Low maintenance skimmer?

[minorhero]

Hello folks,

I am in process of gathering equipment for my first saltwater tank. I have several decades of experience in freshwater but a few things are very different and chief among them as far as equipment is concerned is the protein skimmer.

The tank will be a 45 gallon custom tank for seahorses. I will have a 20 gallon sump with about 10 gallons of water.

Having never used a protein skimmer before I am wary about how finicky some are reported to be. Currently I am considering the lifereef 24" model or a R2k xflo 2.5. Both are venturi models which my research indicates are less temperamental to changes in water level or cleanliness etc.

I am however very open to other suggestions for skimmers that might fit this tank better. The lifereef has many reports of the venturi causing noise and I am going to some lengths to make things as quiet as possible. The xflo has next to no user reviews and is rated for a bigger system. Both cost about 500 dollars and that is the top of my budget for a skimmer.

I haven't found references to any other venturi skimmers still in production but if anyone knows one I'd love to hear about it.

Thank you in advance for any information.

 

[jgirardnrg]

I use one of these on my 60g cube and it's been trouble free.

Coral Box D300+ protein skimmer

Coral Box protein skimmers come is a wide variety of sizes to accommodate your tank needs. These skimmer a well made and include multiple features that set them apart from the competition. Take a look at all the skimmers they offer @ Fish Tanks Direct.

fishtanksdirect.com

 

[shakacuz]

i use a reef octopus classic 110sss on my 40B. only maintenance needed is cleaning/emptying the cup. as long as i keep my sump clean of detritus, maintenance required is decreased.

 

[Jekyl]

Love my reef octo

 

[Andresnyc93]

+1 on the reef octo, I black taped the body of the skimmer so the algae doesn’t build up inside and always make sure there’s no build up detritus/algae on the chamber the skimmer sits, I empty it once a week with every water change and then just rinse it and it’s good as new!

 

[Spare time]

Hello folks,

I am in process of gathering equipment for my first saltwater tank. I have several decades of experience in freshwater but a few things are very different and chief among them as far as equipment is concerned is the protein skimmer.

The tank will be a 45 gallon custom tank for seahorses. I will have a 20 gallon sump with about 10 gallons of water.

Having never used a protein skimmer before I am wary about how finicky some are reported to be. Currently I am considering the lifereef 24" model or a R2k xflo 2.5. Both are venturi models which my research indicates are less temperamental to changes in water level or cleanliness etc.

I am however very open to other suggestions for skimmers that might fit this tank better. The lifereef has many reports of the venturi causing noise and I am going to some lengths to make things as quiet as possible. The xflo has next to no user reviews and is rated for a bigger system. Both cost about 500 dollars and that is the top of my budget for a skimmer.

I haven't found references to any other venturi skimmers still in production but if anyone knows one I'd love to hear about it.

Thank you in advance for any information.

You could also just run a strong refugium and forgo the skimmer entirely

 

[Harold999]

Forget both skimmer and refugium and get a filter roller.

That very very VERY little waste that is left over with a filter roller which changes it's paper fast enough is the food your coals need.

 

[minorhero]

Thank you guys. I have considered going without the skimmer but I worry that seahorses are supposed to be very messy and frequent eaters so I think I need one regardless of a refugium.

I thought about a filter roller but I worry about maintenance/upkeep of that system. Its very appealing to not have to worry about disposable essential parts.

I was mostly hoping there was either a type of skimmer I didn't know about (as opposed to needle wheel skimmers) or there was another option for a venturi skimmer.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

All skimmers are some sort of venturi ,its like asking which car has wheels.
If you are looking for a skimmer that wont be finicky in variable water depth you are looking for what they call a recirculating skimmer or an external skimmer (like the lifereef) ,,, external skimmers can be used in our outside of a sump. THat one is a great choice but likely louder than most needlewheels would be in that same size of skimmer.

Why so many in sump skimmers on the market? they fit under the stands, they way most people do it is have a sump area that is always the same height so any "in sump " skimmer will work properly and the use ATO auto top off to keep water level where they want it.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

There are Beckett skimmers and air driven skimmers, Beckett will be louder than the lifereef venturi and are generally thought of as big system skimmers usually you dont see those till 300+gallon type setups.
air driven can be very good, usually more maintaince and require a noisy air pump
hence the popularity of needle wheels , quiet and efficient.

 

[minorhero]

There are Beckett skimmers and air driven skimmers, Beckett will be louder than the lifereef venturi and are generally thought of as big system skimmers usually you dont see those till 300+gallon type setups.
air driven can be very good, usually more maintaince and require a noisy air pump
hence the popularity of needle wheels , quiet and efficient.

I've heard of beckett in my research but to my knowledge no on makes them for the normal hobbyist level anymore. Most of the time I find historical references to them from the early to mid 2000s. So they are not even an option unless I missed something. Same with other venturi models. It seems that other then the two I mentioned there are no other skimmers available that are not needle wheel. My only concern with needle wheel skimmers is that when reading suggested maintenance on them they say things like clean the cup every day and clean the neck at least once a week and complete disassembly once a month. Whereas when I looked at lifereef they were saying the only thing you need to do is empty the cup when its full and it stops filling on its own when it reaches capacity. Thus I really liked that level of simplicity and would just go with them, but then I see everyone who is not already a huge proponent of them saying they are noisy whereas the people who fill in a million posts about them claim they are dead silent which you know... is highly suspicious ;P

I guess I have my answer at this point, but I was hoping I was just missing some little known skimmer that does it all

 

[Snoopy 67]

What you have to remember here is a clean neck on a skimmer is a good working skimmer.
When dirty they decrease in performance, therefore a cleaning is necessary for maximum operation.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

its not gonna matter what the brand the taller you go on a venturi skimmer the bigger the pump thats needed to run it, most of the newer dc pumps dont like the head pressure that is involved in pushing becketts.

warner marine, and several companies still make becketts but most are for big tanks., they are also easy to DIY and many people use the same skimmer for years. I still use a beckett made in the 90s. the designs have not changed much. Bashsea makes a smaller beckett, ive seen it working at my lfs, its only 6 inches wide and 24 tall that would probably be one you might want to look at

 

[minorhero]

its not gonna matter what the brand the taller you go on a venturi skimmer the bigger the pump thats needed to run it, most of the newer dc pumps dont like the head pressure that is involved in pushing becketts.

warner marine, and several companies still make becketts but most are for big tanks., they are also easy to DIY and many people use the same skimmer for years. I still use a beckett made in the 90s. the designs have not changed much. Bashsea makes a smaller beckett, ive seen it working at my lfs, its only 6 inches wide and 24 tall that would probably be one you might want to look at

Thats really cool! This one completely escaped my searches. Unfortunately its not going to fit, I have just under 25" of space under my tank and my current sump is a 20 gallon high which this fellow will not quite fit, I could replace it pretty easily for not much money but the height issue would still be a problem.

 

[Midrats]

I really like the Tunze 9410 DC. The cup and neck lift right off for cleaning. The consistency of the effluent can easily be changed from espresso to tea by changing the pump speed, after which zero adjustments are needed.

 

[minorhero]

I really like the Tunze 9410 DC. The cup and neck lift right off for cleaning. The consistency of the effluent can easily be changed from espresso to tea by changing the pump speed, after which zero adjustments are needed.

Other then cleaning the cup is there other monthly maintence involved? The manual is not very clear on it. Also, can you have a variable water level or does it need to be stable for the unit to work? Again the manual was not super clear on this.

 

[JNalley]

Since your concern is a seahorse-specific tank and whether or not it will require a skimmer, perhaps reach out to www.seahorsesavvy.com and bounce some ideas off of them. I've read in other threads that the owner of that operation is very helpful and knowledgeable, and because one day I plan to have a seahorse tank, I bookmarked the site. Hope you find the answer(s) you're looking for.

 

[Koh23]

Unless u have recirculating skimmer, water level must be constant, for skimmer to operate correctly.....

 

[Midrats]

There is no other maintenance other than cleaning the cup. The air intake gets flushed when you lift the cup off if you leave it running during cleaning. Of course, like any other equipment, it benefits from a yearly cleaning. It likes a stable water level of 6-7". Do you not plan to use an ATO?

 

[minorhero]

Since your concern is a seahorse-specific tank and whether or not it will require a skimmer, perhaps reach out to www.seahorsesavvy.com and bounce some ideas off of them. I've read in other threads that the owner of that operation is very helpful and knowledgeable, and because one day I plan to have a seahorse tank, I bookmarked the site. Hope you find the answer(s) you're looking for.

I actually follow their facebook group already. I happen to live in Maryland and seahorsesavvy has their operation a couple of hours from my house. Anyway, they recommend a skimmer but do not specify brands or anything like that.