Help selecting Skimmer for 90 Reef

[vai6921]

Hi all,

I started a 90gal about 3 weeks ago and have around 130lb Live rock and no fish or anything else in it.

The person I purchased the tank from used a really old skimmer (Kent Marine Nautilus PE) rated for a 250gal tank...

It has been working and I was able to tune it to get thick dark brown sludge.

Now the problem is that I do not think it is a quality skimmer as the joint where the pipe goes up and down for flow control leaks tons of water. This giant skimmer has to be in the sump and takes up too much room.

I want a really good skimmer obviously something that is rated high than 90gal with heavy bio load and would prefer external if possible.

Do you guys have any suggestions on some skimmers (w/ price in mind) that have been tried and tested to be good for my conditions?

Thanks!

[Saltwatercoral2]

whats your budget?

[jscarlata]

warner marine MF161

[viktor72]

sro xp-2000

[juggy]

sro xp-2000

yep just orderd mine

[azjohnny]

One of the SRO 2000 EXT models would be good

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[Pittsburgh]

I have SRO-2000SSS in my 95g. Well oversized for my tank but I'm very happy with performance so far.

[evh5150]

I have the Diablo 160. It is amazing

[vai6921]

My budget well i wanted to stay within the $400 range and the lower the better :)

[icex2010]

I love my Reef Octopus skimmer. Little pricey but their nice.

[vai6921]

So far its the octopus that everyone is saying to get. How about the EV-240?

[Pittsburgh]

AquaC design is by far not the best. I used to have one, there is a huge difference in performance between SRO and AquaC. Definitely not worth the money.

[vai6921]

Oh btw, the live rock...I have around 200-220lb of rock in the tank. I want a mandarin and heard lots of live rock will help keep it from starving.

[vai6921]

There is a local guy selling a Hydor 1005 for $250 used but looks good with the two pumps...worth it?

[DiscusHeckel]

I am not sure if they are available over there, but Bubble Magis skimmers are great. I use a BM NAC 6a skimmer in my 62 G, it is excellent. The models with German-made pumps (i.e. Aquabee) are very reliable.

[swcc]

There is a local guy selling a Hydor 1005 for $250 used but looks good with the two pumps...worth it?

Too big and very inefficient for a 90gal tank.

[vai6921]

Darn, well guess i will have to get the octopus

[cap032]

Advice on the mandarin...........get one that will except food if your tank doesnt contain a lot of pods for it to feed on. I may be wrong, but it seems as though your tank is newly set up. If so, it will take some time for it to develop enough natural food to sustain a mandarin.

[vai6921]

@cap I've looked all over the near by petshops which have mandarins that accept foods, but so far I have not been able to find one. My tank is newly setup its only been about 4 weeks or maybe week 5 now. About 4" live sandbed and tons of rocks but will have to wait until 6 months. Would it help if i were to get pods and introduce them to the tank?

[zachfishman]

@cap I've looked all over the near by petshops which have mandarins that accept foods, but so far I have not been able to find one. My tank is newly setup its only been about 4 weeks or maybe week 5 now. About 4" live sandbed and tons of rocks but will have to wait until 6 months. Would it help if i were to get pods and introduce them to the tank?

I wouldn't keep a mandarin without a sizable fuge to generate pods. Get chaeto from a few different hobbyists and you'll get decent pod diversity. If you can, get one of the ORA captive bred mandarins. You might pay more, but enough of these guys have been harvested from the wild already (and not made it very long in aquaria).

Good luck! I definitely want a system that can support a mandarin one day.

[Mmiller40gt]

I run a sro2000int and pretty happy with it. Great customer support

[hobbzz]

I vote sro 1000 int also

[karsseboom]

Sro 2000 or 1000

[heckeng]

SRO 1000int. I have a 90 reef and that is what I use and it is perfect. If you get too big of a skimmer it is inefficient and can be inconsistent so I would use the 1000 rather than the 2000. I have also used 4 different Aqua C skimmers. Great concept, decent performers, but the SRO puts them to shame. I almost hate saying that about Aqua C because I like and respect them but you just can't compare them to the SRO.

[azjohnny]

If you have a higher bioload I would go with the 2000

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[PR_Reefer]

I say AquaC EV-180 or the 240 Great skimmer and if you have a small spot for the skimmer this one helps alot with that

[vai6921]

Okay so I found a local guy who was selling his SRO PS 2000(int?) for $250 with the bubble blaster pump...so I got it.

Not sure if that is a good price or not but the thing is amazing!

[chunk78]

Has anyone tried the aquamaxx skimmer Cone 2? I have a HOB-1 on my nano and wanted to know if anyone had a review of the larger in sump skimmer. Sorry to hi-jack

[stevedola]

seeing the SRO1000int with BB pump will run 270 new thats a good price for the 2000.