Skimmer Q&A Thread

[malnurs]

I accidently posted this in the regular area and wasn't able to delete it...oops

I was asking some people in my reef club about some skimmers and they sent me here and said to ask for mojo. so here i am
I have a 75g aga with a 20g refuge, and I still have a $35 skimmer on it. lol and like everyone says you get what you pay for. It has been great for a low bio load that I have had since i do have several magroves and chaeto. I only have 3 fish right now had a few die on me during a move. and i have a mix of softies and sps btu am working on getting more sps frags in there. so I am looking to protect my investment a little more. my nitrates have been staying around 10. so I am worried and water changes doesnt seem to be helping much.
However I really only have about $200 in my budget to use for a new skimmer. Or should I try and wait a couple months to budget in some more money?
do yall have any suggestions on a good skimmer for near that price. thanks for any advice and direction yall can give me.
Thanks,
Chris
Here is a few I have seen but know nothign about:
bubble magus for $155
Octopus internal only or recirculating $175-189
vertex skimmer $190
nautilus TE Turbo $180

 

[mojo]

The vertex in 100 is really your best bet in your price range. And really there isnt much better for your setup unless you went with a bigger skimmer.
I would look at the Vertex in 100 as it offers the most bang for your buck. Get the gen 2 as it offers a lower bubble plate, air siliencer built in and the improved shaft for the pump. If you buy a new one it will be gen 2. I just threw that out there in case you were going to buy a used one. Another skimmer that doest get much hype but if you can find it used would be the warner marine S150. Simple little skimmer but the pump to body ratio makes it a great skimmer as well. it sells new for over $300 but I have seen them pop up every now and then for about $200 as well.
The msx 160 is another option that sells used in your price range but is just a little more finicky.
So with that said, the vertex in 100 will work well for you. Sometimes you can catch them 20% off as well. Premium just had that sale not sure if they still do or not.

Good luck with your purchase and let us know what you end up getting.

Mojo~

 

[malnurs]

Thank you so much. Will search around tongiht at work and see what i can find. might try to wait till a 20% pops up somewhere cause that would help greatly.
Thanks you,
Chris

 

[foxhuntr]

is there anybody out there that can give me a list of web sites to check out some of these skimmers you all are talking about ???? i am looking for a skimmer for a 160 gallon medium stocked tank with limited space in my sump.......

 

[iani]

Mojo what would you recommend for a 220 gallon tank (heavily stocked), 100 gallon sump, 75 gallons frag tank (with the possibility of adding a 150 gallon rubber maid stock tank to the system)?

 

[NauticaC4]

Hey Mojo,

The sicce pump that came with the GS1 is mesh modded and for the life of me I couldn't get the mesh to startup. The one time I did it was so loud I could hear it outside on my back porch. I placed a PPW in the sicce and it is still making a little bit of noise but its better than the mesh.

Any hints for making it quiet?
What should the sicce mesh mod look like?
Also where should I adjust the water line in a cone skimmer?

Thanks

 

[mojo]

I have not ran the GS1 but I would imagine the water level would be about a inch or more below the neck. If you want it more quiet get the small ppw. the smaller radius will not allow the pump to vibrate as much. I think marinesolutionsinc has some mesh mod pics on there site. Reef specialty used to. The best bet is to trim the mesh evenly so it is the same diameter as the disk. Larger = more air. But makes it hard to start and noisy.

 

[ReeferRob]

Mojo, you had recommended the Sump buddy 40 to me through PM a few weeks back but I can't seem to find one anywhere? Has it been discontinued?

Also curious is there is so such thing as "too big" of a skimmer? I have about 75 gallon guessing, would the Cs 200 be too much skimmer/over kill?

I also posted these questions in a different thread of yours but might have gotten over looked......

~If you were to list 5 characteristics of a killer skimmer what would they be?

~And on the other edge of the sword, what would 5 things be to avoid, in a skimmer?
__________________

Thanks

 

[mojo]

5 things hmmm..
1. Customer service
2. Pump
3. Design
4. Ease of use
5 Build quality
Not in any order....

5 things to avoid...
1. Cheap no name pumps
2. BAd service or no us contact
3. bad design
4 cheap build quality
5. Hmm, Many things I dont like but most are person preference.

 

[ReeferRob]

5 things hmmm..
1. Customer service
2. Pump
3. Design
4. Ease of use
5 Build quality
Not in any order....

5 things to avoid...
1. Cheap no name pumps
2. BAd service or no us contact
3. bad design
4 cheap build quality
5. Hmm, Many things I dont like but most are person preference.

Mojo, sorry to sound like a chump but that holds true with just about anything in life. Maybe some more specific to tank info.
Customer Service is a given
what makes a good pump for skimmer (other than low running temp and low watts)vs a bad one.
What makes a good design and a bad one.
Ease of use and build quiality should be evident once seen in person.

Oh, the other questions would be sweet too!
Thanks again! You rock

 

[JR's Reef]

Top 3 skimmers for my tank. Right now I have a MSX200 on a 100g pretty heavy stocked tank. I may or may not upgrade next yr but tank would be no more than 150g so what do you think would be the best? Dont care on brand/price just the best ones that would work for me. Thanks in adavance

 

[mojo]

To me a good pump is one that is reliable and gives me the same performance day in and day out with out a need for attention.
Askoll great pump but hard to detune for a smaller skimmer
Testing the tunze skimmer pump that might fill the lower end need.

Quiet to me is impartant. Hate loud skimmer pumps.
Heat and power efficiency are of course up there.

To me The sicce is a ok skimmer pump. The magnets are kinda weak but once running does a good job.
The Tunze has stronger magnets so we will see how it does. The sedra is a tried and true pump just like the ehiem. The Sedra is a little loud but quite down over time. The Resun pump is a sedra knockoff used on the vertex pumps. The gen 2's work well and are a cheap pump.

IMO the Best skimmer pumps are the askol and for smaller skimmers will most likely be the tunze. THe Bubble blaster is not a small pump but is a cheaper alternantive to the askoll.

Getting agood body to neck to pump ratio is key.

Neck to air draw is important as well.

Yes you can have too big of a skimmer. If it too big it will keep all the nog in the neck and have a hard time collecting because of the larger neck.

55g and small 4 to 6 in body skimmers are great. 75 to 100g 6 to 8 in body skimmers work really well. Once you get up to the 8 inch body skimmer performance can very.

For tanks 125 to 180 Most 8 inch body skimmers will work just fine. Heavy stocked 180 I would probably run a hurricone cat 1 if it was 8 inch or maybe the Warner marine AS200. Or jump up to a 10 inch body like the msx 250a. The pump matter too as the amount of water the skimmer cycles.

I look for a balance of all thing to meet the particulars person needs and budget.

Mojo~

 

[mojo]

Top 3 skimmers for my tank. Right now I have a MSX200 on a 100g pretty heavy stocked tank. I may or may not upgrade next yr but tank would be no more than 150g so what do you think would be the best? Dont care on brand/price just the best ones that would work for me. Thanks in adavance

ATB 840 1.5 on 100g, heavy 150 i would jump to the 1050a
WM as 200
BK mini gen 2 200

all very different. EVen The aTB is a tried and true design works great and solid performance. This is the Lotus of the group

THE wm Has a beast of a pump with the sedra 9000 HO . It pulld about 950 to 1000 lph of air abut it moves a great deal of air and will skim that heavy stocked 150 consistant and just keep trucking. This one is the old chevelle 454 of the froup

The BK mini 200 gen 2 pulls more air and a fair amount of water. But the ease of use is awesome.
This one is more the Rolls royce.

lol Good luck.

Mojo~

 

[JR's Reef]

Do you think the 1050a would work on the 100 or do you think i would be better off with the 840 1.5?

 

[ttsNYCreef]

mojo, Great thread you've started here. I saw your skimmer for sale on Manhattan reefs and should have bought it when I had the chance.

and m question. I am running a precision marine RL125 on my 30g cube. construction wise its a good skimmer. I am just not happy with the performance. I am thinking of replacing the pump with a sicce or askoll. may be overkill for it but would welcome your suggestions.

 

[mojo]

the askoll would be way to big for that body.I would like at something simple first. Measure the air intake and lets go from there. Good starting point to see what the limits are of the body and neck.

 

[mojo]

The 1050A is amazing. But on a 100g I think its a bit overkill. if you are going to go to a bigger tank sometime in the next 6 months to a year then maybe get the 1050A. otherwise the 840 is a great choice.

 

[ttsNYCreef]

the askoll would be way to big for that body.I would like at something simple first. Measure the air intake and lets go from there. Good starting point to see what the limits are of the body and neck.

I need to get my hands on an air meter. any suggestions in NYC?

 

[mojo]

Marinesolutionsinc.com sells them

 

[thomasdo87]

I purchased a Bubble King Mini 160 for a 40 gallon breeder with a maybe 10-15 gallon sump. I have seen some people have it on a 40 gallon breeder with a heavy stock. However, I am just starting this system, will the skimmer "overskim" and take out the trace elements and affect my corals? I plan to add a decent bioload, but need the system to be more stable.