looking at skimmers. opinions?

[Texas Reefer]

Hi! I'm looking to buy a skimmer for my 90 gal dt - 30 gal sump aquarium. The skimmer will be in the sump area. The sump, like i said, is 30 gallons, divided into 3 equal-ish parts. I would like to place the skimmer in the first area, where the water comes in from the display tank (which is where I also have a filter sock). So, I am contemplating either a hang-on skimmer, to hang from the first area = receive water from and return water to. Or, an in-sump skimmer, small but able to handle my tank, something for 100+ gallons.
I just saw a Bubble-Magus NAC6AS-2 skimmer on sale at petmountain.com for $155 and no shipping fees. Would that suit my tank's needs, or is inappropriate? I'm a newby, so I really don't know all the pros and cons.
Any suggestions appreciated!
Oh, my tank was born 10/25/13, about 100 lbs live rock. I've got 2 clown fish, 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 turbo snail (one died), 3 Astrea snails, 2 emerald crabs (had 3, one died, got them to deal with bubble and hair algea), a sand-sifter starfish (I know now I got him too soon , but he seems to be ok, one conch (who's shell is looking nasty), probably about 6 hermit crabs ( I started with 10, but occassionally one dies ), some corals - xineas, polyps, and one green devils hand - the corals are looking good!
I'm going to post soon about other questions I have (like why occassionally one member of my cuc dies) later.
Thanks y'all!
Carrie

 

[socal619]

what are the dimensions of the room you have for skimmer? when i uprade im looking at a skimmer with the DC pump

 

[Texas Reefer]

Oh, and I know people say they didn't need a skimmer right away, but I think my tank is dirty. My filter sock is black after just a week, and my lfs guy says it shouldn't be getting that dirty so quickly.

 

[gtbarsi]

I would go with in sump, what are the dimensions of the available space in the first chamber?
What is the water level in that chamber?
What is the total clearance from the bottom of the sump to the top of the cabinet for the 1st chamber? If there are things that would be in the way what is the clearance to them?

 

[Texas Reefer]

I knew someone would ask dimensions! I don't have dimensions right now. If I put it in the sump it will have to share space with the filter sock. I am currently using a 7 inch sock, so I would have to down-size that to the 4 inch, but would a 4 inch sock be sufficient?

And socal619, by DC, do you mean direct current, or something else. aren't all pump plug-in style?

 

[gtbarsi]

You are going to have to keep a close eye on the 4" sock in the beginning. If you are running a 100 micron sock perhaps go to a 200 micron sock (for a bit). Regardless have extras on hand for quick swap outs. The skimmer will help get the really small stuff out.

Personally I swap socks every 2 days, I have enough of a supply to simply rinse them out and collect them during the week and wash them at the end of the week. I do not want anything in the sock spending a long time in the water creating a nitrate factory.

 

[Texas Reefer]

gtbarsi, I have carbon in my sock. do you reuse the carbon, if any?

 

[gtbarsi]

I do not put media in my socks, I use a reactor (actually use a canister filter w/ everything but the media baskets removed as a reactor). Had the filter, have not found funds that do not have anything better to do than replace it. It draws and returns to the skimmer section of my sump. Intake is near the socks, return is right over the intake of the skimmer pump.

 

[Mufasa31]

When I had my 90 I had the SWC 160 Cone. I liked it alot.

 

[jackson6745]

I would go with something more powerful than that bubble magnus. Take a look at the Skimz line. They have a small footprint.
This is the model that I would get. They overrate their skimmers but this one is good for a 90 gallon. Once in a while I see them used for $250ish. I ran this on a 90 gallon system and it did very well.
SKIMZ SK 181 Kone E-Series In-Sump Protein Skimmer - LIMITED STOCK - AquaCave.com

 

[gtbarsi]

I personally love the euro-reef / reef dynamics skimmers. The INS100 from Reef dynamics would be good as long as you do not plan on a heavy / overstocked bio-load. If you are going to go heavy / overstocked then you will want the 135. If you plan on using bio-pellets then you will want the added capacity of the 135.

These skimmers are much more expensive than the one you were planning but the one thing I have learned about skimmers is you want to invest in a really good one or you are not going to get what you need out of it.

Some things to keep in mind.
You want to feed the skimmer 2-3x your system volume in flow in to the skimmer chamber / hr.
You want to be sure your skimmer water intake is around the same amount (a little less is ok).
Air intake and water intake are two different things. Higher air intake is good but only within the context of the the same water intake. If the water intake is not the same then you have to do some math to compare the air intake against the same volume of water.

If you do this you will have a better end result, I think you will end up gravitating toward some of the better skimmers as I did. I personally would not select the Skimz skimmer posted for a couple of reasons. A cheaper option to the Reef Dynamics INS135 that I would consider would be the Vertex Omega 130. Again not cheap, but cheaper.

 

[joeyhatch11]

SCA-302. I have the 301 and it's an awesome skimmer. Lots of threads on the SCA brand skimmers. Yes it's A LOT cheaper than other "name" brand skimmers but works AMAZING. The 302 version is rated for up to 180g tank. New SC Aquariums SCA 302 180 Gallon Protein Skimmer Slate Water Atman Pump Gift | eBay

 

[gtbarsi]

One other thing to look at is the warranty.

One reason I like Reef Dynamics is the warranty is for LIFE, that does not mean you can skip all maintenance and when your pump quits because it was never maintained and expect them to replace it. But if you do maintain a skimmer from them they will take care of you.

Vertex omega 2 years, I hear the service is a little slow since they are not a US based company.

Others 90 days to 2 years is common.

 

[Texas Reefer]

I have dimensions of the space. 10.5" width, 10.75" front to back, and water depth is 11.5" inside the tank. Space inside the cabinet is 25.5" from underside of dt to bottom of sump, and 8" from left side of cabinet to side of sump (for HOB).
Y'all have given some great ideas, keep em coming!

 

[Texas Reefer]

Sorry, that's (for hob), I don't know where that smiley came from.

 

[gtbarsi]

The 11.5" water depth is going to make things challenging...

The INS135 just would not fit, it is both too tall for your working water level and needs 10 x 11.5
The Vertex 130 would not fit, it is not too tall but needs 8.5 x 11

The INS100 skimmer needs 6.5" of water, so you would have to put it on a 5" stand. Given that it is 20" tall that give you 0.5" clearance. Fortunately the Skimmer has a 0 clearance connector for the collection cup so it will work. If you can find a way to afford it that is the skimmer I would choose, unless you plan on heavy stocking or running bio-pellets. If that is part of your plan call Jeff at Reef Dynamics, explain what you have and I am sure he can come up with a design that will work. Since they build every skimmer to order they can, and often do customize the equipment to the customer's needs.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Cost more but may fit the reef octopus SSS1000 I run on my 75g great skimmer and silent.

 

[Reefing Madness]

BM-NAC7 CONE SKIMMER
Dimensions: 9.2" x 8.5" x 19.6" 9" Cylinder
Water Level: 9.5"-11"


Super Reef Octopus 1000LSS Space Saver Protein

• Body Size: 6”
• Foot Print: 8” x 9”
• Neck Size: 4”
• Total Height: 23”
• Output Size: 1.25”
• Output Height: 9.6”
• Recommended sump water depth: 5.75 - 6"

Xtreme 160 conical protein skimmer.
Recommended water depth 7-10 inches.
Foot Print:
LxWxH in inches
9*7*20.58


Eshopps S-150 Cone Skimmer

Length	9 in.
Height	21 in.

SCA-302
Dimensions: 9" X 9.5" X 18".

 

[mainereefer]

I would go with an ASM skimmer g2

you cant go wrong with a SCA 302 and they are on sale for like $135!!! its a little bigger than the bubble magus bm-nac7

defiantly look at the reviews on the pump that comes with any skimmer and use that as 90% of your decision most skimmer bodies are just copys of each other

 

[Texas Reefer]

Well, I talked to my list, who I trust implicitly, and he doesn't think I should decrease my sock size to make room for a skimmer. So, I should put it in the second compartment. So I have 12" x 10" x 25" high.