reef octo cat 3 or reeflo pro 2

[noobtothereef]

750 gallon dt, 1350 gallons total system volume, medium stocked sps.

Im debating between 2 reef octopus hurricone cat 3's or 2 reeflo pro 2's, the cat 3 has a 12" body therefore longer dwell time in the reaction chamber than the 10" on the pro 2, both have the same pump and are about the same height..... hmmmmmm ideas? Anybody have any ideas for 1 large skimmer for the same money or less that will work on this system?

[noobtothereef]

any ideas? or how about 1 reef octopus 8000xp cone

[viggen]

Never been a fan of the chinese stuff/skimmers ..... have you looked at Reef Dynamics (use to be Euro Reef)??

INS 500, 750 or 1000 would do the job & if you have the funds the RC version of each would be better. More contact time with these & also no bubble plate compared to a similarly sized cone.

I have seen the older Reeflo skimmers work & they do really well & are also quiet!!!

[noobtothereef]

i think the euro reef skimmers are WAY over priced and over rated, with theyre figures , for 1250 gallon sps system i would have to go with the xrc1500 and at $5500 i dont think so, and they are a pretty basic design and use eheim pumps. So basically im paying $4500 for the acrylic tube.....and a 1000 for the pumps.....

im looking for info on the ones i posted above or something in the same price range. I know that reef specialty engineered the cat 3 skimmers and outperform the preeflo pro 2's

[sjm817]

How about the Octopus XP 8000?

[noobtothereef]

i didnt even know they made a reeflo pro 3 skimmer.... i think this might be the ticket

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=34_460_570&products_id=3934

[extreme5450]

wow that looes like the one

[viggen]

Which is why I mentioned INS...... but those skimmers do not use eheims . I also am not big on having 3-5 pumps on a skimmer that all need serviced every few months otherwise they will probably seize up.

My vote would be the hammerhead powered skimmer. Not sure what would be better, 2 pro II's or a single pro III. I am about to order a Dart powered skimmer this next week.

[sjm817]

In that size skimmer, I think a Beckett is worth considering.

[viggen]

Someone at a local reef club has a hammerhead powered skimmer, similar size to the pro II & III. Pulls 98w or something like that..... vs 300 watts ??? for a beckett??

Reefgeeks has a bubblemaster 300 on clearance for $600. That's $900 off their normal price & is powered by 3 sicce pumps..... no clue how that compares to what you are looking at

[sjm817]

A Hammerhead as a water pump is like 350W. Not sure what it pulls as a skimmer pump, but 100W seems very low. That would be nice if it is that low.

[noobtothereef]

most of the time when a water pump is converted to a skimmer pump the wattage draw is much less

[noobtothereef]

its wierd that noody lists this on there sites like reeflo etc....

[sjm817]

most of the time when a water pump is converted to a skimmer pump the wattage draw is much less
Yes, it does, but 350W to 100W seems like a very big drop. Many NW pumps drop maybe 1/2 or so compared to the water version.

[reein101]

I have the old reeflo gold 250 before mrc made it, works great on my 500 gal, I used to have a ETTS 1000 on a blueline 100 on it and it was nice but the noise got to me over time , even with the fish room door closed!
The reeflo is almost no noise for its size.

[reefer96]

Im setting up a system of a total volume of about 600-650 gal and I'm going with a Custom Geo Beckett skimmer 48 in tall powered by an Iwaki 55. which pulls about 185 watts.

Maybe a Dual Beckett is in order?

[RcToners]

On a smaller scale I own the reeflo 200 and run it on my 150, its rated for up to 400 gal or so. Its the same design as the larger reeflo's and IMO it kicks serious butt.

[viggen]

yea, I was also totally shocked about 100w on a skimmer vs 300w being run normally but that's what he said it pulled on his watt meter thingy.

Iwaki 55's are loud, installed several of them on canister systems. Great pumps with lots of power just LOUD.

[JRaquatics]

The only way a hammerhead pump can reduce wattage to 100w without reducing the output/flow which would in return reduce performance via air pull. The original Reeflos ran a darts which ran at about 100w for the 200 model with pro wheel and 130w for the 250with pro wheel. I am confused with the Cat 3? I was not aware it was ever developed. Personally I would look into a large external or a beckett because you can turn over your water volume much better for a healthier environment.