Skimmer Q&A Thread

[Drae]

What's so good about aquaxx?

The cone 3 would handle a 200+ gallon tank with a heavy bioload. I've seen several of these skimmers in action and they are workhorses. A LFS here in vegas uses a cone 5 on a 400 gallon mixed with a medium/heavy load and it works great. It even idles sometimes. We're talking twice the volume your tank has and only 2" bigger. Blue reef aquatics in north las vegas is the store.

 

[Drae]

I've also seen the cone 5 on a 300 fowler and the cone7 on a 500 gallon reef in person. My buddy has taken these tanks down to sell his house but when they were up they worked great.

 

[Rognin]

I have a question.

I bought a Deltec SC2060 for my 145 Gal + 28 Gal sump. It's still breaking in and I'm going through my cycle, so no foam evaluation yet.

I plan on heavy stocking plus some lps sps. I +1'd my choice (SC1455) but I fear it may be too much of a +1.

Could I have bought too big of a skimmer for my tank?

Thanks!

-Rog

 

[Drae]

I have a question.

I bought a Deltec SC2060 for my 145 Gal + 28 Gal sump. It's still breaking in and I'm going through my cycle, so no foam evaluation yet.

I plan on heavy stocking plus some lps sps. I +1'd my choice (SC1455) but I fear it may be too much of a +1.

Could I have bought too big of a skimmer for my tank?

Thanks!

-Rog

You should be good with that skimmer once you get your bioload up. Good choice imo.

 

[Fish N Coral]

The skimmer doesn't breakdown the pump does. Try to get a unit with a pump that's proven to last as well as perform. Sicce and askol block pumps are great choices. A good skimmer pump should last minimum 3-5 years imo. That's minimum.

1. Are you able to replace just the pump?
2. If so, how much cheaper(% estimate) is it compared to buying the same protein skimmer whole?
3. Is it easy to replace yourself?

 

[Drae]

1. Are you able to replace just the pump?
2. If so, how much cheaper(% estimate) is it compared to buying the same protein skimmer whole?
3. Is it easy to replace yourself?

1. Absolutely.
2. Depending on the brand of skimmer and pump its a lot cheaper to replace just the pump. You might only need a new shaft or needle wheel at that in some cases. Pumps and pump parts are readily available for the most part.
3. Easy as pie. Unplug, disconnect, and attach the new pump. My 10 year old would have no problem replacing a pump on most skimmers. (She's pretty intelligent though) haha.

 

[Fish N Coral]

1. Absolutely.
2. Depending on the brand of skimmer and pump its a lot cheaper to replace just the pump. You might only need a new shaft or needle wheel at that in some cases. Pumps and pump parts are readily available for the most part.
3. Easy as pie. Unplug, disconnect, and attach the new pump. My 10 year old would have no problem replacing a pump on most skimmers. (She's pretty intelligent though) haha.

Thank you for your response. I'm really liking this community, forum, and hobby.

 

[rrocky]

Lookin into buying a new skimmer! Lookin at bubble magus nac 3 or 5. I have a 45g display and 20g sump. I have a pair of clowns, leopard wrasse, two chromis, and a bicolor blenny. How are these skimmers? Should I go with the 3 or 5? Thanks y'all!

 

[Drae]

Lookin into buying a new skimmer! Lookin at bubble magus nac 3 or 5. I have a 45g display and 20g sump. I have a pair of clowns, leopard wrasse, two chromis, and a bicolor blenny. How are these skimmers? Should I go with the 3 or 5? Thanks y'all!

Look into sea side aquatics instead. Same manufacturer as bubble magus but they come with sicce pumps instead of atmann or rock pumps that the bubble magus line comes with. They make the same exact models that your looking at... The cs3.5 and cs5.5.

 

[s2nhle]

Tagging along. thank you for sharing.

 

[Tinkanator2000]

Drae

I was looking into a new AquaMaxx skimmer for my 180 build (180 display + about 200ish gallons of associated sumps, fuge, etc.), and am trying to decide if I should get a new CO-3 or a Cone 5? It'll be a mixed reef, with attached frag tank, and I plan for a medium bioload to start.

I currently have an older BM-200 with a modified PSK-1000 (has the eheim impeller installed) that I was going to use, but fear it may be too small. I'm not 100% sure on this though..

 

[Drae]

Drae

I was looking into a new AquaMaxx skimmer for my 180 build (180 display + about 200ish gallons of associated sumps, fuge, etc.), and am trying to decide if I should get a new CO-3 or a Cone 5? It'll be a mixed reef, with attached frag tank, and I plan for a medium bioload to start.

I currently have an older BM-200 with a modified PSK-1000 (has the eheim impeller installed) that I was going to use, but fear it may be too small. I'm not 100% sure on this though..

The ati bubble master 200 or the bubble magus? As far as the aquamaxx goes I'd opt for the cone 5 with that many extra gallons. 200 additional gallons on top of the display correct?

 

[Tinkanator2000]

The BM-200 is the Bubble Magus.

Yes, its about 350-400 gallons total system volume.

I saw that the CO-3 was rated up to 500, but was afraid that may be an inflated number.

 

[azjohnny]

The BM-200 is the Bubble Magus.

Yes, its about 350-400 gallons total system volume.

I saw that the CO-3 was rated up to 500, but was afraid that may be an inflated number.

its typical of the ratings that they are for a light bioload, and a light bioload is a CUC

 

[phenom5]

Looking for a skimmer recommendation for a 155g w/ 40g sump SPS dominate tank.

$400-$500 price range.

 

[Francisco_PR]

Hi need HOB skimmer recommendation for a 55gal mixed tank with the following:

Fish:
(1) yellow tang, (1) Maroon clownfish, (1) lawnmower blenny

Invertebrates:
(1) small carpet anemone, (1) cleaner shrimp, (1) Coral Banded

Corals:
(1) Frogspawn, (1) Torch, (3) Acan Frags, (1) Galaxea Frag, (1) Kenya Tree frag, (1) Pulsing Xenia frag and some Ricordias and Zoas.

These are the options I'm considering: Reef Octopus BH 2000, Aquamaxx HOB-1 and the Eshopps psk-100h. My tank is in the bedroom so I need it to be as silent as possible.

Please advice or comment.

Thanks

 

[Drae]

Looking for a skimmer recommendation for a 155g w/ 40g sump SPS dominate tank.

$400-$500 price range.

Aquamaxx em300 or coneS co-3. Slightly oversized but great choices.

 

[jdraider75]

I have an sps dominate system about 220 gallons total. Probably gonna add a other 50-100 gallons to it. I have heavy bio load. I was thinking about getting the reef octopus SRO-5000Int. Thoughts on this skimmer or maybe other suggestions around this price range?

 

[Johnseye]

Hi need HOB skimmer recommendation for a 55gal mixed tank with the following:

Fish:
(1) yellow tang, (1) Maroon clownfish, (1) lawnmower blenny

Invertebrates:
(1) small carpet anemone, (1) cleaner shrimp, (1) Coral Banded

Corals:
(1) Frogspawn, (1) Torch, (3) Acan Frags, (1) Galaxea Frag, (1) Kenya Tree frag, (1) Pulsing Xenia frag and some Ricordias and Zoas.

These are the options I'm considering: Reef Octopus BH 2000, Aquamaxx HOB-1 and the Eshopps psk-100h. My tank is in the bedroom so I need it to be as silent as possible.

Please advice or comment.

Thanks

After having recently bought a Reef Octopus skimmer I would not recommend one. The pump failed after a month, it's hard or impossible to clean and their customer service is terrible.

 

[Johnseye]

I have an sps dominate system about 220 gallons total. Probably gonna add a other 50-100 gallons to it. I have heavy bio load. I was thinking about getting the reef octopus SRO-5000Int. Thoughts on this skimmer or maybe other suggestions around this price range?

As I just mentioned to another, I recently bought a SRO-2000 INT with Bubble Blaster pump. I would not recommend one. The pump failed after a month, it's hard or impossible to clean and their customer service is terrible.