Skimmer suggestions?

[skinz78]

I recently upgraded my tank and I reused my old skimmer which is a Reef Octopus NW150 on steroids, it has been modded by Luke at Reef Filtration. I am debating on upgrading my skimmer or wondering if I added a Swabbie to my current skimmer. The tank is a 120g heavily stocked with a total water volume of about 130g including the sump.

So if I were to upgrade my skimmer what skimmers do you all recommend?

 

[Captain Nemo]

How about the bubble king???? Or an ATB???? Or just go with one from Reef octo. Thats what I use. LOL

 

[skinz78]

I have heard they are good but I don't know which model etc? I also like the SWC's so any suggestions on them?

 

[Sasquatch]

seaclone? sure I have a stump of one somewhere lol

 

[btkrausen]

I say get an upgraded Super Reef Octopus 3000. I have the Internal SSS one, and its a beast. It uses the Bubble Blaster 300o pump. By far the best skimmer I've ever used.

 

[jledon4]

if you really want a skimmer that will be doing its job and not be overstressed by the amount of livestock and organics that are in your tank, you should go with a bigger skimmer. i currently have a 40 gal rimless with a 20 gal sump, both custom and i run a reef octopus just like yours, the nw 150. i've always looked at the skimmer as the heart of the tank and for this you gotta go big or go home, thats my look at it.

 

[Captain Nemo]

I have no clue about model number but I have heard these are supposed to be the best! I vouch for the octo's though!

 

[droblack]

I love my swc 160. Great skimmer and cheap, it is perfect for my 76 gallon mixed reef. You would want the larger model imo. If you go swc, have Luke mod it before shipping (mesh wheel).

 

[joelq]

If you've been happy with your current Reef Octopus, maybe you could just go up in size, or move to a Reef Octopus Extreme or the Super Reef Octopus suggested above? The higher end models comes with better pumps so you should see better performance over your current Reef Octopus.

The SWC skimmers are also good, but my understanding is that they're basically clones of the Reef Octopus line.

 

[btkrausen]

You'll be impressed with the Super Octopus, no doubt. The Bubble Blaster pump is just a beast.

 

[5ft24]

I have a reef octo pro 250.
With my 75G DT, 20 G sump and 20G fuge, it's actually too big, but keeps the water crystal clear!

 

[skinz78]

seaclone? sure I have a stump of one somewhere lol

LOL I have one too, when I was a noob my LFS convinced that it was all I needed. Needless to say it got upgraded within a month or two.

 

[skinz78]

if you really want a skimmer that will be doing its job and not be overstressed by the amount of livestock and organics that are in your tank, you should go with a bigger skimmer. i currently have a 40 gal rimless with a 20 gal sump, both custom and i run a reef octopus just like yours, the nw 150. i've always looked at the skimmer as the heart of the tank and for this you gotta go big or go home, thats my look at it.

Yeah I really like my NW150, it is on steroids too. Luke opened up the venturi and that did something like tripled the output and the air pull. He also did the mesh mod. I added a gate valve to it as well. All in all it is doing pretty nicely but I can see problems coming in the future.

 

[Dave3112]

I like my ASM G-3. It is reasonably priced and does a great job on my 220. So I'm sure it would be good with a 120 also. I just aquired a bubble magus 150 pro for my wifes tank (which is not set up yet) and have it running in the sump to see what it can do and it is SUPER quiet. Not sure of how well it works yet though.

 

[btkrausen]

I like my ASM G-3. It is reasonably priced and does a great job on my 220. So I'm sure it would be good with a 120 also. I just aquired a bubble magus 150 pro for my wifes tank (which is not set up yet) and have it running in the sump to see what it can do and it is SUPER quiet. Not sure of how well it works yet though.

Good ole' ASM G3. Man, I ran one of these for years, with the mesh wheel upgrade and the gate valve upgrade. Makes a huge difference if you haven't tried it yet.

 

[Dave3112]

Got the Gate Valve upgrade but haven't done the mesh mod. I figure if it ain't broke don't fix it and it does a great job............

 

[btkrausen]

Mesh mod is easy, but if you do it, buy a new needle wheel in case you don't like it. It did improve my G3 considerably.

 

[skinz78]

I will keep the G3 in consideration Dave as I know your tank is a real beauty they must be good.

 

[gar732]

The avast skimmer looks good as does the swc skimmers. ATBs are nice and I hear the support is great. I guess it depends on your budget though. I'm cheap so I just made my own:tongue:

 

[skinz78]

LOL I am very cheap and I am handy but don't know where and what to get to do my own.