Best skimmer for 300 gallon fish only (for now)

[davidwillis]

Sorry, there are tons of skimmer threads... But a lot are old, or for smaller tanks, etc. I am currently running a simplicity 320, and it has been working fine. However my fish are getting bigger, and my bio load is going up. I think I may need a bigger skimmer. My space in my sump is 14" X 20" X 34"

Here is what I am looking at:
nyos quantum 300 - I like that there are two pumps, but wish they were DC. Also the price is a little high
Regal DC 250 or 300
reef octopus elite 220 - it might be a little small
Simplicity 540 - It should be similar to what I have but bigger....

Any suggestion about any of these, or others I have not looked at that might be better?

 

[blaxsun]

Bubble Magus. Maxspect also has some new skimmers (not sure how they rate). Red Dragon and Deltec on the higher end.

 

[X-37B]

Tunze 9430dc.
This is one day of skim in my 120 sps system with 15 fish.
Very underrated skimmers.

 

[davidwillis]

Tunze 9430dc.
This is one day of skim in my 120 sps system with 15 fish.
Very underrated skimmers.

I was also looking at that skimmer. The price seems very good.

 

[davidwillis]

Bubble Magus. Maxspect also has some new skimmers (not sure how they rate). Red Dragon and Deltec on the higher end.

Deltec looks good... I could even fit a recirculating on in my sump... Red Dragon (is that royal exclusiv?) is very expensive. Is it worth it?

The maxspect AD600 looks interesting, but it is too small. Also bubble magus is too small.

 

[davidwillis]

Also the hydor E-sk 1600 DC looks interesting, and is rated for up to 250 gallon (heavy bioload). However it only has about 1/2 the airflow as the other ones I have looked at, and about the same as my current skimmer.... So I wonder if it is over rated.

 

[Rmckoy]

Are you set on having to be in the sump ?

IMO external skimmers are the way to go .

Mrc makes wonderful skimmers

 

[dyno]

Maxspect Aeraqua Duo! The skimmer of the future! Love mine

 

[davidwillis]

Maxspect Aeraqua Duo! The skimmer of the future! Love mine

The problem is that it is not big enough for my tank.

 

[davidwillis]

Are you set on having to be in the sump ?

IMO external skimmers are the way to go .

Mrc makes wonderful skimmers

It has to be in the sump, because it is a peninsula tank, with the one side being on an outside wall. So if I did an external tank, it would have to be outside the house on our front porch.

I do have a salt water mixing room that is plumbed with some 1/2" pipe, but it is about 20 feet away, and so I think it would be very complicated to pump it back and forth without the risk of a flood. I could probably get larger pipe through if I needed.

 

[blaxsun]

Deltec looks good... I could even fit a recirculating on in my sump... Red Dragon (is that royal exclusiv?) is very expensive. Is it worth it?

The maxspect AD600 looks interesting, but it is too small. Also bubble magus is too small.

Deltec is probably the best out there. I currently own a Nyos (love it).

 

[Rmckoy]

It has to be in the sump, because it is a peninsula tank, with the one side being on an outside wall. So if I did an external tank, it would have to be outside the house on our front porch.

I do have a salt water mixing room that is plumbed with some 1/2" pipe, but it is about 20 feet away, and so I think it would be very complicated to pump it back and forth without the risk of a flood. I could probably get larger pipe through if I needed.

Where is your sump located ?

I have my skimmer sitting on a stand I built beside my tank
The inlet is a 1” hose from a pump in my sump to the skimmer. .
The output from the skimmer
Is a rigid piece of 1.5” pvc from the skimmer to the sump

 

[davidwillis]

Where is your sump located ?

I have my skimmer sitting on a stand I built beside my tank
The inlet is a 1” hose from a pump in my sump to the skimmer. .
The output from the skimmer
Is a rigid piece of 1.5” pvc from the skimmer to the sump

My sump is under my tank, but my tank is between our kitchen and living room... There is no way my wife would let me put an external skimmer in our living room or kitchen.

 

[davidwillis]

Deltec is probably the best out there. I currently own a Nyos (love it).

That is one I am definitely considering (actually both). Can you explain what makes the Deltec the best out there? It looks very normal. I really like the quantum 300 Nyos, but I am not sure it would do any better than a cheaper skimmer. Do you mind sharing why you love yours, and what version it is?

 

[Rmckoy]

My sump is under my tank, but my tank is between our kitchen and living room... There is no way my wife would let me put an external skimmer in our living room or kitchen.

Makes sense .
you’re somewhat stuck with in sump .

 

[blaxsun]

I have a Nyos Quantum 160. It's a beast in terms of what it does suck out. It does have one annoying "quirk", that it seems to stall for a few minutes before generating bubbles (not sure if this is a design thing or that I haven't cleaned it for a few months). I probably should've gone with the Quantum 220 as I think my bioload is a bit higher than the 160 can keep up with.

 

[davidwillis]

I haven't really looked at lifereef or Bashsea. They look really cool, and it seems like a lot of people really like them.

The 8-30 twisted by bashsea would fit in my sump, and is rated at 350 to 500 gallons
the SVS3-30 would also fit, and is rated for 250 to 400 gallons.

 

[davidwillis]

I went with the bashsea 8-30... Man is it big compared to my simplicity 320. It has been running for a few days and is producing great. The one thing I really like is that it won't overflow (or even be effected) by the sump water level. So I can just leave it running even when feeding.