experience W/different skimmers?

[sassyfrassy]

I've come to the conclusion that if you ask 10 people re: best skimmer you will get 10 different answers. So I'm going to ask a different way: What SIZE (rated) skimmer should I get for a total volume of 120g possibly heavy on fish? What skimmers are least trouble (less maintenance & problems)? And what skimmers are the best for the money - I'm just starting out and having to buy EVERYTHING. Thanks

[jubjub]

size ratings are horribly inaccurate imo. i used to have a ASM G2 mesh modded (spec's say it should handle 200gallons) i used this on my 120 total volume tank....was slightly under powered. i upgraded to a bubblemaster 160 (up to 140 gallons 100 gallons heavily stocked) and my bubblemaster pulls ALOT more junk out with the stock sicce pinwheel go figure..

so i guess what im saying each company will spec their skimmers differently. sorry wish i could help better, imo figure out what vertex skimmer be best and just get that if your looking at the under 300$ range

[cet98]

unfortunately, you have only "rephrased" the same question...and will in turn receive the same "ask 10 people/10 different opinions" responses...

sadly, there is no clear cut "right answer" for anyone's set-up...
there is, and will always be, multiple good selections for everyone...
simply put: there are just too many variables out there to take into account...

FWIW, you will probably be best suited to read something like the Skimmer Q&A Thread (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1589426) and hope that through your readings you can "sift through" enough peoples experiences to determine a good choice for your set-up...
Mojo is the the "resident skimmer guy" with personal experiences with far more skimmers than most and does offer very good recommendations if you choose to ask him.
However he is, as we all are, just one of many people with an opinion :)

HTH some...
C :)

[BlueStag]

It seemed to be the industry standard a couple of years back, was to inflate the skimmers numbers. The numbers have slowly come down, as the skimmer manufacturers made better products, and the reefing community talked here about what a skimmer could handle, building and breaking skimmer reputations. I trust the skimmer companies ratings a little more, if they were made in the last year or two. In the case of ASM's, those ratings were made well over 6 years ago, and they still print them. It is pretty well known, now, that they are inflated numbers, but at the time they did not seem to be. Alot more is known about air pull in relationship to tank size and stocking today, then there was then. It is subjective, and an opinion in the end. But some of the more educated and experienced opinions seem to be pretty close now of days. Skimmer tech has moved leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. Just a couple of years ago, gettiing 500 LPH was alot of air, and costed a lot of $$$ too, now skimmers come with thousands of LPH of air at a fairly affordable price. We are currently in, and going through the industrial revolution of the skimmer. Some of the "economy" skimmers of today, outskim the "premium" skimmers of years ago.