Best Venturi Skimmer Under $450 [?]

Berlibee · May 17, 2016

Hello guys,

What is your opinion please on the subject " Best Venturi Skimmer Under $450 [?] "
It's for a 70G tank (50g tank + 20g sump.)

I'm not looking to spend all the budget so if there is something really nice under $300 it's more than welcome as well. Thank you very much!

Berlibee · May 18, 2016

[HASHTAG]#Helpbump[/HASHTAG]

Drmiami · May 18, 2016

Berlibee said:
[HASHTAG]#Helpbump[/HASHTAG]

I use Lifereef products, all hand made and of great quality

http://www.lifereef.com

Jeff is also a great guy, give him a call he is a pro

Drmiami · May 18, 2016

Drmiami said:
I use Lifereef products, all hand made and of great quality

http://www.lifereef.com

Jeff is also a great guy, give him a call he is a pro

Running mine for 12 years on a 240 reef tank and will run you around that price

Berlibee · May 18, 2016

Thank you I'll check if it's my price range.

luke33 · May 18, 2016

A true venturi skimmer or do you just mean aspirating pinwheel/needlewheel skimmer? If your ok with a pinwheel skimmer I wouldn't spend 400+ on one as many are very nice and half that price. For a 50g display I would take a look at something like this.

https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/jebao-d500-protein-skimmer/

https://premiumaquatics.com/products/simplicity-240dc-protein-skimmer-dc-pump.html

Anything similar to that would be fine. Those are both dc powered skimmers and have a nice design.

Now if you are looking for a true venturi skimmer then the lifereef, bashsea, or if you can wrangle up a bermuda skimmer.

Berlibee · May 18, 2016

And these ?

http://www.marinedepot.com/Reef_Oct...kimmers-Reef_Octopus-CV25196-FIPSISNW-vi.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/Vertex_O...rs-Vertex_Aquaristik-VX13900-FIPSISNW-vi.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/Vertex_O...rs-Vertex_Aquaristik-VX13900-FIPSISNW-vi.html

luke33 · May 18, 2016

Any of those three would be just fine. Personally i would go with a dc pump and the reefbreeder skimmer would be my favorite for your tank.

You would be surprised how nice being able to control your skimmer pump is when you have chemiclean or something else causing your skimmer to overflow constantly. If you can control the pump you can skim it out without having to raise the skimmer or do a water change, but thats just my .02 as there are tons of skimmers out there that would work, skimz 143 would be another. Its just a bit more than the RB skimmer, but same skimmer basically and same pump. I would believe 90% of the dc powered skimmers out there are all jebao's rebranded, and have confirmed this on a few of the higher end guys.

Berlibee · May 18, 2016

Thanks for the input man.

luke33 · May 18, 2016

NP, anymore all these skimmers are designed extremely similar, the only diff i see is pump's, internal or external pump, standpipe's are a bit different and footprints are diff. These DC pump's are mostly all rebranded Jebao's. Just take a look at the wattage and air pull on most of the different skimmer line's that run dc pump's and you can align them all. Right now imo its pretty tough to beat the reefbreeders skimmers if you have a 125g tank or smaller. The neck size, body shape......very little diff imo these days.

d2mini · May 18, 2016

LifeReef for life!

Berlibee · May 18, 2016

Yes many people like LifeReef.

IronVulture · May 18, 2016

Lifereef or bust

luke33 · May 18, 2016

$350bux, larger than a 5g bucket generic DC skimmer for life.......5 days skim on a 180g tank. 3000lph air, 60w, quiet

pirate2876 · May 18, 2016

luke33 said:
$350bux, larger than a 5g bucket generic DC skimmer for life.......5 days skim on a 180g tank. 3000lph air, 60w, quiet

Generic skimmer? Where does one find that?

mcarroll · May 18, 2016

Berlibee said:
What is your opinion please on the subject " Best Venturi Skimmer Under $450 [?] "
It's for a 70G tank (50g tank + 20g sump.)

Curious how you arrived at the $450 price ceiling.

50 gallon tank does not take a $450 skimmer - thank goodness!!

I'm also curious what made you specify a Venturi skimmer...if you had any particular model or functionality in mind?

Either all skimmers are Venturi (the effect that draws air into all skimmers, plus a whole lot more!

) or there is only one Venturi skimmer left on the market (meaning that the pump is before the Venturi as in most classic skimmers...@Paul B's DIY skimmer, for example.).

My early/mid 1990s oceanic "plus series" model 6 skimmer would be perfect for your tank, but they are not for sale on the market anymore.

Berlibee · May 18, 2016

I want to run a Zeovit system this is why I want a venturi. @mcarroll

mcarroll · May 18, 2016

I'm not sure I understand. Can you help me out with the Zeovit connection?

If you're simply looking for a good skimmer for that size system, check out the new Tunze 9004 DC...under $200. A bit more powerful than the non-DC model.

If you think you'll want to take this skimmer with you to the next tank, then consider the larger 9012 skimmer. You can opt for DC - or not - in this case as the skimmer is well-oversized for your current system either way. ($300-$373)

Both skimmers have the unique feature of being magnetically mounted. This means they can be used in an "all in one" (sumpless) configuration, or with a sump. And you'll never need a skimmer stand.

http://www.tunze.com/US/en/catalogue/katalog-ii.html?user_tunzeprod_pi1[predid]=-infoxunter003

bobman · May 18, 2016

Berlibee said:
I want to run a Zeovit system this is why I want a venturi. @mcarroll

If you want to run the Zeovit system there is no better than lifereef IMO. Talk to them and they will send you everything you need to run it. They are great skimmers. I made my ASM G5 into a venturi using lifereefs venturis. They work great and you dont have to use a specific pump made for the skimmer you can use whatever pump you choose which is also nice.