Looking for a good skimmer

[rdog]

Hello everyone, kinda new to the hobby... Had a 90 gallon FOWLR tank for a couple yrs but the tank cracked so i decided to go big or go home... I bought a 240 gallon tank... Its been up and running for about 4 months now... I have about 350 pounds of live rock, bought it from a guy off of craigslist that was moving... $1.50 a pound but he gave me 4 huge pcs for free since i bought it all off of him... I only have 2 damsels, coral banded shrimp, a trumpet coral with 3 heads, and 2 fighting conchs with snails and crabs right now... I want a full blown reef tank but i'm taking my time... Don't want to rush anything... Anyway, i was wondering what kind of skimmer to get??? I was looking at the Super Reef Octopus 3000 Internal but then saw the Reef Octopus Super Reef 5000 Internal... Just the other day a buddy told me to look at the INS180 Protein Skimmer... I want to get the right one and not waste any money... Does anyone have any suggestions or know anything about these 3 i mentioned??? I think the 3000 or 5000 might be a bit small because they are rated at 300 gallons... The INS180 is rated up to 600 gallons... I have a 55 gallon sump and a 36 gallon frag tank(frag tank is all plumbed but not filled with water yet)... Want the DT up and going first... I didn't want to take on to much at one time... Thanks for any help and also i anyone knows a good place to get the skimmer too... I've been on Salty Supply and Reef Specialty and Reef Dynamics... Thanks in Advance, sorry so long...

[mfinn]

Checkout the SWC cone skimmers.
The ones with the askol pumps are tough to beat.

http://saltwaterconnection.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=38

[Canadian Reefer]

Well the question you have to ask yourself is how much are you going to spend (or how much will the wife let you spend lol). As for size when you say INS180 I only come up with the vertex IN 180 which is only rated to 180 g

[Canadian Reefer]

If money is not a concern i would go with one of these ones


http://www.theaquariumsolution.com/deltec-ts1060s-turbo-skimmer

[MCary]

Actually if money was not a concern, I would get a bubble king.

[MCary]

I might also get rid of the damsels now before the entire thing is built.

[dcombs44]

Well the question you have to ask yourself is how much are you going to spend (or how much will the wife let you spend lol). As for size when you say INS180 I only come up with the vertex IN 180 which is only rated to 180 g

http://www.reefdynamics.com/INS180-Protein-Skimmer-p/ins180.htm

It's a Reef Dynamics Skimmer. It's essentially a EuroReef Skimmer. The owner of Reef Dynamics is one of the 2 former owners of EuroReef. ER skimmers were tops in the game for a couple years, but I haven't heard much about Reef Dynamics. The design is basically identical to my EuroReef. There have been some issues with the Euroreef pumps, and technology has changed a bit from this style of design, but I'm guessing it'd be a pretty good skimmer. Pretty basic though. No recirculation or anything.

[mfinn]

After looking at the specs on that skimmer, I have to say BS on their claim it's good for up to 600 gallons. The skimmer is only 8" in dia.
I would look else where.

[mfinn]

The Reef Octopus Super Reef 5000 is a great skimmer also.

[dcombs44]

After looking at the specs on that skimmer, I have to say BS on their claim it's good for up to 600 gallons. The skimmer is only 8" in dia.
I would look else where.

Read carefully:

This is from the product page.


How we rate our protein skimmers.
Euro-Reef was THE FIRST* manufacturer to publish realistic ratings for our protein skimmers and at Reef Dynamics we follow in that tradition and conviction. We offer both "Capacity" and "Ideal"" ratings for all of our products so that you can properly compare them against the other products.

CAPACITY: The INS180 is rated to filter up to 600 gallons of total system water volume when compared with other like sized products on the market.

IDEAL: The INS180 is ideal for "Mixed Reef" aquarium systems with a total capacity of +/- 180 gallons with a medium/average bio-load. A "Mixed Reef" system is typically comprised of a mixture of soft corals, hard corals and a small fish population along with a few small crustaceans etc. These systems typically put out less DOC's that the heavier stocked "Fish Only" Systems and have less restrictive requirements on water quality than "SPS" systems

IDEAL: The INS180 is ideal for "Fish Only" aquarium systems with a total capacity of +/- 150 gallons, especially those that do not use any live rock or sand, typically have a much higher bio-load when compared to the same sized Reef Aquarium and therefore require a far more powerful protein skimmer. The reason for this is that fish with a similar physical "biomass" to a given coral or colony of corals release substantially more waste that the coral, and this puts a greater amount of DOC's - specifically urine and fecal matter- into the water column.

IDEAL: The INS180 is ideal for "SPS" aquarium systems with a total capacity of +/- 150 gallons with a heavy bio-load. "SPS" systems (aquaria with a focus on Small Polyped Stony corals) benefit from a high rate of organic extraction as it promotes and enhances coloration in corals by limiting the nutrients available to the symbiotic algae (Zooxanthellae) living within there tissue. In addition, a high rate of organic and particulate extraction increases the clarity of the water which in turn enhances the penetration of UV rays that stimulate the development of the corals colorful UV protective materials. Increased water clarity also optimizes the efficiency of the Zooxanthellae a thus decreases the number of the protozoa required to provide the coral with the food (glucose) it takes up in exchange for the CO2 produced by the coral through normal biological processes.

[mfinn]

The line at the top that says

CAPACITY: The INS180 is rated to filter up to 600 gallons of total system water volume when compared with other like sized products on the market

is like a bait and switch IMO

The OP is looking for a skimmer that will skim his 330 gallon system.
That one would not be a good one.

[dcombs44]

I'm not trying to argue with you, just pointing out all the facts. The line at the very top says the offer both capacity and ideal ratings. Then they give capacity followed by ideal.

The ideal ratings make it obvious that it's not a good choice for the OP. I'm not trying to convince him to buy this skimmer. But, I just thought it was unfair to call the statement BS. Euroreef made very good skimmers, and many RC members owned them and were very happy with them.

They are trying to explain that many manufacturers rate their skimmers based on capacity and if Reef Dynamics was doing so, this skimmer would be rated for 600 gallons. In that case, it would be overdriven and never stop skimming. That's why they give ideal measurements. A properly sized skimmer won't always be producing skimmate. That's what they're trying to say if you read the whole product description.

I don't even have a skimmer on my current tank :).

[rdog]

If money is not a concern i would go with one of these ones


http://www.theaquariumsolution.com/deltec-ts1060s-turbo-skimmer
Thats just alittle over my price range cause i want to get an aqua controller also... Have about $1000 to spend for both items i would say...

[rdog]

The Reef Octopus Super Reef 5000 is a great skimmer also.
Do u have this one or know someone that does??? Th eting i'm worried about is that its rated at 300 and i'm gonna be at about 330 but thats also not taking out for the rock in the tank... I might also add a 75 gallon tank upstairs at my house(FOWLR) so that takes me over 400 if i connect it to my current sump... Or is that a bad idea to hook up a FOWLR and a reef tank to the same sump??? Like i said, i'm new to the reef stuff... Thanks

[rdog]

I might also get rid of the damsels now before the entire thing is built.
They will reek havac later??? I heard they get mean and teritorial(sp)... They just hide all the time right now... They were in my 20 gallon tank that was at my office at work and i tore the tank down so i put them in my big tank at home... I don't think i'll be able to get them out with all the rock in there...

[mfinn]

I'm not trying to argue with you, just pointing out all the facts. The line at the very top says the offer both capacity and ideal ratings. Then they give capacity followed by ideal.

The ideal ratings make it obvious that it's not a good choice for the OP. I'm not trying to convince him to buy this skimmer. But, I just thought it was unfair to call the statement BS. Euroreef made very good skimmers, and many RC members owned them and were very happy with them.

They are trying to explain that many manufacturers rate their skimmers based on capacity and if Reef Dynamics was doing so, this skimmer would be rated for 600 gallons. In that case, it would be overdriven and never stop skimming. That's why they give ideal measurements. A properly sized skimmer won't always be producing skimmate. That's what they're trying to say if you read the whole product description.

I don't even have a skimmer on my current tank :).


I did misread that statement.
To me it said that skimmer would be good for a 600 gallon tank. Based on that statement, I called BS on it.
Nothing else.
EuroReef skimmers are excellent skimmers. I'm not disputing that at all.

I don't like to argue here. It doesn't help anyone and makes me look stupid.
I usually lose.

[mfinn]

Do u have this one or know someone that does??? Th eting i'm worried about is that its rated at 300 and i'm gonna be at about 330 but thats also not taking out for the rock in the tank... I might also add a 75 gallon tank upstairs at my house(FOWLR) so that takes me over 400 if i connect it to my current sump... Or is that a bad idea to hook up a FOWLR and a reef tank to the same sump??? Like i said, i'm new to the reef stuff... Thanks

Then look at the cone skimmer in my first post.
Be tough to beat that one for the price.

[dcombs44]

I did misread that statement.
To me it said that skimmer would be good for a 600 gallon tank. Based on that statement, I called BS on it.
Nothing else.
EuroReef skimmers are excellent skimmers. I'm not disputing that at all.

I don't like to argue here. It doesn't help anyone and makes me look stupid.
I usually lose.

Agreed. Sorry if I came across harsh. Sometimes hard to read tone in text. :beer:

[fishybudguy]

i myself am a deltec fan,but i also like the aquac skimmers for the money......if interested i have a aquac 240 with a pump and large collection cup i will sell for 300.00 shipped......if interested pm me and i will get it to you..........good luck with your search