I need quiet!!! help please

jiminy_crime · May 2, 2016

I have the Reef Octopus Classic 110 and it is the quietest in sump skimmer I have ever owned. I imagine the 150 is just a 6" diameter version of the same thing.

Few points

1) they look awesome
2) small foot print if you go with space saver
3) super quiet
4) easy disassembly for cleaning
5) pulls tons of dark crud out once dialed in (9"waterline was perfect for mine)

carlson · May 2, 2016

From what I've hear skimmers can be noisier for the little while after you get them.

Catchemall · May 3, 2016

carlson said:
From what I've hear skimmers can be noisier for the little while after you get them.

This was the case for mine it was louder at first but still not to bad at all.

SPSREEFS · May 3, 2016

`The only drawback on the Octo classic model is you CANNOT take the bubble chamber out to clean! But, you still could run vin through it to clean it. The upside is the pump is NOT inside the skimmer, which in the long run is a pita because to access the pump you have to take the skimmer out and completely apart. Which takes even more time!
So its a trade off. But the Classic is a fantastic skimmer. The impeller is a excellent design. Almost a hybrid grid/needle wheel design.

Lowell Lemon · May 3, 2016

I know someone will throw rocks at me but I have had great success with Tunze skimmers and products. That said I am not sure they are all "dead" silent. All them have been very quiet and long lasting. I have one that has been in use for almost 20 years without a rebuild. Impressive in my mind...unlike many of these Chinese made units with Chinese pumps...yeah you all know who you are...lol.

jiminy_crime · May 3, 2016

Classic space saver solves both of those issues SPSREEFS

melypr1985 · May 3, 2016

Lowell Lemon said:
I know someone will throw rocks at me but I have had great success with Tunze skimmers and products. That said I am not sure they are all "dead" silent. All them have been very quiet and long lasting. I have one that has been in use for almost 20 years without a rebuild. Impressive in my mind...unlike many of these Chinese made units with Chinese pumps...yeah you all know who you are...lol.

I used a Tunze skimmer on one of my smaller tanks and liked it well enough. It didn't pull as much gunk as I thought it should have, but it was quiet enough and did an ok job. My coworker is pushing the tunze skimmer too so I've added it to my list for now. It takes me a while to make a decision I guess. lol All of y'alls thoughts and opinions help with that though!

Drauka99 · May 3, 2016

I love my Vertex 180i. I can just barely hear it with the front of the stand off, with the front of the stand on my system the whole thing is not loud enough to hear. I almost went with the 150 model but went a little bigger. The 180 has been a work horse for me. I upgraded from a ASM G-3. Its actually still on use on my QT system but will eventually be upgraded and retired in favor of a Vertex 130 (most likely)

On the ASM - I was able to get it much quieter by adding a muffler to the air line and gate valve modifying the outlet. The muffler is just some ro line in 2 pvc caps glued together.

On the venturi, where the air line connects will get calcium buildup in it on mine. I have to pop that piece off and use a small drill bit to open back up the intake and the smimmer works much better. The loudest it ever was, was when a tiny shell got stuck in the needle wheel.... that was loud and like you describe.

zoomonster · May 3, 2016

A lot of good skimmers out there and not a whole lot that really stand apart from each other. Just get the right size with a good quiet pump and an effective air silencer. I have a reef octopus xp3000int and I really can't complain. Main stream brands like RO also have the benefit of being able to get parts easily. Good quality and it does what it needs to do near silently. A big source of noise for many, including mine, is actually the gushing water outlet. They do make a silencer for the outlet but I haven't bothered and usually just lay a filter bag of carbon in front of it. Overall running water is the only sound I hear from my system which in of itself is enough to annoy the non fish tank loving wife