Help choosing a skimmer

[Chlorinated]

Planning a Fiji. Cube 76 buold this year. Been spending time looking at skimmers and want to know what people think.

First, do you prefer skimmers with the pump inside the body of the skimmer, or attached to the side? My feelings are that an externally mounted pump would make maintenance easier as I imagine the pump would need more routine maintenance then the skimmer body itself. Space nit being an issue of course.

These are the ones I have been looking at:

RO 150-INT classic (external pump)
Red Sea RSK-300
AquaMaxx ConeS Q1
Bubble Magus Curve 5 Elite

All 4 get good reviews. RO has been known for quality builds and reliability. I have the opportunity to get a new RSK-300 for $240. AquaMaxx skimmer has great reviews and so does Bubble Magus.

The Red Sea is a great deal, but part of me wants to hold out for a RO skimmer due to its reputation.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and experiences in this area!

 

[crusso1993]

Planning a Fiji. Cube 76 buold this year. Been spending time looking at skimmers and want to know what people think.

First, do you prefer skimmers with the pump inside the body of the skimmer, or attached to the side? My feelings are that an externally mounted pump would make maintenance easier as I imagine the pump would need more routine maintenance then the skimmer body itself. Space nit being an issue of course.

These are the ones I have been looking at:

RO 150-INT classic (external pump)
Red Sea RSK-300
AquaMaxx ConeS Q1
Bubble Magus Curve 5 Elite

All 4 get good reviews. RO has been known for quality builds and reliability. I have the opportunity to get a new RSK-300 for $240. AquaMaxx skimmer has great reviews and so does Bubble Magus.

The Red Sea is a great deal, but part of me wants to hold out for a RO skimmer due to its reputation.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and experiences in this area!

All of the skimmers you’re looking into do a fine job and produce great results. Is any one of them better than the others? IMO I really don’t think there’s much of a big difference in results amongst them. I believe you’ll probably receive replies from other reefers detailing their experience(s) with whichever brand and model they employ on their system(s). I would suggest you go for the RO because that is the one you really want to get.

There are pros and cons to internal vs. external skimmers. Externals are generally recirculating. There are internal recirculating too but these are not widely used. The externals are generally more efficient. Externals offer far easier maintenance. The internals offer a greater peace of mind in case of a leak or overflow which, to many, is the biggest differentiator.

 

[DanyL]

I can't recommend any of them from personal experience, from the more recent models I only ever used the Nyos 160 and A&C 300XXL.

However, I can answer your other question about the difference between inner and external pump designs.
Additionally to the obvious advantage for maintenance purposes, it also allows a better utilization of the bubble chamber and thus produce more foam, and results in a slightly better performance.

 

[WallyTime7]

Planning a Fiji. Cube 76 buold this year. Been spending time looking at skimmers and want to know what people think.

First, do you prefer skimmers with the pump inside the body of the skimmer, or attached to the side? My feelings are that an externally mounted pump would make maintenance easier as I imagine the pump would need more routine maintenance then the skimmer body itself. Space nit being an issue of course.

These are the ones I have been looking at:

RO 150-INT classic (external pump)
Red Sea RSK-300
AquaMaxx ConeS Q1
Bubble Magus Curve 5 Elite

All 4 get good reviews. RO has been known for quality builds and reliability. I have the opportunity to get a new RSK-300 for $240. AquaMaxx skimmer has great reviews and so does Bubble Magus.

The Red Sea is a great deal, but part of me wants to hold out for a RO skimmer due to its reputation.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and experiences in this area!

Love my aquamax. Upgraded from my RSK and won’t look back

 

[A Young Reefer]

Look into the tunze skimmers heard a lot of good stuff about them.
I prefer an externally mounted pump since it will make maintenance a lot easier as you mentioned. I have a bubble magus curve 7 and not a big fan of it.

 

[NormanB]

I own and have used the RO for over 3 years now and it is a real work horse. As others have said, external pump makes for super easy pump cleaning. You are correct, the body needs little cleaning...I've only taken the whole skimmer out twice in the 3 years I've used it.

I'm sure the other skimmers are fine at doing their job. When 1st starting the RO in a new system, I was suprised by how quickly it started to produce skimmate. Within a day it was productive. The cup is easy to take off to clean and need minimal clearance to remove it. That could be important if you have limited space above the skimmer if it is under the stand.

 

[Chlorinated]

All of the skimmers you’re looking into do a fine job and produce great results. Is any one of them better than the others? IMO I really don’t think there’s much of a big difference in results amongst them. I believe you’ll probably receive replies from other reefers detailing their experience(s) with whichever brand and model they employ on their system(s). I would suggest you go for the RO because that is the one you really want to get.

There are pros and cons to internal vs. external skimmers. Externals are generally recirculating. There are internal recirculating too but these are not widely used. The externals are generally more efficient. Externals offer far easier maintenance. The internals offer a greater peace of mind in case of a leak or overflow which, to many, is the biggest differentiator.

All good points and appreciate the feedback. All get good reviews, but everyone always seems to pull for RO.

I can't recommend any of them from personal experience, from the more recent models I only ever used the Nyos 160 and A&C 300XXL.

However, I can answer your other question about the difference between inner and external pump designs.
Additionally to the obvious advantage for maintenance purposes, it also allows a better utilization of the bubble chamber and thus produce more foam, and results in a slightly better performance.

Seems to be the general consensus on external, thanks!

Love my aquamax. Upgraded from my RSK and won’t look back

AquaMaxx seem have have awesome reviews everywhere I look. Seems like they skim well and just work! Also cheaper than RO. Definitely debating RO vs AquaMaxx currently.

Disappointed about RSK as they have some cool features, but maybe too new to the market.

Look into the tunze skimmers heard a lot of good stuff about them.
I prefer an externally mounted pump since it will make maintenance a lot easier as you mentioned. I have a bubble magus curve 7 and not a big fan of it.

Appreciate the reco and note about external. Seems that's everyone choice and the added performance is a plus obviously. Also thanks for the note about BM. Mixed reviews there but more positive then negative.

I own and have used the RO for over 3 years now and it is a real work horse. As others have said, external pump makes for super easy pump cleaning. You are correct, the body needs little cleaning...I've only taken the whole skimmer out twice in the 3 years I've used it.

I'm sure the other skimmers are fine at doing their job. When 1st starting the RO in a new system, I was suprised by how quickly it started to produce skimmate. Within a day it was productive. The cup is easy to take off to clean and need minimal clearance to remove it. That could be important if you have limited space above the skimmer if it is under the stand.

Another RO for the win! Appreciate the feedback.

This thread seems to be following a very obvious trend lol.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Keep it coming!

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I use the RO Classic INT skimmers in all of my tanks. Love them. Super easy maintenance and easy to clean the skimmer body when dumping the cup. Every time I dump the cup, I take $3 all plastic toilet brush and swish/scrub the skimmer body. This keeps it nice and clean and only takes a minute to do it. Any thing that comes loose goes into the cup after you put it back on/turn skimmer back on and done.

 

[Chlorinated]

I use the RO Classic INT skimmers in all of my tanks. Love them. Super easy maintenance and easy to clean the skimmer body when dumping the cup. Every time I dump the cup, I take $3 all plastic toilet brush and swish/scrub the skimmer body. This keeps it nice and clean and only takes a minute to do it. Any thing that comes loose goes into the cup after you put it back on/turn skimmer back on and done.

Appreciate the feedback and awesome advice on the brush!

 

[legionofdoon]

Lifereef 24 with a DC pump of your choice. Old tech but works great and you never have to worry about pump compatibility. I guarantee no pinwheel setup will put anywhere near as much air into contact with water.