Skimmer suggestions?

Shooter7

Shooter7

New member
I'm toying with the idea of doing something to "beef up" my skimming a bit. System is a 120g display and about a 30g-ish sump. I have been running a Euroreef CS 6-2 on this tank for a little over a year, and while the ER has done a commendable job of pulling a lot of gunk out the water, I believe it is a little underrated for my system size. I've been perusing the selling forum more than usual for the past couple of weeks and have noted some MRC skimmers popping up there. Talked with one of the regulars from the SPS forum and he recommends them, although I hear they need pumps that use a lot of power and that they need a fair amount of adjusting while in operation, which is not a good thing for me right now. Any comments on this or other suggestions or ideas? I'm looking at the possibility of something either new or used, but I have a maximum ceiling of about $450 and not a penny more. Also been reading a lot about these bubblemaster skimmers that seem to be the rage for some folks, but it looks like the ATi BM150 is out of production right now to be reincarnated as the BM 160 eventually. Any others I should look at? Thanks for any suggestions/input. :cool:
 
Good thread dave I would have been staring one very similar in the next month. My first two tanks had no skimmer, then one of them did and now I use that same skimmer ona larger tank. I think its a corallife. I WILL get a larger tank eventually so why no over do on the skimmer now as I cannot get the larger tank right away. My situation is a little different though.

As some might know I am getting married in June. I have sat quietly while selecting gifts for registries and letting her scan anything she wanted pretty much. I have worked out a deal that I get $500 cash taken from gift money if we reach a certain amount for fish supplies. I will be buying a skimmer. What is the best in that range?

After research I am thinking an octopus 200 with recirc and a meshwheel mod. Any other suggestions.

June cannot get here soon enough
 
I really like my DNW-200 octopus skimmer. I have done the mesh mod to it. It pulls some real nasty stuff out of my tank and is very consistent. The thing is built like a tank. It fills a gallon milk jug in about a week. It ran very well also before the mesh mod but that mod took it to a whole new level. You won't regret purchasing a DNW-200 for a 120 plus if you decide to upgrade tank size your covered. It is also very quiet, the fans on my light hood are louder.

Peace
 
Thanks, I have not looked into that particular line of skimmers. Do you have a recommendation on best place to get one?
 
the reefstop has them. spongebobby what pump do you use to feed your 200? Does yours have the recirc mod?
 
add a sedra 5000 tot he skimmer you have and make it a cs6-2+


becket skimmer work but yes they use a big pump (pressure rated)
 
add a sedra 5000 to the skimmer you have and make it a cs6-2+


becket skimmer work but yes they use a big pump (pressure rated)
 
Yeah, that was an angle I had considered and is still open to doing, maybe adding the bigger pump and perhaps doing the mesh mod thingy. Right now with just the 3500 on my skimmer I'm having to empty the cup every 2-3 days. It's pulling a lot of stuff out.

Any other feedback on this approach?
 
Mine is external. I have the MAG3 in the area where the overflow's drain into the sump. It works fairly well this way. On my next tank I will be setting this up to feed off the overflow.
 
Cool, definitely a consideration. Externally set up, I'm wondering how you plumbed the return? If I got one of these and set it up external, it would be sitting on a shelf over the sump.
 
Mine basically sits behind my tank inside a rubbermaid tub. I built a 4 in. riser for the skimmer to sit on which brought the return pipe high enough to go right over the top of the sump. The return dumps into the refugium part of my sump. I didn't have to buy any plumbing parts for the return just for the supply. My sump walls are 20 in. high . The center of the return on the skimmer is 18 in. high from the skimmer platform.The return pipes are all 2 in.

Total skimmer height is 30 in.
Body size is 8 in.
Screw off cup with fitting for remote NOG storage. (I never dump the cup) I really like having this.

I liked my Deltec MCE600 but truth be told this skimmer was half the price and in stock form it made the Deltec look like a BAK-PAK.
Using the mesh mod on the OTP3000 pump and it skims as well as any of the $$$ big boys for a 1/3 the price.

A friend of mine has a Deltec 701 or something like that and he said that my skimmer appears to pull more air and has finer bubbles. He said the quality and quantity of skimate were about the same. So for $300.00 and a $5.00 piece of PF4(mesh)you will have around the same performance of the Deltec.
 
For my money simple is always good. I like the down draft skimmers. I've been running a Aqua C for a couple years and it has performed really well. Very simple to operate and clean.

You'll end up keeping it cleaner to because it's easy to do.
The key to the down draft's is to use the rights size pump. The head pressure determines the amount of air you'll generate.

I also have mine tapped for one of my calcium reactors. Very effect way to reduce effluent drip C02.
 
Squidward...I mean, Spongebob ( ;) ), how do you have your feed pump connected to the skimmer, flexible tubing or pvc? And what size are you using whichever way you have it hooked up? thanks again
 
Any pictures of the skimmer hooked up externally? I am in the market also, this one sounds like it may be a possibility.
 
Yes you can, on at least some of them, but they seem to have pretty big footprints on them, so you have to have the room for that.
 
There are some huge threads on these in the equipment forum, I think one has been split 2 or 3 times already. I think I'm going to end up ordering a DNW-200 and trying to set it up external.
 
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