urchin pro vs EV240

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ok I have my new tank setup and got the cycling going, a 75 gallon w/overflow into about a 29 gallon under tank sump. I have about 95 lbs of Live Rock, and the coralife aqualight 4x65, and plan on having mainly fish with maybe a couple soft corals.

So my question is,
:confused: do I want to go with the EV-240 protein skimmer or the urchin pro?

The Urchin is rated to handle my tank and according to some info I have read this should be an excellent choice... but then there is the EV240 which is like a Cadillac comparably (from what I have read). I want to know what difference is double the price really going to make

also let me know if i need to provide any more info.. or pics

Thanks a bunch!

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or if someone else has a suggestion of another In sump protein skimmer for my setup that would be awesome too!

thanks again!

[robsmith32]

i'd put the 120, maybe 180, 240 is a lot of skimmer for a 75
a bunch around here will say others are better, or not happy with the ev.. lot of it is the pump, and more so the setup and how often messing with it or tank.

[sjm817]

Dont get an Urchin. Almost any in sump skimmer will be better. I'm not a big fan of the EV skimmers because of the big pumps you need to run them. IMO, you should also look at needlewheel skimmers like an ASM G3.

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the credit card is breathing a small sigh of relief, (he is already in a lot of pain from this weekend's tank setup and LR)
, anyone else have opinions about the ASM g3?

thanks for the help btw sjm817 and robsmith32

[robsmith32]

well, my ev replaced a g3, with cheaper pump the g3 kicked the ev's tail... but when put eheim 1262 on that ev180, it does in hours what takes the g3 3 days to collect.

[robsmith32]

oh, and that because of the big pumps you need to run them, the sedra 5k is not as long as the eheim but is taller and just as wide. I'll check about the sedras' wattage. I'm sure it's close to what pulling with the eheim
g3 will work for that size no question.
but personally i'm sold on the ev now, if you use the right pump. It may die down longer between feedings and such, but it kicks in much more when it does.

don't know if matters to you, but the eheim runs much quieter than the sedra. I thought the sedra wasn't loud.. untill i didn't hear the eheim, just water coming out the skimmer.

I guess i should say the g3 kicks tail so i could sell it.

[robsmith32]

not to badmouth deltec, but the the quart of skimmate a week doesn't touch a gallon of dark skimmate that reeks, come to think of it, I recall the g3 stinking at times, but not like the ev when cleaned it today.
Granted on different tanks and husbandry factors for the deltec.

ev went on the same tank as the g3, and the once put eheim on it, , the g3 is sitting in the closet. So, I can compare them with respect to bioload,feeding, and install.

I'll double check what wattage is actually running skimmer for the sedra, but the 1262 on the ev180 is 51 watts.

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ok, quick question about the pumps, this probably is a big noobie question and i think that the answer is no but i want to be sure...

Is there any difference in the type of pump that drives the protein skimmer (if its not built into it) and the pump that returns the water from my sump back into the tank?

If not what about the Mag series of pumps to power the skimmer? Right now i have a Mag 7 and i just hear a faint hum if i am close to the stand...

[robsmith32]

for the ev, they're the same pumps. for the asm g3, no since the asm has a needlewheel impeller on the sedra.

mag 5 will run an ev120, mag 7 better, eheim 1260 would run it even better
if just going with the 5 for it, i'd stick with the asm. Just my opinion, and not really the best example as i have a 180 not a 120. Mag 3 does work fine on my remora pro. 5 didn't do much better.. the dif between a remora pro and a ev120 is HUGE. i don't see how they could use the same pump.

[oct2274]

look into the pacific coast or otherwise named the octopus skimmers......excellent skimmers with good pricing......there is a huge thread on them here in this section of the forums. Make sure to get the recirculating model. custom aquatics sells the pacific coast models and the recircs start with rps, example = rps-2000