Favorite in sump skimmer

[+KeeperOfTheZoo]

Hi Y'all,

I'm in the planning stages of building a sump w/ refugium for my tank. This is a new tank for me, had it about 2 weeks now. Got a great deal on a used set up, but some of the equipment needs to be upgraded. The skimmer being number one on the list (it came with a SeaClone). I can't wait to pitch the skimmer and mechanical filters and move to a sump/fuge set up.

I'm pretty lost in the world of skimmers though. I'd like one that works good without having to endlessly adjust it, can handle my tank volume (125g tank, plus the sump when it's built and I'm not sure if I'll be using a 30g or 20g for the sump, depends on what will fit in my stand), and is hopefully under the $300 mark. Really have to balance function and cost so I don't sticker shock my poor husband.

I'd greatly appreciate feedback on which brands work good and which don't (like the stupid SeaClone).

Thanks,

Liz

[blindside]

Precision marine has a good line of skimmers, like the redline skimmers, or maybe you would like the msx skimmers, I think you would do great with a msx 160. Or perhaps the octopus skimmers, a lot like the msx I believe. And there ok as far as price goes.

[+mcallahan]

My favorite topic. I've had tons of skimmers and I'm super picky about which ones are good.

First of all, go with the 30G sump. More is better and will leave you with more options for a skimmer.

AVOID at all costs:

- Coralife. They are cheap and you get what you pay for. Again, AVOID them

Good:

- Vertex. Very quiet. A little tricky to dial-in, but once you get them dialed in, they are great. I got rid of mine b/c it was too big for my sump and I was tired of trying to dial in it. Don't know of a local retailer that sells these, but you can get a IN-180 for $279 @ Marine Depot and you'll get free shipping.

- Reef Octopus. I'm running one now and its a little loud for me (remember I'm really picky). It skims well and I like the design so I'd recommend it. Make sure you get one with the bubble plate built in. Aquatek sells these locally.

- ASM. I've never owned one, but they get good reviews.

- Tunze. A little pricey, which is why I didn't give it the best rating, but they are really easy to setup, they are quiet and they skim well.

Best, based on my experience:

- Euro-Reef. Not as quiet as the Vertex, but they consistently pull lots of gunk of tanks. And unlike other skimmers I've owned, they keep pulling out skimmate even if the neck gets dirty. And there are lots of them out there so you can probably find a good used one. Let me know if you need help finding one.

[mhart032]

Liz, i can tell you their are ALOT of really good skimmers out their. i cant tell you what one is better than the other. all i can tell you is what i have experiance with . i have used a couple i started off with a Red Sea Prism Pro and didnt like it rediculasly hard to adjust and always had to mess with it. so i tried a CPR with the same effects very hard to use mind you both were used and broke in before i got them. i then i moved to a Coralife Super Skimmer i believe it was a 65g and it worked well i liked it it was very easy to use and worked well so when i upgraded to the same skimmer in the 125g it was differnt got alot of micro bubbles in the display and didnt like it. Well i messed with it and found some mods online did them and low and behold this skimmer is great i have passed up other skimmers for great prices and havnt thought of replacing this skimmer since. i would put my skimmer moded up against a vertex or a tunze any day (witch are the ones i turned down btw). not to mention it can be had for 1/4 the cost of the tunze and the vertex. i pull deep green almost brown nasty thick skimmate out of it.

[muddybluewater]

I am a big fan of the Octopus skimmers by Coralvue. They give you the performance of skimmers priced much higher. I have a NWB 150 running on my 120g and love it. If I had this tank when I bought the skimmer I would have gone with the Octopus Extreme 200 but it is still a great skimmer. They also have some new skimmers out with a new pump called a Bubble Blaster 2000. These put out an incredible amount of cfm. I would probably buy the new cone skimmer with the BB pump if I was to buy one today. JMO

[stoneroller]

DAS EX series. I have the EX 1 and it works great. Sub $300 new.

[Hamp]

For the price and performance, I like my octopus extreme.

[+dapettit]

I have both a Euro-Reef in the 150 and a Vortex in the 58. As mentioned above Octopus makes a good skimmer.

Dave-

[GKarshens]

I have owned several skimmers as well. I would agree with Reefpug on most of his assessments. The coral life super skimmer can skim and I thought it was doing great until I got a good deal on a used Euroreef. It was easily twice the skimmer. I currently have a Vertex. It is hard to dial in but once it is, it skims REALLY well. My biggest complaint is the pump is a bit loud. I recently had a VERY kind person give me a huge Euroreef. Won't fit in my current sump but will in my new one when we move houses!

[pbnj]

I have an ASM G3 on my 75g reef (stocked on the heavy side) right now and absolutely love it. The skimmate that collects on the neck is the consistency of thick oatmeal. With this skimmer and weekly water changes, my nitrate/phosphate levels are minimal. Also, I haven't done any adjustments to it since I broke it in almost a year ago.

Maybe the MSX and Octopus are better, but when I upgrade tanks next year, I'm going ASM again because I know they work so well.

Pictures below show about 36 hrs of skimmate production by the G3:

[+Daniel]

I've been through a couple of skimmers as well. I used an AquaC Remora on a heavily stocked 20g with very good results. AquaC skimmers use a water jet shooting into standing water to create foam.

I used a Coralife Super Skimmer 220 on my 90g for almost a year, also with good results. I had done a few mods to it: redirected the skimmer output (recirculated it), added a cheap air pump to boost the venturi (something I would recommend people try for their aging skimmer if they feel their venturi sucks), and also did the fishing line mod. The results? It outperformed an ASM G4 skimmer I had running side-by-side for a week as a test. I would get a container full of dark, disgusting stuff.

Of course, I couldn't resist spending money so I bought a cone skimmer with an ATB purple pin wheel sicce pump. Lately, I've been lusting after Deltec's newest lineup... so... hot.

[atxryan]

I like my precision marine rl150

[+KeeperOfTheZoo]

Thank you so much for all the input! Now I have a good list of brands to look at. Really helps when trying to eliminate junk.

Pbnj, my 3 year old walked in as I was looking at your pictures and said 'Ewww, gross'. I agree! Awesome!

[caferacermike]

My favorite in sump, Euroreef CS12-5 4rc. Very nice skimmer, worked really well on my 75g. Got rid of my hair algae problem. So powerful I think it could have sucked the salt from the water.

[NonSequitur]

So far the only "real" skimmer I've run (other than one I made from an airstone and a cut up 2 coke bottle to prove it could be done. It worked, but didn't work well) is my euro-reef RS-80, but I love it. It seems to consistently pull stuff like in pbnj's pics from the water, and I have a very light bioload (at the time just two fish in a 55g, but I did overfeed pretty badly).