Skimmer Q&A Thread

Sump with a 2 inch lip.

Sump with a 2 inch lip.

I have a 36 gallon bowfront and about a 20 gallon sump and im looking for a HOB protein skimmer that will fit the 2 inch lip that is all the way around the sump is there an suggestions? Preferably a moderate to low price skimmer if possible.
 
csantanvaz: Glad to hear it's working well for you! My Bubble Magus has a small drain hose built in to the collection cup. I attached a suction/siphon bulb to it with a short piece of hose and ran it over the top of my sump tank and into a 5 gallon bucket. Whenever the cup is full, the muck flows into the bucket. If it's less than 1/3 full and I want the cup empty, I squeeze the bulb and let it go real fast...this starts a siphon action that drains the cup. Just an idea to throw at you. The siphon bulb is from a gravel cleaning kit I picked up for around $10u.s.. Best of luck to you!
 
Hello everyone, as in sure many others are, I am looking for that perfect skimmer... A bit of info to help those who would help me ��. 40b DT with plans of mixed reef. 40b sump so total volume close to 70g. I'm planning to run an ATS so should not need to "over skim". I have enough space so any sized in sump should fit but if an HOB would meet my system needs I have the space hang it above my sump (if that would even work) with the idea of eliminating overflow risk... Any feedback?
 
Hello, I was wondering what size aquamaxx skimmer I should go with?? Some people are actually stating that I should go with the 03 and I just wanted to confirm. I have a 120g w/40b sump. I will be setting it up as an lps/sps tank some fish with medium and possibly could be heavy bioload one day. What are your recommendations.. should I go with the cones-02 or cones-03?? Thank you for your time
 
Swope2bc said:
Hello everyone, as in sure many others are, I am looking for that perfect skimmer... A bit of info to help those who would help me í*½í¸ƒ. 40b DT with plans of mixed reef. 40b sump so total volume close to 70g. I'm planning to run an ATS so should not need to "over skim". I have enough space so any sized in sump should fit but if an HOB would meet my system needs I have the space hang it above my sump (if that would even work) with the idea of eliminating overflow risk... Any feedback?
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Knock knock?? Any experts out there? I'm still trying to figure out which skimmer to lean towards... Feedback or perhaps a link would be great. TIA
 
@Swope... I would stick with a good 5" body skimmer. There really isn't such a thing as "overskimming" in terms of removing too much. Once you go to a skimmer that is big enough that some would think could "overskim", you actually lose performance instead of truly overskimming. A skimmer that is too big for your system will run very inconsistent, be hard to dial in, be very prone to overflowing, and will just overall pull out less dissolved organics than a protein skimmer that is appropriately sized for your tank.

Some good 5" body skimmers to take a look at are:

- Octopus Classic 110 (Bang for the buck these new Aquatrance powered bodies actually perform VERY well and are hard to beat financially)
- Aquamaxx CO-1
- Bubble Magus Curve 5
- Vertex Omega 130

There's quite a few out there that would work perfect and still be budget friendly. HTH!
 
Jeremy B. said:
@Swope... I would stick with a good 5" body skimmer. There really isn't such a thing as "overskimming" in terms of removing too much. Once you go to a skimmer that is big enough that some would think could "overskim", you actually lose performance instead of truly overskimming. A skimmer that is too big for your system will run very inconsistent, be hard to dial in, be very prone to overflowing, and will just overall pull out less dissolved organics than a protein skimmer that is appropriately sized for your tank.

Some good 5" body skimmers to take a look at are:

- Octopus Classic 110 (Bang for the buck these new Aquatrance powered bodies actually perform VERY well and are hard to beat financially)
- Aquamaxx CO-1
- Bubble Magus Curve 5
- Vertex Omega 130

There's quite a few out there that would work perfect and still be budget friendly. HTH!
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Awesome!! Thanks for the advice! I'll look into those, I've looked at the BM curve 5 and found a great price on it ($100)!! If I can still get that price, so if you recommend it I may go that way. I'll look up the OC 110 too.
 
Question. I have a 90 gallon with a 20ish gallon sump, 75 pounds of rock in the system. I'm estimating the total water volume around 90 gallons or so. The system is just over a year old and is doing well. I'm running the Octo 150 classic int sss with the Aquatrance pump. I would say a few months ago it seems to idle more than pull. I'm guessing I'm getting about half the pull of what it was. I'm wondering if the skimmer is too big? Its clean, works well, etc. I've read some say an idle period is good, but I see others say it should pull all the time. Can someone shed some light on the idle period, and if this skimmer is too big?
 
What are the different types of pumps? What is a pinwheel pump? I have a 45 gallon tank with a 25 gallon refugium/sump and my little CadLight 100 skimmer seems to be a bit too small. Additionally it is VERY difficult to keep tuned right. What features should I look for?

BTW, my tank has 8-10 mushrooms and two 2" tangs, a yellow coris wrasse, a tiny blue/yellow damsel and a 2" black ray goby with his tiger pistol shrimp buddy. Two 1" Ocellaris clownfish and a couple medium sized cleaner shrimp.
 
Hey guys, I have the choice of either picking the Aquamaxx Cones co-2 or the EM300.. Which would you choose?? Its for my 120DT that one day will be medium to heavily stocked with lps/sps and fish.. The quicker responses the better as I already ordered the Cones co-2 but wondering if I should step it up. Big Al's doesn't have the Co-3 in stock so the EM300 is my only bet. Thanks
 
Ok guys.. A little dilemma, I accenditaly ordered the Cones co-2. Should I return it and order the EM300 as Big Al's doesn't have the co-3 in stock. Or is the co-2 capable and I'm just worrying to much. It's for a 120DT and I will have sps/Lps possibly medium to heavy bioload. Thanks for your help.
 
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I have an AquaC EV-180 running in the sump to my 125 gallon tank. Is it typical for these skimmers to bubble up brownish/green water and then have the bubbles die way down, and then ramp back up again? I'm worried that I don't have my skimmer dialed in correctly. I bought the tank 8 days ago from an individual that did not do any maintenance. So, I'm fighting getting nitrates and phosphates down.
 
Best quality skimmer for 120G

Best quality skimmer for 120G

I continue to get inconsistent skimmate from my SRO 2000 INT and am looking at replacing it. It's much too sensitive to little changes like which filter sock I use or even time of day. I think its time of day because nothing changes, but the level in the skimmer will change. There are some days in which it's consistent but then goes back to fluctuating. The knob to adjust air intake from the pump isn't smooth so adjustments are not very fine.

I'm going to contact Coralvue for one last attempt at improvement. In the event it doesn't help, I'd like to ask everyone what they've found to be the best quality skimmer. I'm not concerned about cost. It does need to be in sump. My DT is 120G and my sump is 35G.

I'm considering the NYOS 160 as the 120 doesn't have a drain on the cup. Not sure if going with a 160 is overkill and will negatively effect performance. There's very little known about these skimmers right now, so a little risky.

I've heard Deltec are good but there aren't many distributors around. I've also read Aquamaxx is good. Bubble Magus get very good reviews for a low cost skimmer, just not sure of the build quality.

Thanks in advance for any advice
 
Does anyone have any experience with the Bubble King Double Cone 130? How do you think it'd do on a 25 gallon display with 15 gallon frag tank and 20 long sump (total volume of ~50 gallons)? Would the Bubble king double cone 150 be overkill?

The tank is a heavily stocked SPS system.
 
Johnseye said:
I continue to get inconsistent skimmate from my SRO 2000 INT and am looking at replacing it. It's much too sensitive to little changes like which filter sock I use or even time of day. I think its time of day because nothing changes, but the level in the skimmer will change. There are some days in which it's consistent but then goes back to fluctuating. The knob to adjust air intake from the pump isn't smooth so adjustments are not very fine.

I'm going to contact Coralvue for one last attempt at improvement. In the event it doesn't help, I'd like to ask everyone what they've found to be the best quality skimmer. I'm not concerned about cost. It does need to be in sump. My DT is 120G and my sump is 35G.

I'm considering the NYOS 160 as the 120 doesn't have a drain on the cup. Not sure if going with a 160 is overkill and will negatively effect performance. There's very little known about these skimmers right now, so a little risky.

I've heard Deltec are good but there aren't many distributors around. I've also read Aquamaxx is good. Bubble Magus get very good reviews for a low cost skimmer, just not sure of the build quality.

Thanks in advance for any advice
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I have my Aquamaxx skimmer for 9 months already. I just love it. The previous skimmers I had were very sensitive to everything -- very difficult to dial in. i.e. very easy to overflow or not enough gunk skimmed -- very frustrated.

The present Aquamaxx cones 1 skimmer can be dialed to wet or dry or anything in between. The pump is great too -- start anytime, no hick ups.
 
Yep, I really liked my SRO 3000 and it was a strong skimmer and pulled a lot of very nice skimmate. Only it was also touchy and would tend to overflow just like a volcano you never new when and could happen a couple times a month or could go several months with out overflowing.

I ended up replacing mine with a seaside aquatics and have been extremely happy with it's consistency. Its the same as a bubblemagus but with a better pump. It has been pulling the same amount every single day since I started it. I posted some pics of it back in this thread. Maybe a few pages back now.

Otherwise I was also looking at getting the aquamaxx line based on good reviews and a good pump.
 
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