Skimmer recommendation for my 450g?

Spar

Spar

New member
I am upgrading my skimmer soon so want to get some opinions. This will be for my mixed-reef 450 gallon. It isn't right now, but assume for the future that it will be heavily bio-loaded for whatever the opinion is. My budget is flexible, but 'hoping' to spend no more than $700. I am more interested in getting this purchase right for the long-run than budget though.

I am currently leaning toward a Super Reef Octopus 5000 Internal (sro5000int) which runs around $520.

Any other thoughts as to what would be best for me?
 
ive currently been shopping for a new skimmer for my 350. im leaning towards reef octo also.

super reef 5000 internal is a good choice but why not go with a 6000sss for $560. can handle much larger load. its good to 700g .

im going with a 5000sss because i dont think i can fit the 6000 in my sump, will be close. if i didnt want to run a refugium i could easily fit it.

1 thing i dont understand is why does reef octo make a skimmer with a recommended water level of 6.5" ive never seen a sump with a waterlevel that low in chamber 1 or 2 and who wants to put a skimmmer in the return section. not me. all my sumps run at 10"
 
The SRO is a good skimmer and will definitely work but I tend to think a single bb5000 or askoll 1500 is good to about 350g. After that you are going to be borderline.

I would be more inclined to recommend a Vertex Alpha 300 for a heavy 450.

Do you plan on carbon dosing?

As far as skimmer depth 6" is a common number because its just about avg for best operation but some do better in deeper water. The SRO is not one of them. It needs to be on a stand and moved up and down to get proper bubble size.

I would go with the SRO 5000int over a SRO 6000sss. I think its a better fit to the body and I don't like the SSS design. What you gain in body size you loose with the position of the bubble plate.

The 6000ext is rated to 550. The 6000sss is rated to 450. I would say both of those ratings are for lightly stocked systems since they both use the bb5000.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, I know but sometimes you gotta pay to play.

Long term swapping skimmers might not be such an issue. The SRO line seems to hold value well but if you want one that will hold true as the bioload gets maxed out then it gets expensive on large tanks.

There are tons of skimmers for 350 and under. Lots of them for 1000g and over. But there are few that really fit the bill for 400-900g tanks. Traditionally this is Becket, downdraft, or venturi territory. Only recently are there affordable pin wheel skimmers for these sizes.
 
i currently have a lifereef vs3-24 venturi skimmer. even though i like it i think it will not handle a 350g system. its rated for 250g. i could be wrong.

i guess it up to spar on how much he wants to spend. in his price what are some other options?
 
No offense but I would not look at lifereef. He is local to me. Excellent craftsmanship, excellent dude, but his skimmers leave some to desire and he has made it clear he isn't gonna cave and update his design. They are better then aquac, css, and other junk and honestly sometimes they work well depending on the system. However, every single time I have replaced his skimmers with another brand be it ASM or budget Octopus the results were visible in both tank health and parameters.

The SRO6000ext is probably the best choice in that price range.
 
Its a good skimmer. More to maintain but I always liked it. I am a fan of a properly tuned beckett. They do use a lot more power. I would go with a MRC MR3R if that is the route you want to take.

The MRC would cost around $130 in electricity per year compared to the SRO6000EXT at $40 a year. The Alpha 300 is $55 a year.

Over a 5 year period the alpha will cost about $300 more then the Beckett skimmer.
 
If you want to spend less than a $1000 a SRO 5000/6000 EXT would be your best option ...the XP 8000 EXT would be pretty sweet


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
For my tank, 300g display with another 300 in sumps, I was looking at the xp-8000 int. But for the price I could get 2 sro5000 and run 1 wet and 1 dry. Haven't made up my mind yet though.
 
Hi new to the forum I will be upgrading from my 150 to a 600 dt I was thinking about a skimz Sm 252 any opinions
 
I ended up getting the SRO 5000 Internal (no room for an external). Setting it up later today so will see how it goes! I have an undersized one right now, so will be an upgrade regardless.
 
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