Protein Skimmer suggestion. Need your help guys.

[brianryan8]

Hi everyone!

Need your help. I am running a skimmer which I got from Hong Kong.
There's a ton of skimmers out there so I need your help to suggest a good one for my 100 gal tank which I will place on my 30 gal skimmer.

I was thinking of the AquaC Ev 120.

Is that a good skimmer? If not need your suggestions before I buy.


Thanks guys!
Brian

[teo241]

I have experience with an EV-180 on a 120 gallon tank. It seemed to work well for an average bioload. I was not keeping SPS at that time.

It did require periodic maintenance to keep the injector clean.

What are you planning to keep in the tank?

[tkeracer619]

No, there are much better options then the Aqua C.

Depending on what you plan on keeping I would probably go with something like this. It will save you cash short and long term and outperform the Aqua C by a good margin.

http://www.aquacave.com/Reef-Octopus-SUPER-SRO-2000INT-In-Sump-Protein-Skimmer-P2913C657.aspx

[swcc]

I would suggest the same as above. Other options could be a vertex in180, reef dynamics ins135(or180), eshopps s-200 cone, seaside aquatics cs1.... also the reef octopus diablo225 is a great choice. Look at your sump depth and amount of room you have for the skimmer then choose appropriately. Look at skimmers that have somewhere around 700 to 1000 LPH air draw and a good solid reputation behind them.

[reefgeezer]

I tries an EV series Aqua-C. I didn't like it at all. It was so tricky to adjust and worked only in such a narrow sump level range that I never kept in running for more than a few hours at a time. I actually gave it away because I couldn't bring myself to charge someone money for it. I replaced it with a Reef Octopus. Best money I've ever spent.

[haitwun]

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA uses a single AquaC EV-2000 on the stingray touch tank. It seemed to work pretty well at keeping organics down. It does however, put lots of microbubbles into the display.

[SUP]

Go with the Reef Octopus SUPER SRO 2000INT. I have one on my 75 gallon FOWLR and it works like a charm. Great Skimmer


SUP

[Timfish]

Skip the skimmer, I do fine without them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFxUSRFRp24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uf5IyXvajg

And here's an interesting quote: "Aquaria subjected to active filtration via skimming present water column bacteria populations that are approximately 1/10 of those observed on natural reefs. The consequences of this disparity on the long-term health of the tank's livestock are not known." Dr. Ken Feldman et al http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/3/aafeature

[brianryan8]

Thanks guys the reef octopus seems like a great buy!

[swcc]

And here's an interesting quote: "Aquaria subjected to active filtration via skimming present water column bacteria populations that are approximately 1/10 of those observed on natural reefs. The consequences of this disparity on the long-term health of the tank's livestock are not known." Dr. Ken Feldman et al http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/3/aafeature
LOL... We are keeping semi closed systems...not oceans. You cannot replicate nature in a semi closed system..... due to the law of conservation of mass. Lower bacterial levels are good for semi closed systems...this is why those that export organics, bacteria, phyto, and detritus fare better at keeping rising nutrients in check and achieve long term success. Export is the only way to keep levels in check... all the 'natural' systems in the past have crashed eventually(usually in just a few years) and just do not achieve longevity...the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Nature itself is also an incredibly complex system..and when one little thing gets disturbed...it crashes too.

[Palting]

Skip the skimmer, I do fine without them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFxUSRFRp24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uf5IyXvajg

And here's an interesting quote: "Aquaria subjected to active filtration via skimming present water column bacteria populations that are approximately 1/10 of those observed on natural reefs. The consequences of this disparity on the long-term health of the tank's livestock are not known." Dr. Ken Feldman et al http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/3/aafeature

Interesting quote there, Tim. I am beginning to think my mixed reef tank is too clean, and that quote seems to support the thought. Coral that love a low nutrient system are growing like gangbusters while the LPS and softies are only doing so-so. I've doubled my coral feeding recently, and that seems to have helped somewhat. I may just take the skimmer off line to see what happens. It's been continuously running for over 2 years, maybe too efficiently.

[swcc]

Interesting quote there, Tim. I am beginning to think my mixed reef tank is too clean, and that quote seems to support the thought. Coral that love a low nutrient system are growing like gangbusters while the LPS and softies are only doing so-so. I've doubled my coral feeding recently, and that seems to have helped somewhat. I may just take the skimmer off line to see what happens. It's been continuously running for over 2 years, maybe too efficiently.

Your much better off feeding more and having better control of your system. If you do in fact take your export off line you'll go eutrophic and you can google eutrophic conditions happening in nature and the consequences of this dilemma.

[Palting]

Thanks, swcc. But, as you said, our tanks are not natural, so eutrophic conditions in nature may or may not have a bearing on my tank. I'll cut back to my original feeding, take the skimmer off line, and see what happens. The tanks been running 2 1/2 years, and has survived this long it should survive this, and possibly do better with it.

[rrasco]

Some people simply turn their skimmer off for a brief period of time while feeding. Leaving mine off for about 3 hours clouded my tank up though, so it was doing something.

As for skimmer recommendations, I really like my BM NAC9 on my 105, but that's a bit overkill and more expensive. I've been really impressed with my SCA-303. It's built well, pulls nasty stuff out of the water, and has a very attractive price point. The 303 is rated for 150 gallons while the 302 is rated for 180.

[brianryan8]

How about the Reef Octopus Extream SX 160? Or the Reef octopus 6?