mr.maroonsalty
New member
As the title asks, what makes an external skimmer better or worse? Is it a worthwhile upgrade, or a mess waiting to happen in an under tank plan?
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Why to run an external skimmer?
- Thread starter mr.maroonsalty
- Start date
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
I've always run an external skimmer- even when located in aquarium stands.
I don't think a skimmer is necessarily superior simply because it's run external.
I don't think a skimmer is necessarily superior simply because it's run external.
jefathome
New member
Personally, I would NEVER run an external skimmer... for one reason...
OVERFLOWS
Some time you are going to add something to your tank that makes the skimmer go nuts. If you have an in-sump then the overflow goes right back into the tank. If it is external, your overflowing water goes onto the floor. Then the sump volume lowers and the return pump goes dry... overheats... Now you have a wet floor and damaged equipment. OR your auto top-off kicks in and your tank is flooded with freshwater and all your corals die.
Things that have made the skimmer go nuts include:
Epoxy for a frag
Red-slime remover
Some types of new "foods" (mostly coral foods)
Various additives
OVERFLOWS
Some time you are going to add something to your tank that makes the skimmer go nuts. If you have an in-sump then the overflow goes right back into the tank. If it is external, your overflowing water goes onto the floor. Then the sump volume lowers and the return pump goes dry... overheats... Now you have a wet floor and damaged equipment. OR your auto top-off kicks in and your tank is flooded with freshwater and all your corals die.
Things that have made the skimmer go nuts include:
Epoxy for a frag
Red-slime remover
Some types of new "foods" (mostly coral foods)
Various additives
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
use common sense
use common sense
skimmers can erupt with foam!
never once did I have an external skimmer overflow it's collection cup onto the floor I've added more different kinds of crap to my aquariums over 17 years than anyone can ever imagine.
if you think a wet floor might become a problem drill a drain line in the collection cup and stick a bucket under the skimmate drain or use an auto-shutoff.
use common sense
skimmers can erupt with foam!
never once did I have an external skimmer overflow it's collection cup onto the floor I've added more different kinds of crap to my aquariums over 17 years than anyone can ever imagine.
if you think a wet floor might become a problem drill a drain line in the collection cup and stick a bucket under the skimmate drain or use an auto-shutoff.
mr.maroonsalty
New member
The main reason I've found that makes them higher rated is the recirculating factor. It also frees up the mechanical sump, potentially making one unneeded. hmmmm, I'm needing to decide; the upgrade cost from an sro2000INT to EXT sure could be used towards other equipment.
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