Skimmer thoughts

[vittpsu21]

Hey all, at the tail end of my cycle and have mostly everything in order outside of my skimmer. I’ve done a lot of video watching and reading, however, to be honest the amount of stuff out there on skimmers is pretty crazy!

For context I have a 200g display with a 74g sump +- rock/sand etc. I’m not especially sold one way or another on AC vs DC skimmers though I do understand one offers you far more ways to tune. Sometimes in life less is more, but I have no idea if this is one of those cases!

My goal with all things in this build has been to try to do my best to purchase the correct thing the first time around. While saving money where possible is always a goal, double spending on a rebuy will absolutely nuke that idea! I know as I’ll just be entering a fresh start my bioload will be relatively small but ultimately that will scale with time! I still have a little bit of time to figure this out as my current plan is to go copapods once cycle finishes into CUC while quarantining my 2 clowns, lawnmower, and royal gramma. This was my initial thought on starting, open to suggestions here too if anyone has input, but also very interested in suggestions on skimmers

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

As far as controlling the skimmer, if you put an air valve on the air intake on AC skimmers and have a way to adjust the height in the water, they are the same as DC. Ease of adjustment with DC skimmers can be worth the price increase. Just be aware of reading the skimmer descriptions to make sure you get a skimmer that's in the middle of the road for you. Its easy to get a skimmer that's to big. I run Bubble magus curve skimmers, they use Sicce pumps. I run an ac skimmer with an air valve to keep it tuned. As far as recommending a skimmer, with a tank your size, any skimmer will be pricey.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

AQUACAVE has a larger selection of skimmers than BRS

 

[vittpsu21]

AQUACAVE has a larger selection of skimmers than BRS

I had an A8 DC 300 in my cart atm, I liked the idea of the adjustable skim tops based on my load but I just wasn’t sure

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

I had an A8 DC 300 in my cart atm, I liked the idea of the adjustable skim tops based on my load but I just wasn’t sure

that's a good selection, depending on what your bioload will be the Reef Octopus Classic 202-S is space saving but may be lacking if you bioload gets heavy. I am far from a pro

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[vittpsu21]

I had an A8 DC 300 in my cart atm, I liked the idea of the adjustable skim tops based on my load but I just wasn’t sure

that's a good selection, depending on what your bioload will be the Reef Octopus Classic 202-S is space saving but may be lacking if you bioload gets heavy. I am far from a pro

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My big thought was I could scale based on load, one of their big selling points was 2” 3”4” and not having one in based on your needs

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

If your happy with that price its looks like a good skimmer, plus it uses Sicce pump

 

[vittpsu21]

If your happy with that price its looks like a good skimmer, plus it uses Sicce pump

well happy is a relative term, lol, would I like it to be less? absolutely? Do I think I will save much outside of maybe 200 dollars for some sacrifice based on my tank size, probably not!

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

LifeReef hands down. Maintenance is just spraying out the Cup once or twice a week. I run a Simplicity 1000 Pump on mine, gets clean every Six months. Set it and forget it. Want a temporary additional skimming, just add Saltwater, and raise the water level in your sump. The Body, no need to touch it. I run some RO/DI water into the air intake hose, every now and then, to clean the Ventura. You may need a Reef Rack to elevate the LifeReef, depending how your sump setup.