Skimmer Q&A Thread

[ReelRednekReefer]

Rather than post another "which one?" thread I'll try this here.

2 month old 90 gallon tank. 40b as sump. All dry rock. Swapped out sump for a Rubbermaid tote as I decided I want baffles to maintain more constant water level to help skimmer production. So before I place the baffles I wanna decide on a skimmer upgrade. Currently running a RO NWB-110 and still getting protein film in sump. Hair algea is covering everything. Running gfo and carbon in reactor to fight this but obviously better DOC export is a better option. If it matters, sump will be laid out: intake will feed fuge directly with no sock, then skimmer, then return.

So my top choices are:
All rating are for heavily stocked per manufacturer.
All are close in price.

Reef Octopus CLSC-160INT ~ 110g
Reef Octopus Classic 200INT ~ 150g
Bubble Magus Curve 7 ~ 185g
Reef Octopus AC20287 needle wheel skimmer ~ 125g ($50 less than other 3 units)

So whatcha think? Gimme the good and bad that I can't read about on the sites. Ease of cleaning is important.

 

[mcarroll]

Tunze 9410, but I'm not sure a tweak like a skimmer upgrade will kick the problem with algae you described. Also, why can't your ATO control your sump's level like mine does? I've always thought baffles were a waste of space.

 

[ReelRednekReefer]

An ATO is part of the sump redo. Was gonna run a simple float valve so I could swing the new skimmer then I want a good ATO with optical eye. Also I want a fuge area to grow pods and macro without the cheato getting into my pumps.

How would you get a hold on the algea?
I removed all frags so I can do a blackout. Siphoned SB with 15g WC and scrubbing algea off tank and rock surfaces. Will do so weekly then gradually back up to monthly. Running gfo and carbon but it for a weekAm I wasting money on a new skimmer? Feed medium clown every 2 days with sinking pellets a couple at a time to see they are eaten. Snails barely touch the stuff. Hermits pic at it.

 

[mcarroll]

If the sand was dirty under the surface then this is probably where most of your nutrient problem is. Do you tend to get a fair amount of detritus on the sand and rocks?

I'd consider taking out the whole sand bed. (You can replace it or not.) Sand is MUCH cheaper than any other solution (water changes, media, etc) and more than likely doing this will remove the algae problem by the roots too.

Consider why you sand got so dirty (so quick?) before you replace it with new sand though, or it'll just repeat. You may need better flow, and/or better rock layout, and/or...?

I would definitely do an ATO (Tunze Osmolator?) regardless of the rest of the situation.

PM me (if you want) since we're more or less not talking skimmers anymore. ;)

 

[scardall]

Realredneckreef, I have to concur with mcarroll. Get rid of the sand. etc. My FOWR has a sand bed with alot of rock. I can not clean 85% of it and I have up to 5 different macro algae's. Recently I pulled a 1/3 of the rock out and Cleaned the sand . I did put the rock back down. But 50+ percent of my algae died back. Sand is cosmetic for the most part. too much work to properly maintain for me. If you do remove your sand, do it in stages. No more than 1/3 a week. You must balance/manage your Bio changes when you do this. DO NOT make all of your changes at once please. You will have ammonia spikes etc. Idea: Buy a bottle of beneficial bacteria to help counter balance you bio changes. Good Luck and Have Fun.

 

[Coralbeauty85]

Question about a skimmer for my tank. My dimensions are 36 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 17 1/4. I was lookin at HOB skimmers and am trying to figure out what would be more beneficial for my 40 gallon.
- octopus hob BH 100 or
- octopus hob BH 1000

Thanks for the help :)

 

[mcarroll]

If you're not going to drain the water into a sump for filtering, I'd say see what you think of an internal skimmer like the Tunze 9004...or their Reefpack 250 which includes the skimmer and a second module for more flow as well as filter/media reactor function as well as heater and ATO integration. (You add a 75 watt heater and their Osmolator nano and all are hidden.) May or may not be your cup of tea, but it's a slick package. The footprint of the skimmer alone is only about 4" square I think. I'd probably even look at an Aqua C Remora if you really prefer the hang-on form - it's inexpensive, easy to maintain and can skim a much larger tank.

 

[big deddy]

Well, For those who may not know me. I have reviewed many skimmers over on RC. I thought Maybe I could do the same here or at least help some members of R2R.
Here is a short list of some of the skimmers I have owned over the last several years.
Octo Nw 110
octo nw 150
octo nw 200
octoX 160
octoX 200
msx 160
msx 200
ETSS sump buddy 40
Oceanic biocube skimmer
saphire bc skimmer
cpr skimmer
aquaC ev 120
aquaC urchin
aquaC remora
Bermuda bps 3c
Warner Marine s150
Warner Marine s200
Warner Marine as 150
Warner Marine as 200
Warner MArine k2 prototype and production
Bubble king Mini 160 gen 1
Bubble king Mini 160 gen 2
Bubble king Mini 180 gen 2
ATB 840
ATB 840 v 1.5
Alpha 250
alpha 170
vertex in 100 gen 1
vertex in 100 gen 2
Vertex in 100 gen 3
vertex in 180 gen 2
MSX miniS
DAS ex 1
SWC 120 cone
SWC 150
Bubble Magus Nac 6
Bubble Magus Nac 7
SRO 2000 xp
SRO 2000 int
Aquamaxx am 250
CS 200 cone skimmer
ATB Elegance 200
Mojo mini 100 sicce pump
Mojo mini 3 Tunze
Mojo cone sicce
Mojo 4 sicce
mojo 5 bubble blaster

And a couple others along the way. Some i have had a couple times as I used them to hold me over till I got another.

So with that being said. I give a unbiased review on the skimmers and I am a big fan of bang for buck. But really like skimmers that are built well also. Last but not least customer service.

I have become pretty comfortable with skimmers and have a pretty good understanding on them. So if anyone has any questions or needs some suggestions I ll do my best to give you my input.

Mojo~

Does anyone here have an opinion or review on used reef octopus xp1000sss? I have one I'm looking at to buy. In good shape with added avast marine swabbie.

 

[Mirya]

I'm in the process of designing a custom 35gallon display tank that will have a 15x15 cube sump. Trying to pick out a skimmer for the sump. Criteria I've gone on so far is looking for something relatively energy efficient, easy to clean, not reported to make a ton of microbubbles, and not too huge a footprint. (I'm trying to decide between two different sumps atm, one has a 10.5x9 skimmer chamber, the other 15x9.) I think I have it narrowed down to:
- AquaMaxx WS-1
- AquaMaxx Cone S CO-1
- Bubble Magus Curve 5

I was wondering if there is anything else I should consider, and of those 3 which people prefer. (I did look at the Reef Octopus 110, but that footprint will be tight if I go with the sump with a fuge.)

 

[mcarroll]

If footprint space is limited, a square or rectangle shaped skimmer like the Tunze Comlines or AquaC Urchins will make the most of it - many good options for a 35 gallon.

If not one of those then a traditional cylinder shape would be preferred.

 

[Shep]

So are HoB skimmers worth it? Doing a 40b tank and will not be able to have a sump so I'll have to use a HoB skimmer.

 

[townjas]

Yes Hob skimmers are worth it. I used a bak-pak for 2 years on a 55

 

[Reefing Madness]

Oh yea, HOB are worth it, Reef Octopus makes some really good HOB Skimmers, AquamaxxOne, SWC. Good choices there.

 

[Shep]

Awesome, glad i asked! Its without a doubt going to be a reef octopus, just trying to pick which one. Thinking about the RO classic 90 (need to double check the name)

 

[mcarroll]

AquaC's remora is another great option that is time-tested (and possibly available on the For Sale forum)...it's possibly the most user-friendly in terms of not requiring a specific pump and being the easiest to clean. If you buy it with the standard pump (MaxiJet 1200) it can handle a 75-90 gallon tank, so your 40B tank should be a breeze! :)

Another thing to consider is that HOB is not the only way to go.

Tunze makes a line of internal skimmers that don't take much space (around 4"x4" footprint or smaller) as well as the Reefpack combo that adds a second chamber in the tank with the skimmer that is somewhat like a power filter, but can also hide your heater as well as the Osmolator top-off sensor. So while you're giving up another 4x4 of space, it's multifunctionality is definitely worth it IMO.

Last - consider going skimmer-less...and don't over-estimate what a skimmer can really do. Research suggests they're around 30-40% efficient in lab conditions (i.e. perfectly maintained for a very finite period of time). Weigh what a skimmer can really do against your plans for the tank.

While you're at it, remember that the only time you "need" a skimmer (like most of us) is when your tank is stocked beyond its biological capacity* and you're unwilling to do the maintenance at the frequency necessary to keep the tank running in that condition. In other words, a skimmer can stretch out the time between water changes, etc...basic maintenance....but not by enough to "make it right" for most people. That's why you also see most people, in addition to skimming, also running GFO, activated carbon, pellets, vodka, vinegar, etc... :)

So consider your actual needs and what a skimmer can actually do (lots more than HOB!) and you'll know what skimmer you need.

For a 40B, personally, I'd look strongly at a used Remora from a cost-saving perspective, or one of two Tunzes for the "best solution". Either the Tunze 9004 skimmer, or the Reefpack 250 kit that comes with one 9004 skimmer and one Tunze 3162 filter that doubles as a heater and ATO housing. The whole thing together is smaller than an overflow box you'd find in most drilled tanks.

$0.02

* It is possible to stock up a reef or FOWLR tank to it's biological capacity and have a virtually maintenance free tank so far as nutrients are concerned - even without a skimmer. Most people just don't run a tank this way because of this reason or that.

 

[Shep]

As far as bio load goes it's going to be a gold assessor, two clowns and a royal gramma. I'll look into those skimmers right now.

 

[Shep]

Question about HoB skimmers, why are so many rectangle shaped while most in sump skimmers are cylindrical?

 

[mcarroll]

In terms of footprint/size, squares and rectangles are 100% space efficient vs circles and ovals which by comparison leave "wasted space" in the corners...and you generally want less/smaller stuff hanging off your tank and being unsightly so (usually) the most space-efficient design is used.

A cylinder may or may not also be a slightly more optimal shape in terms of skimming, but in terms of assembly a pipe for a cylinder has at most two cuts to make it ready for use whereas a box potentially has four cuts per side and four glue-joints to get the same functional skimmer part. I suspect ease/quickness of assembly may be a big factor in choosing cylinder shapes. Generally space taken in the sump is not as high a concern as it is on the outside of your tank - usually there's dedicated space, in fact - so there's room to consider "less efficient" shapes that might have other benefits.

At the end of the day it's the bubbles doing the work...the container and even the pump that feeds it are secondary. Important since the pump and container need to be balanced with each other to get the right bubbles....but secondary. They aren't doing any of the actual work, that's all bubbles. :) This is also why I generally choose skimmers based on convenience features such as ease of cleaning (your only real chore with a skimmer - and it directly affects performance) at least as much as skimming performance, which within a decent range is more or less equal among high quality skimmers. All skimmers are not equal on ease of use, which is mainly daily-weekly cleanings, but also includes build quality, tuning and other issues. I also like to consider whether a skimmer manufacturer is an innovator or copykat...but that's a whole other kettle of fish and YMMV! ;)

 

[telesonic]

Are there any links for doing the mesh mod to the sicce psk-2500? My skimmer came with the needed stuff but I have just been running it stock.

Nanoreefsystems is currently working on expanding their nano skimmer metal mesh impeller.
The intent is to first outfit Sicce pumps with our metal mesh impeller. Many years ago we tested Eheim and Sedra pumps with a metal mesh impeller and we had to cut the diameter of the impeller down several times because it kept blowing the lid of due to the hughe amount of foam generated.
You can see pics of the foam generated in our nano skimmers by a very small pump and the metal mesh impeller on our website nanoreefsystems.com
So be patient please, you will not be disappointed.

 

[deepseasurfer]

Mojo
What do you think of a ATB 8.5 deluxe on a 150 gallon sps dominant? Don't have room in the trigger system emerald 39 for the 10.5 deluxe or would go that route