Which HOB Skimmer?

Wall · Oct 19, 2023

Just added 2 clowns yesterday that have been alive for 24 hours already. Yayy!!!

Now thinking of adding an HOB protein skimmer in November and need your help to decide which one.

I have a rimmed budget 60-gallon tank from Petco. Following is my research but of course, I need your help to decide on any of these or one that's not on the list.

Choice 1 Aquamaxx hob 1.5

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquamaxx-hob-1-5-hang-on-back-protein-skimmer.html
Choice 2 RO HOB 90

https://www.coralvue.com/classic-90-hob-protein-skimmer-openbox
Choice 3 RO HOB 1000

https://www.coralvue.com/classic-1000-hob-protein-skimmer-openbox
Choice 4 ICECAP

https://www.coralvue.com/icecap-k3-250-hob-protein-skimmer-openbox
https://www.coralvue.com/icecap-k3-200-hob-protein-skimmer-openbox

Jedi1199 · Oct 19, 2023

Wall said:
Just added 2 clowns yesterday that have been alive for 24 hours already. Yayy!!!

Now thinking of adding an HOB protein skimmer in November and need your help to decide which one.

I have a rimmed budget 60-gallon tank from Petco. Following is my research but of course, I need your help to decide on any of these or one that's not on the list.

Choice 1 Aquamaxx hob 1.5

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquamaxx-hob-1-5-hang-on-back-protein-skimmer.html
Choice 2 RO HOB 90

https://www.coralvue.com/classic-90-hob-protein-skimmer-openbox
Choice 3 RO HOB 1000

https://www.coralvue.com/classic-1000-hob-protein-skimmer-openbox
Choice 4 ICECAP

https://www.coralvue.com/icecap-k3-250-hob-protein-skimmer-openbox
https://www.coralvue.com/icecap-k3-200-hob-protein-skimmer-openbox

Why do you want a skimmer? Are you planning to add corals?

If not, don't waste your money. A fish only tank will be fine without a skimmer. I haven't run a skimmer on my 180g fish only tank in over 6 months and it hasn't hurt anything.

Keep up your water change schedule and you will be fine.

In my opinion, HOB skimmers are loud and really ultimately ineffective. The small amount of water that can be run through them just is not what you need to run a skimmer efficiently.

As an alternate, if you have room under your stand, you can place a 10g tank and use a HOB overflow. run the water to the 10g, as a "mini sump" then pump it back to the DT. You could put a decent "in sump" skimmer there and it will do a much better job.

If you are interested, shoot me a PM.. I have a brand new HOB overflow and a baffle kit for a 10g tank that I no longer have a use for.

Wall · Oct 19, 2023

Yes, I do hope to add corals in the future, and no space in the existing stand. More on setup I gave a Whale 500 canister filter. I do appreciate your suggestion and the offer

Opus · Oct 19, 2023

Wall said:
Yes, I do hope to add corals in the future, and no space in the existing stand. More on setup I gave a Whale 500 canister filter. I do appreciate your suggestion and the offer

I have the classic 90 on my 75gal tank. It does a really good job. I personally don't find it loud.

tzabor10 · Oct 19, 2023

I love Reef Octopus. Much easier to service and great build quality. Just got a classic 1000 to replace a coralvue that broke down in under a year. Had an aquamaxx for years, cleaning was a huge pain, so I never did it and neglected the tank. Post pics of those clowns

jackson6745 · Oct 19, 2023

This is the best hang on skimmer that I have used. It's a very powerful skim for a hang on and will help keep your waste levels lower in the tank.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bullet-3-hang-on-back-protein-skimmer-aquamaxx.html

Wall · Oct 19, 2023

tzabor10 said:
I love Reef Octopus. Much easier to service and great build quality. Just got a classic 1000 to replace a coralvue that broke down in under a year. Had an aquamaxx for years, cleaning was a huge pain, so I never did it and neglected the tank. Post pics of those clowns

As @jackson6745 suggested bullet 3. It seems pretty easy to clean and aesthetics are very nice.. What do you think?

tzabor10 · Oct 19, 2023

Hope those fish don’t bite you. My clowns nipped at me for the first five years. That skimmer could be good. I like that replacement bubbler tubes are available. Is that blue mesh for bubble control? I have been burned too much by older tubes that no longer can deliver air. Reef Octo has wider air tubes. But anything is better than nothing. Water quality is super important in my opinion. Good luck

mangolove · Oct 19, 2023

DELTEC is my prefered choice

jda · Oct 19, 2023

If you can find one used, AquaC Remora is the best HOB skimmer that I have ever seen. It is an injection skimmer and you can use any pump with it. I have not seen the Deltec in action.

ChefCab · Oct 22, 2023

I have a Classic 90 HOB Protein Skimmer, with an Avast Marine Medium Davey Jones Skimmate Locker. Works great and keeps me from worrying about spills. Been doing this for less than a year and haven't had any accidents. I just open the cabinet every few days. Adjustability is simple. I run it pretty wet. I would recommend it to any one.

brclark82 · Oct 22, 2023

I have been using the Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 for about 6 months now and it’s great…I was running 2 regular hob filters and replaced one with this and am able to keep my nitrate and phos in check easily and with fewer water changes…I run a pretty clean tank and this thing still pulls out a ton of nasty skimmate and I have to empty about twice a week…emptying the cup is way better than cleaning out the regular hob filters and I have to do that much less frequently now as well

Would highly recommend

ChefCab · Oct 22, 2023

jackson6745 said:
This is the best hang on skimmer that I have used. It's a very powerful skim for a hang on and will help keep your waste levels lower in the tank.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bullet-3-hang-on-back-protein-skimmer-aquamaxx.html

jackson6745, This was my other choice but, it came down to overflow. While it cost more to get a skimmate locker, not having it recycle in the system was something that concerned me. It defiantly would have looked better, tucking into the back with the rest of the gear but, the Classic90 being able to drain into an exterior container maid me feel less paranoid given my lack of experience.

Sleeping Giant · Oct 22, 2023

I would highly recommend the aquamaxx, I've had mine for 2+ years and love it. I did have to cut my glass holding lip on the rim of my tank, (nothing structural) to place it, but it works great.

YOYOYOReefer · Oct 22, 2023

Aqua c remora gets my vote too.
have A few collecting dust

Wall · Oct 23, 2023

brclark82 said:
I have been using the Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 for about 6 months now and it’s great…I was running 2 regular hob filters and replaced one with this and am able to keep my nitrate and phos in check easily and with fewer water changes…I run a pretty clean tank and this thing still pulls out a ton of nasty skimmate and I have to empty about twice a week…emptying the cup is way better than cleaning out the regular hob filters and I have to do that much less frequently now as well

Would highly recommend

Have you ever had overflow or micro bubbles?

brclark82 · Oct 23, 2023

Wall said:
Have you ever had overflow or micro bubbles?

I get microbubbles occasionally, but not a problem generally. I had them for the first couple days and now I get them for a couple hours after I clean it but they go away. I was also able to mitigate them by not pointing the output of the skimmer directly in my wavemakers path and that helps too.

I would say overall microbubbles are not a concern of mine at all at this point but I have had them occasionally.

As far as overflow, there is a tube connected to the cup towards the top that redirects overflow back into the main skimmer chamber so you wouldn’t have to worry about any actual overflow onto the floor unless that became plugged for some reason. If you went super long without emptying the cup you would just be pumping that skimmate back into your tank which wouldn’t be ideal but it shouldn’t actually overflow. In the beginning when I was setting it up I had the cup way too low and clear tank water filled the cup in a very short time and that tube saved me from having an actual overflow but since then it hasn’t been an issue but nice to know it’s there in case.

BRS has been running these around $200 a lot recently and I would highly recommend.

Let me know how if you have any other questions

Wall · Oct 24, 2023

brclark82 said:
I get microbubbles occasionally, but not a problem generally. I had them for the first couple days and now I get them for a couple hours after I clean it but they go away. I was also able to mitigate them by not pointing the output of the skimmer directly in my wavemakers path and that helps too.

I would say overall microbubbles are not a concern of mine at all at this point but I have had them occasionally.

As far as overflow, there is a tube connected to the cup towards the top that redirects overflow back into the main skimmer chamber so you wouldn’t have to worry about any actual overflow onto the floor unless that became plugged for some reason. If you went super long without emptying the cup you would just be pumping that skimmate back into your tank which wouldn’t be ideal but it shouldn’t actually overflow. In the beginning when I was setting it up I had the cup way too low and clear tank water filled the cup in a very short time and that tube saved me from having an actual overflow but since then it hasn’t been an issue but nice to know it’s there in case.

BRS has been running these around $200 a lot recently and I would highly recommend.

Let me know how if you have any other questions