Efficient HOB skimmer

[ahiggins]

hello everyone. I have a 40 gallon breeder with no sump. I need some recommendations for a good hang on the back skimmer. I would prefer it to be rated higher than 50 gal. It's my frag tank and I have quite the hair algae out break
I've heard reef octopus is really good but I don't know if anyone who has the hang on skimmers.
Thanks is advance!
Ps. Preferably an option under $200

 

[lion king]

I used an eshopps hob 75 on my 40b with a heavy bioload, with a hob filter and 4o lbs of live rock. Was an excellent setup. Iran chemi pure blue in the hob filter. Your lighting could also be contributing to the algae problem. If you have leds, check the levels of your red and yellow, green should also be on the low side.

 

[Chrisfish]

I have the Aqua Max Hob-1 rated up to 75 gal. And I am very happy with it after purchasing and returning 3 different brands.

 

[ahiggins]

I have the Aqua Max Hob-1 rated up to 75 gal. And I am very happy with it after purchasing and returning 3 different brands.

Could I know the other brands and why you didnt like them?

 

[ahiggins]

I used an eshopps hob 75 on my 40b with a heavy bioload, with a hob filter and 4o lbs of live rock. Was an excellent setup. Iran chemi pure blue in the hob filter. Your lighting could also be contributing to the algae problem. If you have leds, check the levels of your red and yellow, green should also be on the low side.

I run one side with white and blue leds-thats the side with majority of the algae, probably because I cant lower the intensity. The other side runs 40% intensity over the LPS with 5% red, green. No yellow.

 

[lion king]

Blue and white usually isn't the culprit and the % of red and green on sps is not going to cause a problem either. So you probably could use some more nutrient control, especially with the sps. I usually run chemipure elite but ran chemiblue in my hob filter because it takes a smaller amount, It works pretty good for phosphate control, with the sps you would do well with a protein skimmer. You could also think about a small hob gfo reactor as wellif you didn't want to run on of the chemipure products. Could you raise up the lights on the blue and white side, that would lower the intensity.

 

[ahiggins]

The problem is...I dont have any nitrate or phosphate in my system.
Im buying the skimmer to take care of all the organic bioload once I start treating it.
I used to run elite but i stopped because I started to see problems with my sps

 

[Midrats]

Not hang on, but internal, Tunze 9004. It takes up very little space and skims the surface too. Stick it in the corner and plug it in. There's a DC version that is slightly more powerful with a feed mode to suspend skimming while feeding or cleaning. Both are under $200.

 

[lion king]

My experience with the tunze doesn't compare to the effectiveness of the eshopps. The tunze now sits in a box.

With your levels being good, I rarely see excessive algae with blue/white leds. If you aren't seeing any nitrate or phosphates< I'm not sure how high your bioload is, unless your are doing very frequent water changes you's have to be showing at least nitrates. Some test kits can be iffy.

 

[tomtom2245]

I have both the Aquamaxx HOB-1 and the Reef Octopus BH-1000 HOB. I am very pleased with both of them. If aesthetics are a concern, keep in mind the Aquamaxx is blue and the RO is your usual clear acrylic. The RO has a larger collection but the AM has a built in drain hole. I like the external pump configuration of the RO but the smaller in tank footprint of the AM. I think the AM has a quicker break in period but both pull good skimmate once going. The AM did produce quite the bubble storm initially and was a little more tempermental when first breaking in. All in all, they are both great and get the job done splendidly. Note sure which one I prefer, they both have their individual pros and cons.

 

[ahiggins]

I tested with hanna, salifert, and red sea. All show 0 on both phos and nitrates. Its a new tank with established rock and filtration.
Only a small wrasse in there and it gets fed every other day.
I always see the whites grow massive amounts of algae-its just a strong light that I have.

 

[ahiggins]

I have both the Aquamaxx HOB-1 and the Reef Octopus BH-1000 HOB. I am very pleased with both of them. If aesthetics are a concern, keep in mind the Aquamaxx is blue and the RO is your usual clear acrylic. The RO has a larger collection but the AM has a built in drain hole. I like the external pump configuration of the RO but the smaller in tank footprint of the AM. I think the AM has a quicker break in period but both pull good skimmate once going. The AM did produce quite the bubble storm initially and was a little more tempermental when first breaking in. All in all, they are both great and get the job done splendidly. Note sure which one I prefer, they both have their individual pros and cons.

I did decide to go with reef octopus. I could probably drill my own line if needed for vacations and such.

 

[tomtom2245]

Oh, and I'll add the RO is currently on my 20gal mixed Reef and the AM is on my 26gal frogfish tank.

 

[lion king]

I was going to ask if it were a new tank, somehow I assumed it more established. That's your answer, it's just the normal cycle of aquarium life. It could take more than 6 months to really get a tank settled in, sometimes even longer. Sounds like you're on the right path, testing and installing the proper equipment to do the job. Add some snails, cerith snails do an awesome job on diatoms and turbo snails will handle larger jobs.

 

[Maacc]

I have a deltec mce400 from Adam at battlecorals and it pulls alot more air and darker skimmate than my previous aquamaxx hob.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

if you have room IN the tank, look at the tunze comline series. A 9001 is super cheap now as the new DC version is now available(and you can upgrade it to dc later), and in the us we look down on high mechanical filtration for salt water, but the tunze reefpack comes with a mech filter to pull out more particulates. That filter is like $60 and the reefpack for both is like $200. the dc combo is prob 250.
each filter is about 2.5in by 4.