Help with skimmer reccomendation

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Leerph

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I have a 500 gallon system with 180 gallon sump that has been up and running for about 15 years. Currently I am using a MRC dual beckett skimmer that is fed by a pair of Mag 18 pumps. Yeah it draws a lot of power but it has served me well for over a decade. Today one of my Mag 18 pumps finally bit the dust. Now I am looking for recommendations from others with large systems. From what I have read, the newer style skimmers out there really struggle to handle large tanks unless you spend a small fortune on one. My options are to replace my Mag 18, replace the Mag 18 with a similar pump that hopefully would get my power bill down, swap out to 1 really big pump to replace the 2 mag 18s, or scrap the whole thing and upgrade to a newer style skimmer. Looking on any suggestions before I make my decision. Thanks.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
I would upgrade to a new one. I didn't spend a fortune on my Bubble Magus Curve D9 and it does a decent job on my 250 gallon system. DC pumps are going to allow you to tune the skimmer in ways you just can't with an AC pump.
 
That one isn't rated for a tank as big as mine. I'm not finding very many that are rated for a tank of my size. And recommendations on any that are?
 
I prefer the Royal Exclusiv skimmers, they actually tell you to go to a smaller size. I'll be around 400 gallons of total water volume and they said that a BK Double Cone 250 is fine or if you feed heavier 300 is more than enough that you can tune down. I currently use a 200 on my 210 and it over skims

bulkreefsupply.com/bubble-king-supermarin-300-protein-skimmer-royal-exclusiv-usa-llc.html
  • Heavy Bioload - 500 Gallons
  • Medium Bioload - 845 Gallons
  • Light Bioload - 1,056 Gallons
www.bulkreefsupply.com

Bubble King DeLuxe 300 Protein Skimmer

Form. Function. Quality. When a compromise in any of these areas is not acceptable for your filtration equipment, turn to Bubble King. The DeLuxe is Bubble King's premium flagship series, featuring robust acrylic construction, hand-welded seams, a two-point adjustable outflow, and the Red...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com
  • Heavy Bioload - 375 Gallons
  • Medium Bioload - 634 Gallons
  • Light Bioload - 793 Gallons
 
I just changed out my RedSea skimmer with a Nyos skimmer and couldn't be any happier. It's super quiet and can easily be tuned to your liking. My tank is about 300 gal system volume and I used the 220. The 330 has dual pumps and is meant for larger tanks:
  • Heavy Bioload (Most Common) - 250 Gallons
  • Medium Bioload - 600 Gallons
  • Light Bioload - 1000 Gallons
www.bulkreefsupply.com

Quantum 300 Protein Skimmer

Extreme Skimmer Performance for Reef Tanks up to 1000 Gallons Easy To Maintain | Smooth Operation | Low Power Consumption Plug and Play Design Silicone Silencer Feet Titanium Grade 2 Screws Precise Water Level Micro-Adjustments Individual Air and Water Settings Dual Pump System When it comes...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com
 
If you like your skimmer, I would just replace the Mag18. Modern needle wheels are more energy efficient, but in terms of functionality , they all just produce bubbles.
 
Last edited:
Tidal Gardens
Leerph said:
That one isn't rated for a tank as big as mine. I'm not finding very many that are rated for a tank of my size. And recommendations on any that are?
Click to expand...
For sure mine wouldn't be big enough for your tank but they do make some twice this size. I'm not married to Bubble Magus but i feel they're good performance for the money and you seemed sensitive to cost. As you should be.
 
Yeah call me old school but shelling out 2 grand or more on a skimmer just seems nuts. It's amazing how the cost of entry to this hobby has sky rocketed over the years.
 
Here she is. She's worked flawless for over a decade. It does need air adjustment about once a week, and I have to remove and clean the injectors every couple months. The 2 mag 18s have been working for over a decade as well. I just lost one of them as stated above. I'm all for anything that reduces maintenance or electric bills, but not willing to pay a thousand dollars or more to do it. I found a couple used ones in the classifieds, but they are all discontinued models and I worry about not being able to get the pumps needed to run them down the road. The ability to use any kind of pump is a big deal since it makes them future proof as take nothing can go wrong with the acrylic parts themselves.
 

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WWC
Well. My opinion is to upgrade the pumps to dc pumps. I don't think the needle or mesh wheel impellers are needed cuz its a old school skimmer like the lifereefs.
Also older skimmers are available like the older reef octopus recirculating models and bubble magus made an internal double pumper too.
I'll throw some links if a whole new skimmer is in store for u! Exciting lol
D
 
Deltec
Yeah no need for a needle wheel as that is a downdraft skimmer. You just need a pressure rated pump that can give you enough flow
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
^ these are some more externals.
My new aquavitri skimmer with the 2 pumps and recirculation mod on it says it will do 700g volume in the book it came with but idk about that. Lol!
D
 
Fwiw i love my.lifereef.
I have a vs3 with an additional 13.5" height chamber added and the enlarged collection cup. Can't go wrong. I used a 55 blueline HD pump.
Maybe u can go to just 1 big pump?
D
 
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