BornToHula Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I'm not currently happy with my Reef Octopus 150 skimmer, its too loud and I'm not happy with its performance. So I am in the market for a new skimmer. While looking online at skimmers I have come to a conclusion: deciding what skimmer to purchase is hard! You have to consider water intake, air intake, cone diameter, the brand of water pump. Then, to top it off, manufacturers grossly inflate what tank size their skimmers are for! So I need some help trying to pick an appropriately sized skimmer that will fit in my sump. I have a 75g display with a 20g Long sump (around 11.5" x 9.5" of room for the skimmer in the sump). There is also around 80 pounds of live rock. Bio Load: Pair of clowns Red velvet wrasse Pink spotted watchman goby & pistol shrimp Kole tang Black cap basslet Fire shrimp 2 peppermint shrimp 4 Anemones A mix of SPS and LPS and soft corals. I will definitely be adding more coral in the future (SPS or LPS) and perhaps one or two more fish. The Skimmers I have considered so far are: AquaMaxx ConeS CO-1 AquaMaxx ConeS CO-2 Vertex Omega 130 Vertex Omega 150 Skimz Monzter SM121 Skimz Monzter SM161 I'm leaning towards the AquaMaxx but still don't know if I should go with the CO-1 or CO-2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 They are all great skimmers! I honestly don't think you could go wrong with any of them. If it were me, I'd get the highest rated of the 6 options that can fit into my sump. FWIW, I have the Skimz Monster SM201 and I love it. Consistent performance, doesn't ever overflow for no reason, quiet as a mouse, and built like a tank. I've heard great things about both the AquaMaxx and the Vertex Omega's as well but have never tried either one of them. The Vertex auto-neck cleaner I got was solid and well built so I'll throw some first-hand credibility to their build quality. The boxing and packaging for the auto-neck cleaner was truly impressive as well... I know that's superficial but I've never seen a product boxed with such perfectly cut foam and the thickest cardboard box I've ever seen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Also, for FWIW, I know I am always on the high side of the bioload so when I look at ratings, I always go with their lower end of the range. If it's rated 300-500 gallons, I assume it'll be handling 300 gallons with my tank... if that makes any sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I have the Skimz 122 since it can be used external and my sump space was really tight and would make maintenance on any skimmer difficult. This skimmer has been very easy to take apart and clean everything and produces lots of skimmate. I use a maxijet 1200 to feed it and a spa flex tubing for the return so it's very flexible and can be moved around easy. Having it in the cabinet helps reduce the hum that you'll get from any skimmer. My tank is in my living room where I watch movies so my tanks needs to be quite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Last night I posted my Vertex 130 for sale. :-) I had it on my 75g and it did a great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks for the advice Ty. I just checked and the Vertex Omega 150 and AquaMaxx ConeS CO-2 wont fit in my sump, so they are out. It looks like the Skimz Monzter SM161 is the highest powered one that will fit in my sump. Bulk Reef Supply states that it's rated for tanks 132 to 317 gallons... is this too much for a my system? (Is there such a thing as too much?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 You're asking the wrong guy Hula. I'm all about the most efficient skimmer I can get to fit my system. I'll worry about running it at night only if it's too over powered. I do also feed a ton though so it just makes sense for me to try to export a ton as well, since I don't do water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Last night I posted my Vertex 130 for sale. :-) I had it on my 75g and it did a great job. Hmm... any reason why you are selling it? Did you have any issues with adjusting it properly? I have read the Vertex can be a little finicky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Interesting I use the reef octopus 150 and I have had no problems with it at all. One thing I did to make it quieter was to build a muffler for it. I took an old pill bottle and two pieces of hose with cotton stuffed into the pill bottle. On the air intake of the skimmer there are two inlets, I cut two holes in the bottle cap and placed the hoses in them and then the other two into the inlets. I'll try to get a better pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 I have the Skimz 122 since it can be used external and my sump space was really tight and would make maintenance on any skimmer difficult. This skimmer has been very easy to take apart and clean everything and produces lots of skimmate. I use a maxijet 1200 to feed it and a spa flex tubing for the return so it's very flexible and can be moved around easy. Having it in the cabinet helps reduce the hum that you'll get from any skimmer. My tank is in my living room where I watch movies so my tanks needs to be quite. Interesting setup! Unfortunately for me I don't have room for an external skimmer, its got to go in the sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Last night I posted my Vertex 130 for sale. :-) I had it on my 75g and it did a great job. Hmm... any reason why you are selling it? Did you have any issues with adjusting it properly? I have read the Vertex can be a little finicky. I downsized to a 50g cube...overkill and no room in the sump. It took about 3 weeks to break in and after that didn't have to make any adjustments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Interesting I use the reef octopus 150 and I have had no problems with it at all. One thing I did to make it quieter was to build a muffler for it. I took an old pill bottle and two pieces of hose with cotton stuffed into the pill bottle. On the air intake of the skimmer there are two inlets, I cut two holes in the bottle cap and placed the hoses in them and then the other two into the inlets. I'll try to get a better pic Oops, okay I was mistaken. I had bought everything used from someone here at ARC and I thought it was a Reef Octopus 150. I just took a look back at the ad it turns out its a Reef Octopus XS160. Reef Octopus should print what model it is on the skimmer instead of just their logo! Mine has a muffler on the air intake - it just doesn't seem to work too well. The water pump itself vibrates a lot as well, even through some silicone pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I have been real happy with my Eshopps PSK 150 w/ Sicce motor for 2x years. Very easy to dial in a wet or dry skim and is as quiet as a skimmer gets IMO. They are price valued at < $200 at Drs Smith and Foster http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=20033 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 You're asking the wrong guy Hula. I'm all about the most efficient skimmer I can get to fit my system. I'll worry about running it at night only if it's too over powered. I do also feed a ton though so it just makes sense for me to try to export a ton as well, since I don't do water changes. That's true, if its too much I could always not run it for a period of each day. I'm thinking I'm going to get the Skimz Monzter SM161 now. I usually use Bulk Reef Supply, but they are out of stock. Has anyone used Aquacave.com? They have some in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I've used aquacave and I've had good experiences with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Just ordered the Skimz SM161... now the wait for it to come in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 [emoji106] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I've often wondered just how much skimmate is needed to be enough. How much bigger is better until it's just a waste. My PSK 150 pulls 946 gph in a sump that is moving ~550 gph across the floss. So this means it is approx. skimming the return water twice as fast as it is moving across the floss. Don't know how effective the skimming action is in relationship to others, but I know it can pull 1/2 cup per week or really dry skim or 2 full cups of wet skim per week, and whatever in-between. I have no algae to speak of and basically no CUC either. I run only small amounts of GAC and GFO 24/7 and utilize floss. Between my fish and coral I feed 7 cubes of Mysis, 3 cubes of Scientific, 1/3 tsp of Coral Frenzy and about 6 sq in of algae sheet per week. I know this is about the limit of food I can introduce per week without any algae or cyano growth. I know this because I have tried to feed coral more and usually will get some unwanted growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 The SCA-302 Has worked well for me, even though I've only used it for 2-3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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