Do high end skimmers work more efficiently?

Bruce Burnett · Dec 30, 2017

dede said:
This is the reefmania ps8 I have in 40 gallon sump, and a photo I found online showing the how the sedra 5000 pumps are hooked up. You can see in the 2nd photo the inlet line coming in above the right sedra pump. Right now I just have the maxijet 1200 attached drawing water into the skimmer. The sedras I believe just recirculate and chop for bubbles. Question then is how many gallons do I need to pump into the skimmer from the sump?

ok both pumps are setup as recirculating. How many gallons is your system. it is common to have skimmer fed from over flow or at least pump in one times tank volume an hour.

n00b_nuvo · Dec 30, 2017

no, ASM was just as nice as Euro-Reef. You're paying for a brand name. If the brand has a proprietary way of air/water mixing, then the situation changes but that's not really the case anymore. Has the skimmer really ever changed?

redfishbluefish · Dec 30, 2017

Holy Cow! That thing is gigantic!! How big is your DT?

Simply for the size and energy consumption, I'd consider a newer cone type skimmer....that would have less than half the footprint of that beast. This would open up your sump for maybe a refugium.

Here is my 40B sump with an SWC 160 skimmer on the left. (I would not suggest an SWC skimmer because of a low quality pump and no company support)...just showing because of size.

ca1ore · Dec 30, 2017

Maybe somebody noted this already ..... just couldn't bring myself to go through 9 pages. If you discount things like quality, longevity, etc., then skimmers all mostly perform the same. Most of the enhancements over the past 20 years are perception/marketing more than they are about actual performance improvements. The comparison 'problem' though is in capacity rating. There really is no scientific data behind individual skimmer ratings, so one manufacturer may be more conservative than another in how they size their skimmers. So, comparing two 500 gallon rated skimmers is imprecise at best.

The things that matter in a skimmer are bubble size, air injection and contact time. Everything else is designed to separate you from your $$.

reefwiser · Dec 30, 2017

I would say the ability to take the skimmer apart and clean it properly and well as if it falls over does it have a chance of breaking. If it does break can one buy parts to repair or does one have to patch with glue or buy a new skimmer.

Cory · Dec 30, 2017

ca1ore said:
Maybe somebody noted this already ..... just couldn't bring myself to go through 9 pages. If you discount things like quality, longevity, etc., then skimmers all mostly perform the same. Most of the enhancements over the past 20 years are perception/marketing more than they are about actual performance improvements. The comparison 'problem' though is in capacity rating. There really is no scientific data behind individual skimmer ratings, so one manufacturer may be more conservative than another in how they size their skimmers. So, comparing two 500 gallon rated skimmers is imprecise at best.

The things that matter in a skimmer are bubble size, air injection and contact time. Everything else is designed to separate you from your $$.

I agree. Iirc deltec uses science in their skimmers.

dede · Dec 31, 2017

Bruce Burnett said:
ok both pumps are setup as recirculating. How many gallons is your system. it is common to have skimmer fed from over flow or at least pump in one times tank volume an hour.

Thanks Bruce, that was what I was looking for how much to pump into the skimmer. So a 180 gallon tank would need 180 gallons per hour pumped through the skimmer per hour.

dede · Dec 31, 2017

redfishbluefish said:
Holy Cow! That thing is gigantic!! How big is your DT?

Simply for the size and energy consumption, I'd consider a newer cone type skimmer....that would have less than half the footprint of that beast. This would open up your sump for maybe a refugium.

Here is my 40B sump with an SWC 160 skimmer on the left. (I would not suggest an SWC skimmer because of a low quality pump and no company support)...just showing because of size.

Yeah I like the clean look you have with everything fitting under the stand.

Currently I have the sump setup perpendicular to the 180 gallon dd and an external 20 gallon refugium connected into the sump. Been told I look like I have some weird, getto Frankenstein setup going on here.

Got a trailer load of used stuff from a reefer getting out of the hobby and still trying to figure out how stuff works or how to fix it. Thank God for R2R. This is definitely on my 2018 list of things to upgrade.