sure the AE 1002 is.

 

[epsaxon]

well the AE skimmers over there use the aquabee pump I believe. Now, I am not saying that they set the world on fire but they do run well and are pretty reliable.
the AE1002 would be good , the AE bp-cs over there uses the Aquabee pump I believe. Here in the states it uses the psk 2500 pump which you are wanting to get away from.

The tunze are nice but pricey. Take a look at those two posted above and see what you think. They should both be 220v aquabee pumps. I kow for sure the AE 1002 is.

Thanks Mojo. Had a look at the AE's and the AE BP-CS is still supplied with the PSK2500 over here. The AE1002 seems ok but is it true that the Aquabee pumps are no longer being made (worry about parts later). While searching for reviews on the Aquebee pumps, I accidentally stumbled across the Skimz site. I did not know they were in Singapore and supply 220v 50Hz models so I will contact them for purchasing details. Also saw your reviews on the SK and SM 201 so I will probably step up to the next larger size model for my 150g (600l).

 

[kalaika33]

Hey Mojo,
I have the sm201, do all the ES5000 pumps have the correct impeller? Also I've been running it for about 5 days. I can't seem to fine tune the skimz sm201. The foam isn't a thick foam just large bubbles. The sm201 has a water level of 9 inchs. The micro adjustable valve is covering half of the water outlet. The air intake tap is almost dialed all the way down inorder for me to get fine bubbles. How do I know if I have the new orange impeller? I purchased the skimmer in march 2011 but just setup the tank last week. The 90lbs of uncured live rock was added the same day I turned on the skimmer. Please help me. I've read the instructions several times and can't figure out how to fine tune the skimmer.

Thanks

 

[autodave]

Thanks Mojo- I got the SSA CS2.

 

[mojo~]

Hey Mojo,
I have the sm201, do all the ES5000 pumps have the correct impeller? Also I've been running it for about 5 days. I can't seem to fine tune the skimz sm201. The foam isn't a thick foam just large bubbles. The sm201 has a water level of 9 inchs. The micro adjustable valve is covering half of the water outlet. The air intake tap is almost dialed all the way down inorder for me to get fine bubbles. How do I know if I have the new orange impeller? I purchased the skimmer in march 2011 but just setup the tank last week. The 90lbs of uncured live rock was added the same day I turned on the skimmer. Please help me. I've read the instructions several times and can't figure out how to fine tune the skimmer.

Thanks

I dont think the impellar changed on the 5000 pump at all.

the air valve will need to be cranked down to make the bubbles smaller. but it will raise the water level. it will take some playing around with to get what you want. There is not exact setting. it depends on how you want to run your skimmer.

 

[TheFishTeen]

Well lets see, Its an older skimmer and back then it was great. But with and approx 8 inch body, These were metric I believe 200 mm is around 7.8 in. The pump pulls around 600 lph of air as well. Now none of the numbers on htis are off the chart for sure. But it was well balanced and would skim well. By todays standards for something in its same physical size for example. An 8 inch body skimmer typically is pulling around 1000lph of air. Similar amounts of water throughput too. For example, For a new external like the SRO 2000 ext. you are looking at just over $500. It uses the bb2000 pump and pulls closer to 1100 lph of air. This would be what you would buy today...

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/pr...nal-skimmers/super-reef-octopus-2000-external


If it is something you own, I would just keep it and run it. As it is still a great skimmer. But if you are in the market to pick up a skimmer. I would look at something like the sro 2000 ext. if external is what you are looking for.

Mojo~

Ya, the new TC/SC Deltec skimmer pull way more air than the AP series did. I already own the AP851, and I want to find a way to increase its performance. Any ideas? (Im thinking maybe mesh-mod?)

 

[joegoersch]

Planning 120 gallon build-perseverating a lot

Planning 120 gallon build-perseverating a lot

I currently have a 29 gallon tank and 29 gallon refugium and the wife didn't like aquarium stand, says it doesn't match kitchen cabinets. So I bought 4 new kitchen cabinet doors to incorporate into a stand and canopy for a 120 gallon (48 x 24 x 24) in which I plan to put my two ocellarus clowns, diamond goby, 2 Bengali's and, pajama cardinal fish, flame angle (all small now) and add a foxface and kole tang and then down the road-a mandarin and maybe some corals.

Initially for the 120 gallon new build I was thinking about the SRO 2000 external skimmer but now I don't think there will be enough vertical height (I have about 30" to work with) to have an external skimmer with the output above the sump levels.

Am I correct that outflow of external sump should be above sump level ?

If so, maybe an internal skimmer is better. Any recommendations, I'm thinking the SRO 2000 or 3000 internal, but in no way married to those ideas. I've just read good things about the SRO skimmers. I'm looking for something energy efficient and not too loud, but performance is my paramount concern. New sump will be 50 gallons so total volume will be about 160 gallons or so.

Any opinions greatly appreciated. Thanks !

 

[RGibson]

SRO 2000 will work it is 26.5 ins high-Go external . Have a good day

 

[mojo~]

SRO 2000 will work it is 26.5 ins high-Go external . Have a good day

I do not agree...

 

[mojo~]

I currently have a 29 gallon tank and 29 gallon refugium and the wife didn't like aquarium stand, says it doesn't match kitchen cabinets. So I bought 4 new kitchen cabinet doors to incorporate into a stand and canopy for a 120 gallon (48 x 24 x 24) in which I plan to put my two ocellarus clowns, diamond goby, 2 Bengali's and, pajama cardinal fish, flame angle (all small now) and add a foxface and kole tang and then down the road-a mandarin and maybe some corals.

Initially for the 120 gallon new build I was thinking about the SRO 2000 external skimmer but now I don't think there will be enough vertical height (I have about 30" to work with) to have an external skimmer with the output above the sump levels.

Am I correct that outflow of external sump should be above sump level ?

If so, maybe an internal skimmer is better. Any recommendations, I'm thinking the SRO 2000 or 3000 internal, but in no way married to those ideas. I've just read good things about the SRO skimmers. I'm looking for something energy efficient and not too loud, but performance is my paramount concern. New sump will be 50 gallons so total volume will be about 160 gallons or so.

Any opinions greatly appreciated. Thanks !

If you can fit one internal I would alsways suggest that as skimmers can always overflow and the wives never like a wet floor. Thre are ways around it but if youdont have too I would look at the sro 2000, The Sea Side aquatics CS2, and the jns sk2. If you are feeling like a diy project the Avast cs1 would work too.

Good luck

Mojo~

 

[joegoersch]

Thanks. I just renovated kitchen. No one likes water !