$100 Skimmer?

Drew1600

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Hello,

Looking for recommendations for a protien skimmer in the $100-$150 range. 29 gallon w/ 20 gallon sump. Moderate-heavy stock.

Thank you all!! :)
 

150 Gallon Reef

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BUBBLE MAGUS C3+ PROTEIN SKIMMER
I had the curve 5 which I loved. You can always look for used units also. I bought my bubble magus curve 5 for 100 bucks. Great skimmer for the money
 

ScubaSkeets

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Instant Ocean® Sea Clone 100 Aquarium Protein Skimmer​


$67 at PetSmart. You'll find people who hate it and people who really like it for the price. Im a newbie and bought one, then read all the negative reviews while I was getting mine up and running and I couldn't mine dialed in right, so I thought the negative reviews were justified and I returned it.

I was still researching it and read more of the positive reviews. Since it was only $67, I figured I'd give it another try. After getting it dialed in and broken in (no mico bubbles), it works pretty good. I do not have anything to compare it to, but its foaming up and collecting and no micro bubbles getting into the tank. Its a bid louder than I would like, but again, I don't have anything to compare it to to see if its any louder than the other protein skimmers out there
 
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Drew1600

Drew1600

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I have actually considered, but was detered by negative reviews as well. For the price, I think it may be worth a shot :)
 

deztheclownfish

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IceCap K1-Nano Protein Skimmer​

marine depot has it listed for 99.99 a very stylish skimmer in my opinion what I'm planning to upgrade to someday ;)
 

llovasco

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I have a brand new Aquatop Xyclone that I will sell for $100. Purchased it but it ended up being too large for my tank.
 

ScubaSkeets

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Any tips/tricks?
It's kind of finicky finding the "sweet spot". A quarter turn of the valve one way might not be enough, but a quarter turn the other way might overflow the cup. Just when you think you got it, wait several minutes to make sure. Just take your time adjusting it, and be aware that there will probably be a lot of micro bubbles at first, until it breaks in
 

Pntbll687

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I have a brand new Aquatop Xyclone that I will sell for $100. Purchased it but it ended up being too large for my tank.
I used this one, it works pretty well. You can use it in sump or hang out on the sump. I hung mine on the sump to free up space inside the sump.

You can probably find a used reef octopus if you want an internal skimmer
 

vetteguy53081

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Curve 5 or ice cap K2-50
 

ReefBeta

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Just go up a bit more, like $200 to $250, open up so many options. Like Reef Octopus 110INT, and several that mentioned above. It's actually not worth to try save that $50 and end up needing to buy a second one a year later. Find used if want good deal.
 

Gtinnel

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My first protein skimmer that I ever bought 15ish years ago was a sea clone and at the time I thought it was pretty good. It wasn't until I upgraded to reef octopus that I realized how bad it really was.
I don't know a lot about skimmers for that size tank to suggest a specific one, but my suggestion would be to not go with sea clone. If that is the only one that is in the budget then it's better than nothing, but IMO anything else that has been suggested here would perform better.
 

ScubaSkeets

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My first protein skimmer that I ever bought 15ish years ago was a sea clone and at the time I thought it was pretty good. It wasn't until I upgraded to reef octopus that I realized how bad it really was.
I don't know a lot about skimmers for that size tank to suggest a specific one, but my suggestion would be to not go with sea clone. If that is the only one that is in the budget then it's better than nothing, but IMO anything else that has been suggested here would perform better.
Could you explain what makes the Reef Octopus (or any Protein Skimmer) better than the Seaclone? I am still learning and figured that since the Seaclone is foaming up and collecting stuff, then its doing the job.
Thanks!
 

Gtinnel

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Could you explain what makes the Reef Octopus (or any Protein Skimmer) better than the Seaclone? I am still learning and figured that since the Seaclone is foaming up and collecting stuff, then its doing the job.

IME the Seaclone will produce foam and collect skimmate, so I am not saying that it doesn't work at all. I'm just saying that when I switched to a "better" brand of skimmer the amount of skimmate that I produced increased dramatically.
It's biggest flaw in my opinion is that the only adjustment that can be made is limiting how much air that it intakes, and that is how you adjust the water level. On most skimmers you have to ability to adjust the air intake to form a stable head of foam, and then another adjustment to determine the water level. This disadvantage of the Seaclone is probably because it is a hang on back skimmer, but I've never had another hob so I'm not positive of that. Also, since it is hob if something would cause the skimmer to go nuts and overflow the water would be splashed out of the tank which I think is another disadvantage related to it being a hob filter.
I traditionally use cheaper brands of equipment (because I'm a cheapskate) but I have learned that it's worth it to get a better skimmer. To be fair though I do still have my Seaclone skimmer running on my quarantine tank because I put that tank together out of stuff I had in my garage. I mostly use it to incorporate outside air to keep my pH up though, and any skimmate it pulls out is just an added perk.
 

Rmckoy

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My first skimmer was a coral life 125 hob

Worked ok until it overflowed while I was out pumping half the tank volume ( 75 gal ) on the floor .
 
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