Skimmer Q&A Thread

[NekoTwilight]

Hi skimmer team. Need some advice please.

Have a 91 gallon (Red Sea 350). I currently have an RSK 600. Two problems:

1. It is too loud (all my other motors are DC)
2. I am having a really hard time dialing it in. It's a boiling pot of water sort of consistency and prone to overflow

I suspect that it's oversized and I've been looking at the following:

1. Red Sea DC 300
2. Reef Octopus Elite 200SSS

Any other options? Thanks!

 

[reeftivo]

Hi skimmer team. Need some advice please.

Have a 91 gallon (Red Sea 350). I currently have an RSK 600. Two problems:

1. It is too loud (all my other motors are DC)
2. I am having a really hard time dialing it in. It's a boiling pot of water sort of consistency and prone to overflow

I suspect that it's oversized and I've been looking at the following:

1. Red Sea DC 300
2. Reef Octopus Elite 200SSS

Any other options? Thanks!

DC300 is a better fit

 

[reeftivo]

see below. oops

 

[reeftivo]

Skimmer advice please
I have a 140G FOWLR tank, relatively lightly stocked. Looking for a good quality skimmer.
I currently have an AquaMaxx DFC-80 and want an upgrade.

The 3 skimmers I've short-listed are:

• Bubble Magus Curve 9+
• Red Sea RSK 300
• Red Sea RSK 600 (one LFS has a special on these which actually makes them comparable in price to the other two... but it is a bit oversized for my tank, which I've heard is actually counter-productive)

Any suggestions/advice?

look at the RS DC600

DC's are not as loud and give you more tunability

+ it's a sicce

 

[jasonrod1]

Good evening! Wonder if someone can give me advice. Trying to get this MTC Power-pro pp3mdq skimmer going but kind of confused. Where should the.water level be? When I have it going, I barely get any bubbles unless the water is really close to the top of the skimmer. Ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

I moved the airline temporary to make sure it was clean.

 

[reeftivo]

Good evening! Wonder if someone can give me advice. Trying to get this MTC Power-pro pp3mdq skimmer going but kind of confused. Where should the.water level be? When I have it going, I barely get any bubbles unless the water is really close to the top of the skimmer. Ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

I moved the airline temporary to make sure it was clean.

that has a mazzie injector, right?

where is it in the pics? i can't see it. is it in the box?

 

[reeftivo]

Good evening! Wonder if someone can give me advice. Trying to get this MTC Power-pro pp3mdq skimmer going but kind of confused. Where should the.water level be? When I have it going, I barely get any bubbles unless the water is really close to the top of the skimmer. Ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

I moved the airline temporary to make sure it was clean.

if it's a mazzie have you disassembled it and inspected it? that blue o-ring on the floor may need to go into the injector with ball & spring where it tees off to the airline. thats the seat for the ball and gets air ripping through the injector.

 

[reeftivo]

disregard my last post about the washer/o-ring. i looked at another pic and see that it is just a small roll of teflon tape LOL

check the injector though

 

[jasonrod1]

if it's a mazzie have you disassembled it and inspected it? that blue o-ring on the floor may need to go into the injector with ball & spring where it tees off to the airline. thats the seat for the ball and gets air ripping through the injector.

It's a mazzie and it's inside the main tube. I took it out and inspected it, no issues. I'm going to try something else tomorrow.

 

[FernBluffReef]

Not sure if the right forum. But as skimmer related…I’ll ask.

Just started up today a RS 525 Max G2+ which comes bundled with a RS DSK-DC 600 skimmer.

RedSea says the skimmer should be 7-8” deep. The specs for the sump on the RS425/525 say 7.9” to 10.6” water height

I’m finding the water level in the skimmer section of the sump to be about 10”. The level seems fixed based on the glass wier and bubble filter leading to the return pump chamber. Glass wier is around 9.5” high

Anyone out there with a RS425/RS525 G2+ have similar concerns or insight on how to vary the level in the chamber as RS purports down to 7.9” to accommodate the bundled skimmer?

Otherwise what are you all doing???? Running the skimmer in the deeper water (seems like asking for trouble)? Raising the skimmer by putting it on top of 2” of MarinePure or similar (I don’t really need more bio media but ok)? Seems odd we have to raise in this manner when the specs appear say the water level can be set properly but I’m at a loss how with what appears to be a fixed glass wier


Update. Correction after reviewing the drawing for the sump. I see the wier is adjustable. I just lowered to its lowest point. Doesn’t seem to make an immediate difference but will see if the level comes down.

Thanks for the insights.

 

[klavmaister]

Have a totally dead silent Red sea reefer 250 (except when the ATO kicks in and the reefmate rotates) The only thing that annoys me is the Skimmer, a Deltec 600i (Dc) this is somewhat overkill. Do you have any suggestions for something quieter or completely silent

 

[reeftivo]

I have a couple that are near dead silent. Atb nano one and bubble king double cone 130. Both skim very very well.

 

[kdmkdm69]

This is a skimmer/sump/chaeto related question. I attached a picture of my sump. So I currently have my skimmer in my middle chamber which only holds about 6.5” of water. Most skimmers including my reef octopus 150Int say they require more water depth. I also intend on running chaeto in my sump, and the plan is to run it in chamber 1 to keep it as far from any pumps as possible. The way the baffles are in chamber 2 worries me about having chaeto there? Should I be worried? Having the low side towards the chaeto. Otherwise if I put my skimmer in chamber 1 I have plenty of depth.
I plan on getting a bubble magus curve down the road which I’m pretty sure says it needs even more water depth.
Also I’m referring to the chambers from left to right 1-2-3 ‍

 

[reeftivo]

This is a skimmer/sump/chaeto related question. I attached a picture of my sump. So I currently have my skimmer in my middle chamber which only holds about 6.5” of water. Most skimmers including my reef octopus 150Int say they require more water depth. I also intend on running chaeto in my sump, and the plan is to run it in chamber 1 to keep it as far from any pumps as possible. The way the baffles are in chamber 2 worries me about having chaeto there? Should I be worried? Having the low side towards the chaeto. Otherwise if I put my skimmer in chamber 1 I have plenty of depth.
I plan on getting a bubble magus curve down the road which I’m pretty sure says it needs even more water depth.
Also I’m referring to the chambers from left to right 1-2-3 ‍

skimmer would work best with the raw water in chamber 1. you would just need to articulate the drain line (looks like flex) to the corner but that chamber is deep enough to handle most compact skimmers . the fuge should be in the middle where it's 6.5. i would do some fiji mud or aquaforest life source mixed and maybe put a mangrove or two with some chaeto, sea lettuce or OGO. Not a lot of room in there though from what i see so you would need to plan well.

another thing you may want to consider if you opt not to do a fuge is a turf scrubber which would fit nicely over that fuge area

 

[kdmkdm69]

skimmer would work best with the raw water in chamber 1. you would just need to articulate the drain line (looks like flex) to the corner but that chamber is deep enough to handle most compact skimmers . the fuge should be in the middle where it's 6.5. i would do some fiji mud or aquaforest life source mixed and maybe put a mangrove or two with some chaeto, sea lettuce or OGO. Not a lot of room in there though from what i see so you would need to plan well.

another thing you may want to consider if you opt not to do a fuge is a turf scrubber which would fit nicely over that fuge area

This is my first sump tank should I worry about the chaeto making it through that baffle in chamber 2 since it will have water flowing over it? I really don’t care for this sump but it is what it is right now.

 

[kdmkdm69]

I have another question, my reef octopus 150int came with a used setup I bought and the collection cup has a 2”? Hole in the side towards the top. Also the pump has seen better days. Does anyone know what should be in the side of this cup? Also is it worth replacing the cup and pump or should I just buy a new skimmer?

 

[reeftivo]

This is my first sump tank should I worry about the chaeto making it through that baffle in chamber 2 since it will have water flowing over it? I really don’t care for this sump but it is what it is right now.

you can get a ball of chaeto and loosely rubber band it together. it holds together well and shouldn't break apart . they intertwine when growing. if its still a concern then you can put some very coarse sponge matting down between the last weir. Be aware though that sponge traps stuff so you will need to keep it rinsed out weekly to prevent clogging (more maintenance).

 

[reeftivo]

I have another question, my reef octopus 150int came with a used setup I bought and the collection cup has a 2”? Hole in the side towards the top. Also the pump has seen better days. Does anyone know what should be in the side of this cup? Also is it worth replacing the cup and pump or should I just buy a new skimmer?

get a pic posted if you can

 

[kdmkdm69]

I’ll get a pic this evening after work. It is a purpose made hole for A fitting of some sort.

 

[reeftivo]

probably a mod done for a drain or sensor to either cut off the skimmer if it overflows or a drain for a skimmate locker but a pic would definitely help