skimmer for 125G fowlr/ future reef

[chevyguy]

hello, i have been reading tons of info about skimmers and i know they vary from setup to setup. My lfs has the coralife 220 which i was going to pick up so i didnt have to order one(i dont like waiting for it to ship and like to see what i am buying). After reading what people who actually used it say, i think i may have a bit more looking around to do. i have a few more months before i set up my tank. i plan on just going with a few small reef safe fish to start with and plan on upgrading to a reef. i will have about 1.5" - 2" of sand and about 100 pound sof rock. i am also going to be building a stand and am going to use my current 55g FW planted tank as my sump. so i am not to worried about the size of the skimmer, as i can build around it. one limitation i do have is i am on a budget, only have about $300 for a skimmer. any info or suggestions would be great. this is my first saltwater tank and plan on doing it right the first time.

[chevyguy]

so, after looking around a little more i think i may go with this Reef Octopus 8" Pinwheel In Sump Skimmer OCT NWB200

[wildman926]

Originally Posted by chevyguy

only have about $300 for a skimmer. any info or suggestions would be great. this is my first saltwater tank and plan on doing it right the first time.

Since you stated this, save your money for a little extra ($50, Premium Aquatics has them for $350) and get the SRO 2000. It would give you cushion for growth later. Or with the $300 you have, you can also get the SRO 1000. I have both, and like the performance of the 2000 better.

The OTP pumps the NWB skimmers have, only have a 1 year warranty, and are known to crap out after a year. Do a search and you will see that. The BubbleBlaster pumps have a 3 year warranty.