Protein Skimmer

madronrc · May 22, 2020

What kind of protein skimmer would you reccommend for 110 Gallon reef tank? I am looking into Reef Octopus and dont understand the Heavy, Medium, Light Bioload information.

Silver14SS · May 22, 2020

What features are you looking for in a skimmer? Performance only, noise level, energy efficiency, footprint needed, you have a sump, what livestock do you have, etc.?

madronrc · May 22, 2020

We have a sump but want good performance and low noise level. We have mixed coral and currently 2 clowns, a goby, a sailfin tang, some shrimp, and a copperband

bdehlin · May 22, 2020

We've been using a Reef Octopus Essence 130 and it's been great in our 100

DaAznGuy · May 22, 2020

I 2nd what Silver said about sump space. I would start with measurements in the skimmer chamber and go from there. Pointless to compare statistics on skimmers that wont fit. Then you can compare between the low noise and silent skimmer options. Low / Medium / Heavy is based on your feedings. If you plan on having a fully stocked tank with tons of corals and fish. I would look into a heavy option for your sized tank. Also other things to consider would be refugium / and media nutrient export options. You don’t want to strip your system too clean.

Rhydder_Reef · May 22, 2020

madronrc said:
What kind of protein skimmer would you reccommend for 110 Gallon reef tank? I am looking into Reef Octopus and dont understand the Heavy, Medium, Light Bioload information.

It refers to the amount of Fish,coral,etc.. you have in your tank "bioload". If you anticipate having a tank with a lot of Bioload than you would need a to scale up (150,200) the skimmer to handle the export of having so much. If you plan on keeping very little fish, coral, etc.. then the smaller (recommended) skimmer. The trick is finding a happy medium of import vs export to keep things balanced. To much either way causes problems.

45ZoaGarden · May 22, 2020

Bioload is the amount of fish waste being produced. I personally would shoot for a 150 size skimmer. I would buy the reef octo regal 150ss. Best skimmer in its size range period. a

madronrc said:
What kind of protein skimmer would you reccommend for 110 Gallon reef tank? I am looking into Reef Octopus and dont understand the Heavy, Medium, Light Bioload information.

Silver14SS · May 22, 2020

45ZoaGarden said:
Bioload is the amount of fish waste being produced. I personally would shoot for a 150 size skimmer. I would buy the reef octo regal 150ss. Best skimmer in its size range period. a

What makes it the best period?

OP - how much do you want to spend and how much room do you have for a skimmer?

joe2 · May 22, 2020

A lot of people have found the Life Reef skimmers the most reliable and least fidgety...and skimmers can be plenty of fidgety. Most work great when they are dialed in just right but that's the rub...keeping them dialed in. The life reef skimmers have been around since the age of dinosaurs and have stood the test of time. Other than that, the Octopus skimmers do seem the most popular and that must be for a reason.

Blue Spot Octopus · May 22, 2020

What is the depth water in the sump are you working with. Lots of people love the Bubble Magnus Curve 7 for this size tank, but it requires a deeper sump, that is why I do not use one on my tank.

Jonify · May 22, 2020

Not gonna chime in on what you should get, but a few tips for when you get it:

1) You'll have to tweak it for the first several days/couple of weeks, so know it's going to require a little attention up front.

2) Follow manufacturer's recommendations for water height (set it on top of something if your sump or back chamber isn't already at the right water height) and then open the air or water inlet dial all the way and then back it down until the top of the bubble turbulence/water boiling movement is almost (but not all the way) at the top of the neck of your skimmer, and under the skimmer cup (if it's higher, you'll wake up to an overflowing cup ... folks sometimes set it higher because they don't see immediate skim, don't do that at the beginning!).

3) Dial in the skimming level you want (if you want a dryer skim with dark brown/black skimmate, set the water level in the skimmer neck a little lower--this is what most people do, and you won't have to top off water as much; if you want a wetter skim with tea-colored skimmate, set the water level in the skimmer neck a little higher (this is what I do) but you'll have to top off water a little more.

4) Once you've found your preferred setting and it's stayed constant for several weeks, generally, you should leave it there. When you do water changes, it might seem like it's stopped skimming; don't touch the dials, it will come back.

Hope that helps, let us know what you choose!

X-37B · May 22, 2020

Want a skimmer you can turn on, adjust once, and it just plain skims?
Tunze 9410DC.
Quiet, anti overflow, easiest cup to clean.
IMO the most under rated skimmer on the market.
This is mine running for 11 months since startup on my 120.
No need to turn off to feed, clean cup, work in tank.
Check one out you wont be dissapointed.

45ZoaGarden · May 25, 2020

Silver14SS said:
What makes it the best period?

OP - how much do you want to spend and how much room do you have for a skimmer?

Controllability, tun-ability, the quality of materials, features, and the function. The regal has three points of adjustment: pump speed, air, and the gate valve (amount of water in the skimmer body). It also has a float valve in the cup to shut the skimmer down if it fills to a certain point, And a plug into the bottom of the cup so you can run an avast skimmate Locker. The skimmer is apex compatible. The materials are top notch. I just took mine apart in March to do a yearly cleaning and every piece was very high quality. The only issue I had was the varios pump. Taking the front plate on and off was extremely difficult. I’m sure it will loosen up over time but that’s my only gripe. Still functions great but some might have a hard time taking the pump apart. You also have reef octo’s top notch customer service. The regal is hard to beat imo. Nyos is also a nice skimmer but doesn’t have as many features.