The "it" skimmer

Sangogo

New member
Hi all,

I'm going to be upgrading my setup from my current 50 gallon setup to a 150 gallon setup. As a result, I am looking for a new skimmer. I realize that the market is always changing, companies are going out of business and new things are always coming on the market. As a result, I like to re-ask this question instead of going through the archives.

What would you consider the best skimmer currently on the market?

Based on reviews I read online, I purchased an AquaC EV-180 Protein Skimmer w/ JG Fitting + Mag-Drive 7 Pump. This was a pain in the *** to clean, the pump was actually pretty noisy and the skimmer itself was not consistent. While I hear that many people get great results from this skimmer, a friend of mine and I have not.

Prior to that, I used a cheap no-name skimmer that was pretty good, but did not have much capacity.

I like quiet and I like easy to clean. I have heard that Euro-reef is very good, but I can't seem to locate many retailers carrying this. My friend likes the Octopus series. In general, I try to get as many opinions as I can before making a final purchase.

Also, if you have any online retailers you recommend for this, please let me know.

Thanks!
 
I too am looking for the right skimmer. I'm going to tag along to see if anyone has the right one in mind.
 
Octopus skimmers are getting pretty darned good reviews here. Bang for the buck, I'd recomend them. A friend has one and loves it.

I have an H&S skimmer on my 90 SPS Reef and like it also.
 
octo extreme is best skimmer ive had so far. for price & performance i would by one again. though i have never had any of the top of line skimmers like bubbleking
 
Wow, the AC really? Anyhow, the best it skimmers for that size of tank seem to be the msx250, alpha cone 200-250, atb econo1050, swc askoll cone.....etc...etc. You can also get a askoll driven 250 or 300 from marine solutions for a good deal. Bottom line, the it pump's are budget: sicce, aquabee and performance and the best askoll driven skimmer pump's.
 
i have a octo dnwb 2009 recirc model on my 75 gallon reef tank it is great. i paid 220 for it from aquacave w/ my coupon and i couldnt have bought a better skimmer. i needed an external skimmer, so i bought this one. i would have went with the extreme if i had a sump for it, but now i only have a full size fuge + my stand is very short. i realy like the recirc skimmers tho, i think the concept is a little better than regular pw skimmers. swc has a nice cone for under 400 bucks, and for 700 u can get a larger recirc cone. i believe they are askoll driven. i would like to get the recirc cone since it is the only external cone on the market. also the new octo cones are coming out. and the new vertex/royal exclusiv are good quality for a good price. it all goes done to what u wnt or need, and ur budget.

under 400: octo extreme 250 or octo xp 2000 or recirc 200
under 800: swc xtreme 250 cone or royal exclusiv 200
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15487136#post15487136 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cobbobby
Wow, the AC really?

When I was looking up reviews 2 years ago, a lot of them recommended the AC or Euro-reef. Many people seemed to recommend Euro-reef more highly, but none of the Euro-reef skimmers could fit into my sump at the time. Thus, I bought the AquaC and bought myself a load of headache to go with it.

Is Aquacave the recommended online retailer these days? (I usually use MarineDepot since they ship overseas.)
 
Also look at the vertex 180 and 250. I would suggest looking at preimum aquatics and if you go with the extreme line marine solutions. Both sponsors.
 
If you can wait until the end of the month, get the Super Reef Octopus XP-2000 Cone Skimmer $399 from Premiumaquatics.com. Good guys to deal with. Very powerful pump with a 3 year warranty. I can safely say, no skimmer in that price range have a more powerful pump.
 
Find out what application your going use the skimmer for. Example, are you going to run this in your sump? Do you have a dedicated fish room where you want to run the skimmer externally? Amount of Fish? System style (Primarily SPS, LPS, softie, mix)? Budget? Aesthetics that you like? Consider those and break them up into the categories of "Can Buy" and "Would like to Buy, but a little expensive and I'd have to dig a little deeper into the pocketbook", and don't even look at the "Damn, I wish I could buy, but I can't justify buying something that expensive (BK)" :)

Good luck, but the Octo Extremes are nice. I have a Reeflo Orca 200 on a 120/40B and it's a little overkill, but hey, sometimes, you get what you pay for. :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15488453#post15488453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Guy340
Find out what application your going use the skimmer for. Example, are you going to run this in your sump? Do you have a dedicated fish room where you want to run the skimmer externally? Amount of Fish? System style (Primarily SPS, LPS, softie, mix)? Budget? Aesthetics that you like? Consider those and break them up into the categories of "Can Buy" and "Would like to Buy, but a little expensive and I'd have to dig a little deeper into the pocketbook", and don't even look at the "Damn, I wish I could buy, but I can't justify buying something that expensive (BK)"

I'd ideally like to run it in the sump, though I suppose I really never gave much thought to an external skimmer. I do not have a dedicated fish room. (Space is at a premium in Tokyo and I'm lucky to have space for a non-nano tank as is.) As I have anemones, it would not be a fish heavy tank.

I don't really have a budget for this, as long the cost can be justified. I care about value relative to price much more than I care about actual price. However, most of the more expensive skimmers seem to be for much larger systems, so I don't really think I'm looking at those. (In my opinion, there's no need to be wasteful and get a skimmer for a 600 gallon system when I'm going to have few fish. Not to mention that it'd take up more space than necessary.)

So far, the Octopus sounds great, though I'd love additional opinions if people have any.
 
I have the Octo DNW-150 Recirc model and couldn't be happier. This is what it pulls out of a lightly stocked 90g in 3 days. I skim pretty wet too. Paid 259.00 at aquacave.

100_0488.jpg
 
You'll get quite a lot of folks that love the Octos. Then you'll get GSMGuy who'll come on by in a little bit and say that ATB is the way to go.

My opinion, if you can splurge, get an ATB 840 or Vertex Alpha 170.

They're rated perfectly for the tank that you have, aren't too expensive (still under $1000 USD) and are great performers.

Me, I'd get that new Octo Cone for $400, a Vortech MP40W, and a controller and would've spent just as much as I did for the super duper skimmers. :)
 
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