What skimmer for 50G heavy bioload with automatic filter roller

Muffin87 · Mar 17, 2021

I have a 50G where I mostly keep LPS and tubastrea. But I wanna keep NPS soft corals (i.e. red finger gorgonian) later down the road, so I'd consider this a heavy bioload 50G.

;DeadCurrent setup and problem.
Originally, I only used a skimmer for mechanical filtration so I got an oversized one. Ultra Reef Akula UKS-180 rated for 100-180G tanks.
After buying a second-hand Clarisea Gen2 filter roller, the huge Akula UKS-180 basically stopped skimming. Even biopellets haven't increased the performance dramatically.

;BookwormPlan for improvement:
I don't wanna remove the automatic filter roller, because it's been keeping everything much cleaner, and removes a lot of stuff very fast. Very impressed with it.
I wanna keep using carbon dosing to keep nutrients in check, so I need a smaller skimmer that will perform well, even with a filter roller.

Question: What should I get?
I got down to 3 potential skimmers, but I'd like some advice. I'm based in Europe, so many US skimmer brands aren't available.
At the moment I'm tempted by the Aquavitro Division 125, but maybe you guys could provide me with some insight that would change my mind.

Skimmer	Rated for G tank	Pros	Cons
Aquavitro Division 125 (AC)	up to 125G	Recirculating skimmer. Would recirculation increase performance, considering larger particles are being filtered out by the filter roll? Small footprint	Recirculation pump is AC. Can't tune the amount of water/air. But this may be a secondary concern, since recirculating skimmers don't depend on the water level in the sump?
Deltec 400i (DC)	30G to 105G	Small footprint DC pump	No recirculation, still rated up to 105G. Performance may be an issue with a filter roller?
Ultra reef Borei UKB 120 (DC)	30G to 80G	Company is based 20 mins from where I live. I've visited them already for support for my current skimmer. Great built quality. Rated for just up to 80G > good performance. DC Pump	Can't use with a CO2 scrubber. This is a huge issue, because I have a low pH, and the heavy bioload and the carbon dosing aren't gonna help with that.

GillMeister · Mar 17, 2021

If you're looking for votes, I'd go with the Deltec. I'm not sure what issues you'd have with a filter roller. Protein skimmers are capable of taking dissolved organic waste out of the water whereas filter rollers remove larger waste that has not yet broken down. They're not exactly redundant.

Muffin87 · Mar 17, 2021

GillMeister said:
If you're looking for votes, I'd go with the Deltec. I'm not sure what issues you'd have with a filter roller. Protein skimmers are capable of taking dissolved organic waste out of the water whereas filter rollers remove larger waste that has not yet broken down. They're not exactly redundant.

After installing the filter roll, I noticed my oversized skimmer had stopped skimming. I watched these two videos by BRS
BRS Skimmer mistakes
BRS Automatic Filter Roller Tips
They suggest sizing down the skimmer. The filter roller removes the larger particles before they can break down into organics. Basically, with an automatic filter roller you end up with less organics than your skimmer is rated for, even if your skimmer is the right size for your tank, and your food population.
It'd seem that, when companies rate the skimmers they produce, the amount of organics companies have in mind for a specific tank size is much larger than the amount of organics you'll end up with, using an automatic filter roller in the same tank size.
If you don't size down your skimmer with a filter roller, you may end up with a skimmer that doesn't skim (like me basically, lol).

Not saying this is right or wrong, but it's certainly been my experience.

GillMeister · Mar 17, 2021

Muffin87 said:
After installing the filter roll, I noticed my oversized skimmer had stopped skimming. I watched these two videos by BRS
BRS Skimmer mistakes
BRS Automatic Filter Roller Tips
They suggest sizing down the skimmer. The filter roller removes the larger particles before they can break down into organics. Basically, with an automatic filter roller you end up with less organics than your skimmer is rated for, even if your skimmer is the right size for your tank, and your food population.
It'd seem that, when companies rate the skimmers they produce, the amount of organics companies have in mind for a specific tank size is much larger than the amount of organics you'll end up with, using an automatic filter roller in the same tank size.
If you don't size down your skimmer with a filter roller, you may end up with a skimmer that doesn't skim (like me basically, lol).

Not saying this is right or wrong, but it's certainly been my experience.

I can't disagree that the filter roller should reduce the burden on your skimmer. I'd still go with the Deltec. If you think it has too much skimming capacity it's easy to just dial back the DC pump for the load in your tank.

Blue Spot Octopus · Mar 18, 2021

I would get a skimmer with a small neck, easier to keep a head of skimmate.

ATB USA · Mar 19, 2021

Look at the ATB Nano one

ATB USA · Mar 19, 2021

ATB-usa.com

dbq5anlxj · Mar 20, 2021

What did you end up getting? I'm in the same situation.

Muffin87 · Mar 20, 2021

dbq5anlxj said:
What did you end up getting? I'm in the same situation.

You also have an auto filter roller with an oversized protein skimmer that isn't skimming?

I will be getting an Aquavitro Division 125 on Monday.

Pros:

Only a few reviews, but Jake Adams was complimentary of the skimmer. Check out the video review.
The silencer outperforms other very good ones.
Found another comment from a user confirming Jake Adams' observation that it starts skimming immediately.
Long contact-time.
Has a port to collect skimmate elsewhere (many skimmers rated for 30G-125G don't).
Pretty space-saving considering the features it packs.
Cylinder diameter is the smallest I found, 10% smaller than the Deltec i400, and similar cylindrical kind of shape (not conical). This is not an advantage per se. It's an advantage to someone like me who's struggling with an oversized conical skimmer.
Water level can be adjusted in a millimiter-by-millimiter fashion. This is something I'm struggling with, with my current skimmer. Could be one of the reasons I can't get it to skim decently.
Both single pump and recirculating modes.
Pump is a Sicce. I live in Italy, easy to order the 10€ all-including spare parts pack directly from Sicce's website. The pump itself is cheap too, it's like 50€. The impeller might have been customised by seachem tho.
Relatively unaffected by sump water level, in both modes.
Pump very easy to service.
In recirculating mode, it can be fed water from my biopellet reactor. I challenge any skimmer that is getting water directly injected from a bio-pellet reactor not to skim. I'm using Tropic Marin NP-Bacto Pellets which use an algae derived polymer, it's the lightest kind of biopellets available.

Cons:

Pump isn't DC (it's a Sicce... they make ONE DC pump I believe)
The needle to adjust the water level looks too much of a toy for my taste. Doesn't look too sturdy.
Design-wise the skimmer looks a bit fiddly, admittedly.
Speaking with Seachem, I discovered the filter socks are not a standard size, and must be bought from them. This is a major pain because accessories aren't always easy to find. I imagine you could always DIY a media cup with some plastic netting, and fill it with filter floss to muffle the sound of the water.

dbq5anlxj · Mar 21, 2021

Muffin87 said:
You also have an auto filter roller with an oversized protein skimmer that isn't skimming?

I will be getting an Aquavitro Division 125 on Monday.

Pros:

Only a few reviews, but Jake Adams was complimentary of the skimmer. Check out the video review.

The silencer outperforms other very good ones.

Found another comment from a user confirming Jake Adams' observation that it starts skimming immediately.

Long contact-time.

Has a port to collect skimmate elsewhere (many skimmers rated for 30G-125G don't).

Pretty space-saving considering the features it packs.

Cylinder diameter is the smallest I found, 10% smaller than the Deltec i400, and similar cylindrical kind of shape (not conical). This is not an advantage per se. It's an advantage to someone like me who's struggling with an oversized conical skimmer.

Water level can be adjusted in a millimiter-by-millimiter fashion. This is something I'm struggling with, with my current skimmer. Could be one of the reasons I can't get it to skim decently.

Both single pump and recirculating modes.

Pump is a Sicce. I live in Italy, easy to order the 10€ all-including spare parts pack directly from Sicce's website. The pump itself is cheap too, it's like 50€. The impeller might have been customised by seachem tho.

Relatively unaffected by sump water level, in both modes.

Pump very easy to service.

In recirculating mode, it can be fed water from my biopellet reactor. I challenge any skimmer that is getting water directly injected from a bio-pellet reactor not to skim. I'm using Tropic Marin NP-Bacto Pellets which use an algae derived polymer, it's the lightest kind of biopellets available.

Cons:

Pump isn't DC (it's a Sicce... they make ONE DC pump I believe)

The needle to adjust the water level looks too much of a toy for my taste. Doesn't look too sturdy.

Design-wise the skimmer looks a bit fiddly, admittedly.

Speaking with Seachem, I discovered the filter socks are not a standard size, and must be bought from them. This is a major pain because accessories aren't always easy to find. I imagine you could always DIY a media cup with some plastic netting, and fill it with filter floss to muffle the sound of the water.

yes exactly same issue. I'm also carbon dosing and I only 11 fish in a 180g. My nutrients level was really low
before since the skimmer is not working properly my nutrients is out control now during two months period. (I'm running sk5000 with maxspect ad600 ).