Skimmer Q&A Thread

[mojo~]

Hello Mojo,
Thanks for all the great info.

Here is my question. It has been a long time since i have been looking at skimmers. I have an original Reef Octopus Recirculating 200
I think (has the big screw off connection for the cup). It looks like all the skimmers being recommended lately are non-Recirculating. Is recirculating not as big as it used to be?

My current tank is a 110 display with about 40 gallons in the sump.

I may be upgrading soon to a ~200 cube with a bigger sump.

Is the Reef SRO 3000INT a good choice? Can you do a recirculating mod on them or is it not worth it?

or would there be a better skimmer to keep an eye out for.

Thanks again for your time and the great info.
Mike

the 3000int would be great. I would not recirc it. if you wanted that then gethe 3000 external. Pumps are much better than they used to be and the recirc trend has faded away.

I think you will like 3000

 

[mojo~]

sorry to bother u again mojo and i hope u had a good holiday, im just curious if the sro 1000 skimmer is designed to handle a heavily fed 50 gallon tank.

im at the point where my nutrients are very low and its time to start dumping food in , but im worried my skimmer wont be able to handle it.

take care

I am sure the sro 1000 will do fine. THe bb1000 pump and the body of the skimmer are well suited for that size tank.

 

[mojo~]

Hey Mojo, just ordered a BK Mini 200 for my 210. Are they as good as folks say? Think it will do the job? Where should I have my water level for that skimmer? Thanks!

The bk mini manual says "The lower water level of the Mini Bubble King should not be below 13 cm and shouldn't exceed
30 cm. The best matching water level is between 20 and 25 cm."

Premium has it on their site
http://www.royal-exclusiv.de/forum/...ung und Wartungsanleitung Mini BK 8 07_gb.pdf


Hope that helps. I really like the bk mini series. THey are really nice. My top 3 skimmers right now are the bk mini 160, 180 and 200, the JNS sk series, and the atb 840 and 1050.

 

[Testutar]

Thanks Mojo. You have a ton of great information on here and I have enjoyed reading it. I was a little worried about the mini 200 being enough skimmer for my tank, but sump space is an issue, and I wanted the best I could make fit. Do you think it will handle to take size of 210 gallons? I am running a FOWLR on a wet dry, so sump volume is probably only between 10 and 15 gallons.

 

[brob22]

thanks alot for the help mojo. as always i appreciate it

 

[lookout888]

the 3000int would be great. I would not recirc it. if you wanted that then gethe 3000 external. Pumps are much better than they used to be and the recirc trend has faded away.

I think you will like 3000

Thanks for the help,
2 more questions..
Instead of buying a whole new skimmer would it be possible to use a different pump on the body I have? If so what would you suggest?

Also do the skimmers with the pump in the body or outside the body have any effect on performance?

Again thank you for your time and knowledge!.
Mike

 

[nine9d]

Hey there all & mojo,
I have a 120g with a 30g sump. Of course with rock displacement and such. Which of these would be the best? AVAST cs1, SRO 2000, jns sk2, or the SSA cs2. Are there any better for my setup or even around that price point? Can you rate these from best to worst? Thanks for all the help and info. Still researching.

- Ross

 

[mk5dgren]

Great thread here with lots of info! I'm working on a new smaller reef setup, 27 cube with a 10 gallon sump. Lots of options sub $200 range skimmers and I'd like to know your opinion on best bang for the buck. I've been looking anywhere and everywhere and some of the more common options have been... eshopps psk75/100, vertex in80, octopus nwb110, and various bubble magus like the nac3/3+/3.5. I'd really like to hear you suggestion on a skimmer. Thanks!

 

[SeabassSA]

Hi looking at either:
Option a
5000-INT Bubble Blaster In-Sump Skimmers with Bubble Plate Pump: HY-5000 Chamber: 250mm Rating: 2000 L
or
option b
5000-EXT Bubble Blaster In-Sump Skimmers with Bubble Plate Pump: HY-5000 Chamber: 250mm Rating: 2000 L

Will these bring N and P down.
Current DT and sump 540 L. So i am going 4 x water volume. Good or bad idea.
B is more expensive, not sure why as they seem to be very similar.
Thanks

 

[mojo~]

Thanks Mojo. You have a ton of great information on here and I have enjoyed reading it. I was a little worried about the mini 200 being enough skimmer for my tank, but sump space is an issue, and I wanted the best I could make fit. Do you think it will handle to take size of 210 gallons? I am running a FOWLR on a wet dry, so sump volume is probably only between 10 and 15 gallons.

You will be fine. The mini is not so mini. Its good size with a small footprint.

 

[mojo~]

Thanks for the help,
2 more questions..
Instead of buying a whole new skimmer would it be possible to use a different pump on the body I have? If so what would you suggest?

Also do the skimmers with the pump in the body or outside the body have any effect on performance?

Again thank you for your time and knowledge!.
Mike

I would get a new skimmer still...

I think ones with pumps inside work really well. I Like both designs as long as they are well balanced. I like the pump external on most. But the small footprint is really nice.

 

[mojo~]

Hey there all & mojo,
I have a 120g with a 30g sump. Of course with rock displacement and such. Which of these would be the best? AVAST cs1, SRO 2000, jns sk2, or the SSA cs2. Are there any better for my setup or even around that price point? Can you rate these from best to worst? Thanks for all the help and info. Still researching.

- Ross

Well you picked out all the ones I would suggest. Its really hard to say. They are all good in their own way. I really like the JNS sk2 skimmer. The Avast cs1 uses the same pump and does a good job too. THe ssa uses the same pump as well but has a different venturi that helps match the pump to the body and neck size.

Let me ask you this. What is your water level ?

around 6 inches I would go sro 2000, 7 to 9 inches the jns and ssa. 8 to 10 the avast.

All would work really well.

 

[mojo~]

Great thread here with lots of info! I'm working on a new smaller reef setup, 27 cube with a 10 gallon sump. Lots of options sub $200 range skimmers and I'd like to know your opinion on best bang for the buck. I've been looking anywhere and everywhere and some of the more common options have been... eshopps psk75/100, vertex in80, octopus nwb110, and various bubble magus like the nac3/3+/3.5. I'd really like to hear you suggestion on a skimmer. Thanks!

the tunze 9002, the psk 75 and the bm nac 3.5 are probably the way to go.

 

[mojo~]

540 l is only about 146 gallons I would go with the SRO 2000 xp The 5000 is way to big.

 

[nine9d]

Well you picked out all the ones I would suggest. Its really hard to say. They are all good in their own way. I really like the JNS sk2 skimmer. The Avast cs1 uses the same pump and does a good job too. THe ssa uses the same pump as well but has a different venturi that helps match the pump to the body and neck size.

Let me ask you this. What is your water level ?

around 6 inches I would go sro 2000, 7 to 9 inches the jns and ssa. 8 to 10 the avast.

All would work really well.

Ahh, thanks. I am actually building a new sump, so I guess the water level will be what I make it. If I had to make a stand for the skimmer, I could also do that. I guess the research continues... thanks.

 

[reeftivo]

Hey Mojo,

Did your Waner Marine MF 121 lose it's foam head for a long time after feedings?

I picked up a MF 121 just after xmas and like the skimmer so far. Very quiet unit!
It's been running for only 4 days now and bedded in very quick with out any initial rinsing at all. I had stable foam after only 4 hours (unheard of in my experience!).

My only issue is that I hope the foam head bounces back faster after feeding when it gets fully broken in. I feed a cube of reef mix daily before lights out and the skimmer stops skimming for 3 hours or so before it begins to build a foam head again.

Long wait!

My other skimmers have always bounced back within an hour or less.

I'm sure I'm just impatient but curious on your experience with the 121.

Thanks in advance

Tivo

 

[mojo~]

yea that will get better as time passes and the skimmer slimes up.

 

[tnorthern]

Mojo - I am looking at buying a SRO 5000-int for my 250 gallon SPS dominant system. Two questions, will this skimmer be able to handle a heavy bio load in my tank or is it overkill? It seems like the 3000-int would be too little skimmer for my system. I was previously looking at the Skimz SM 201 but I want to have a skimmer that can support a heavy load and know that most skimmer manufacturers over state the amount of gallons their products are effective for. What is your opinion of either of these options? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[tnorthern]

Double post

 

[mojo~]

Mojo - I am looking at buying a SRO 5000-int for my 250 gallon SPS dominant system. Two questions, will this skimmer be able to handle a heavy bio load in my tank or is it overkill? It seems like the 3000-int would be too little skimmer for my system. I was previously looking at the Skimz SM 201 but I want to have a skimmer that can support a heavy load and know that most skimmer manufacturers over state the amount of gallons their products are effective for. What is your opinion of either of these options? Thanks in advance for your help.

The SRO would be great. Is the dispay a 250 or is it a 180 with a 70g sump.

if its a 180 I would go with the 3000 int. If its a 250 display Then I would say you could jump up to the 5000 int.

Both are great skimmers. Just trying to make sure you will get the best possible performance.