Perhaps the best skimmer...

[BestMomEver]

My vertex somatic 60 skimmer had a run-in with a few snails. The impeller is toast. Vertex is sending a new one but as the days go on, I can tell my tank is beginning to suffer.... just a feeling I have. I went down to a local LFS that carries a lot of used equipment to pick up a spare. When there I found a new Reef Octopus Essence 130 skimmer. I was intrigued by the design and even though I hated to spend the money, I bought it. Now, after setting it up, I’m not sure I’ll go back to the Vertex! This thing is as close to plug-and-play as it gets. Adjusting is simple. I never had bubbles out the bottom or water shooting out the top. Best of all, it’s totally silent. So much so, that it made me realize how loud the Vertex is! It’s already skimming with nice dry foam. For those f you that know me, you know how much I hate skimmers. This one might have renewed my faith in them.

 

[Rakie]

Vertex are touchy to setup, and require more fine tuning than most. They also tend to require something new that the older ones didn't come with -- a needle valve, to adjust the amount of air coming into the skimmer. That little valve made a HUGE difference for me.

 

[BestMomEver]

Vertex are touchy to setup, and require more fine tuning than most. They also tend to require something new that the older ones didn't come with -- a needle valve, to adjust the amount of air coming into the skimmer. That little valve made a HUGE difference for me.

Yea.... I got one too. And it skims well. But man, it’s a finicky thing! It’s because of the skimmer that I hate changing filter socks. New filter socks made it go crazy.

 

[Hemmdog]

My vertex somatic 60 skimmer had a run-in with a few snails. The impeller is toast. Vertex is sending a new one but as the days go on, I can tell my tank is beginning to suffer.... just a feeling I have. I went down to a local LFS that carries a lot of used equipment to pick up a spare. When there I found a new Reef Octopus Essence 130 skimmer. I was intrigued by the design and even though I hated to spend the money, I bought it. Now, after setting it up, I’m not sure I’ll go back to the Vertex! This thing is as close to plug-and-play as it gets. Adjusting is simple. I never had bubbles out the bottom or water shooting out the top. Best of all, it’s totally silent. So much so, that it made me realize how loud the Vertex is! It’s already skimming with nice dry foam. For those f you that know me, you know how much I hate skimmers. This one might have renewed my faith in them.

I’ve been running the eSsence for about 7 months. What size is the system your running it on? It was great for awhile but now it can’t keep up with my 90. I’m looking into possibly a bubble magnus curve 7 elite. The eSsence has a good design, I really wish they made few larger sizes though.

 

[BestMomEver]

I’ve been running the eSsence for about 7 months. What size is the system your running it on? It was great for awhile but now it can’t keep up with my 90. I’m looking into possibly a bubble magnus curve 7 elite. The eSsence has a good design, I really wish they made few larger sizes though.

That make a 150 I think. This is on a 60 cube. If it can’t keep up then I’ll use the vertex. Or maybe both!

 

[Hemmdog]

That make a 150 I think. This is on a 60 cube. If it can’t keep up then I’ll use the vertex. Or maybe both!

Oh it will be perfect for that! Awesome! 150 eh? I’ll have to look into that.

 

[lolgranny]

Thumbs up to reef octopus, been using them for years!

 

[Zan101]

My vertex somatic 60 skimmer had a run-in with a few snails. The impeller is toast. Vertex is sending a new one but as the days go on, I can tell my tank is beginning to suffer.... just a feeling I have. I went down to a local LFS that carries a lot of used equipment to pick up a spare. When there I found a new Reef Octopus Essence 130 skimmer. I was intrigued by the design and even though I hated to spend the money, I bought it. Now, after setting it up, I’m not sure I’ll go back to the Vertex! This thing is as close to plug-and-play as it gets. Adjusting is simple. I never had bubbles out the bottom or water shooting out the top. Best of all, it’s totally silent. So much so, that it made me realize how loud the Vertex is! It’s already skimming with nice dry foam. For those f you that know me, you know how much I hate skimmers. This one might have renewed my faith in them.

Nice setup

 

[Waynerock]

RO 110ss best I have ever owned out of 5 over the years

 

[BestMomEver]

Glad to see I’m not alone in my enthusiasm!

 

[Zohar78]

will be interesting for me. due to trigger triton sump, about the max large size skimmer i could fit in it was a Reef octopus classic s202. this is for a 130gallon display tank with triton 44 sump. sooo looks like its going to be oversized for like a year as i build up the fish/bio load. coming from a coral box skimmer on 40b with crystal 30elit sump.

 

[Rakie]

Yea.... I got one too. And it skims well. But man, it’s a finicky thing! It’s because of the skimmer that I hate changing filter socks. New filter socks made it go crazy.

Pro Tip -- Stop using filter socks, corals will respond well.

 

[BestMomEver]

Pro Tip -- Stop using filter socks, corals will respond well.

I’ve wanted to do that for as long as I can remember. Every time I try it, I freak out (don’t know why) and put one back in. I do hate socks. My sump is not designed for easy sock swapping. When did you get rid of yours? Did your parameters change?

 

[tvu]

I’ve switched to Aquamaxx skimmers. I currently own 3 on my tanks.

 

[joec]

I've had the Essence 130 installed since Jan 1. It a bit oversized for my 53 G with a light bioload currently, but after about a 3 week break in, it skims like a champ. I'm very pleased. It's ridiculously easy to take apart.

It was a little finicky about depth. 7.25"s is the sweet spot for mine.

There are 9 stellar reviews at BRS

 

[Jay Norris]

Hi, the best skimmer I ever owned, and still use is the E.T.S.S. 1500 skimmer. Once you set it, it skims for ever, no adjustments, but you should change the bio balls once a year. It's to bad they went out of business, as if anything ever goes wrong with it, I hope I can fix it, or just reverse engineer it.

 

[lolgranny]

will be interesting for me. due to trigger triton sump, about the max large size skimmer i could fit in it was a Reef octopus classic s202. this is for a 130gallon display tank with triton 44 sump. sooo looks like its going to be oversized for like a year as i build up the fish/bio load. coming from a coral box skimmer on 40b with crystal 30elit sump.

Oversized isn’t bad , I had one rated at 150g on my 40 gallon.

 

[lolgranny]

Pro Tip -- Stop using filter socks, corals will respond well.

Both ways work well. If you’re cleaning your socks regularly it will be fine. I run them 24/7 as I don’t care to clean my sump out more frequently.

 

[ca1ore]

Hi, the best skimmer I ever owned, and still use is the E.T.S.S. 1500 skimmer. Once you set it, it skims for ever, no adjustments, but you should change the bio balls once a year. It's to bad they went out of business, as if anything ever goes wrong with it, I hope I can fix it, or just reverse engineer it.

Yes the ETSS skimmers were terrific. I cannot recall which model, but I used one for a while before switching to a Beckett. Not all that much to go wrong with the ETSS. Here’s my ‘best’ skimmer.

 

[lbacha]

RO 110ss best I have ever owned out of 5 over the years

+1 I really like my 110ss as well. Easy to set up and I just added a CO2 scrubber to mine and it seems to work even better (this is just an initial observation)