250 Gal Skimmer Options

[Kooma]

Hey all,

I have a 250 gallon system and 12 fish in it. Three of these are tangs, 4-7” and the rest are smaller fish under 3” (anthias, butterfly, clowns, chromis etc).

I need to upgrade my skimmer and need some help choosing the right option. I wanted to put together a thread for others looking for a skimmer in the same size system as mine.

Which do you like or which would you choose? For context, i have a 23”x30” sump area so space isnt a problem.

 

[jhadaway]

I"m going from a 100.3 to a 235 gallon. I opted to get a second Reef Octopus Classic 150 INT. It's running now. Once I'm finishing the migration I'll have both on the 235. I'm kinda old school. I like redundancy. I love the Reef Octopus skimmers.

 

[AviR]

I have the 250 int on my 230 and it’s always done a great job.

 

[mmorrison55]

Pretty much any skimmer is going to do the job. Im only on my second skimmer since getting back into the hobby. My 1st skimmer was made by adaptive reef, and sold by BRS. I don’t think they make them anymore. They had some nice features like adjustable neck for new to well establish tanks. It was built pretty solid, but in the end, I felt it was undersized, so I bought a new skimmer for my situation.

I ended up going with Seatorch based on a video I watched online,




and all I can say is WOW. It’s built like a tank, and performs really well. After, receiving the skimmer, i was so impressed that ive purchased several other Seatorch products.

Only downside is that they don’t have a large presence in the states, so i had to order mine from Seatorch Australia. It took 3-4 weeks to receive my products.

I do think a new vendor in North America has started carrying Seatorch, but I don’t know what kind of stock they have.


https://www.seatorch.com.au/

If you are interested, that is their website, ask for Joey. He was great to deal with.

 

[allof fish]

I’ve got a 200int on my 180 great skimmer wouldn’t change it

 

[Kooma]

I have the 250 int on my 230 and it’s always done a great job.

That's what I'm eyeing, its just the eye watering $1,400 price tag here in canada…

 

[X-37B]

In my 150 and 100 I run a 9430dc.
I also run a 28" LifeReef skimmer in the 150. 10 fish feed heavy. Both skimmers produce heavy skim. The Lifereef produces sludge.
For 1 skimmer either would work. The new 9430 dc is $1500 and you can run any pump on the LifeReef for less.
I would remove the 9430 if I ever go to one.
My 150 is acro heavy at 2 years now.

 

[Genvid]

Pretty much any skimmer is going to do the job. Im only on my second skimmer since getting back into the hobby. My 1st skimmer was made by adaptive reef, and sold by BRS. I don’t think they make them anymore. They had some nice features like adjustable neck for new to well establish tanks. It was built pretty solid, but in the end, I felt it was undersized, so I bought a new skimmer for my situation.

I ended up going with Seatorch based on a video I watched online,




and all I can say is WOW. It’s built like a tank, and performs really well. After, receiving the skimmer, i was so impressed that ive purchased several other Seatorch products.

Only downside is that they don’t have a large presence in the states, so i had to order mine from Seatorch Australia. It took 3-4 weeks to receive my products.

I do think a new vendor in North America has started carrying Seatorch, but I don’t know what kind of stock they have.


https://www.seatorch.com.au/

If you are interested, that is their website, ask for Joey. He was great to deal with.

I pre-ordered the Ultra-Marine Smart DC Protein Skimmer UM-220IN; it is due to arrive soon, and I am eagerly awaiting its delivery.I bought it from the company Collectors Corals.

 

[AviR]

I have the 250 int on my 230 and it’s always done a great job.

That's what I'm eyeing, its just the eye watering $1,400 price tag here in canada…

Yea our was bought used even in the US. I always loved the look of the nyos skimmers but that’s visuals

 

[X-37B]

If you can find a used 9430dc, old model, or a LifeReef used you can save some serious cash.
I have 3 9430's and only 1 was bought new 8 years ago.
The rest were used around $250
The LifeReef in this pic was purchased used for $270.
Quite the bargin and would be all you need.
Just cleaned the cup before I went to bed last night.

The used 9430dc this morning. It runs in the return section.