Most efficient protein skimmer

[ReefGirl87]

Any suggestions on the most efficient protein skimmer for a 90 gallon?

 

[madweazl]

Flip a coin and buy one you like. I've had great luck with Deltec but thousands of others have had great luck with every other manufacturer too. This is one piece of equipment that makes little difference when it comes to the manufacturer. I did run a Bubble Magus for a few months and it was extremely finicky but once you got it dialed in, it worked pretty well. You'd have to pry the Deltec from my cold dead hands though (on a bad note, their customer support in the US sucks but on the positive side, you likely wont need them).

 

[ReefGeezer]

Pick a decent quality brand... maybe not the big dollar ones though. I like the Reef Octopus line. Couldn't argue if you wanted to spend more for Lifereef or Deltec for quality build reasons but the efficiency increase isn't that much. Basically, any larger diameter body, needle wheel driven skimmer is pretty efficient. Don't oversize it too much.

 

[CuzzA]

Buy an appropriately sized skimmer if you're going to stock the tank appropriately. I disagree about all skimmers being the same.

I had a Reef Octopus 110 on a 90 and that skimmer sucked, no matter the settings or mods it would hardly produce despite a decent bioload.

Now I have a Bubble Magus Elite which elite means nothing more than a quality Sicce pump and this skimmer is lights out.

Anyway, this is a tough one to get honest answers because a lot of people don't have anything to compare to and no one wants to admit their expensive purchase sucks.

 

[Mical]

I have a Bubble Magus Curve5 on a 120 and it works well. I added a micro air valve to the air intake side so I have more control over air and have already noticed it's pulling more skimate and Ph went up a couple of pts.

 

[Peace River]

There are a wide range of opinion on skimmers - personally I am a big fan of #reefoctopus skimmers. I currently am running a Reef Octopus 110INT, a Reef Octopus Essence 130, and a Reef Octopus 150 classic on systems that are comparable to yours and am thrilled with the performance of all of them. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Gareth elliott]

avoid hang on the back. And choose a brand who uses well established pump brands. The rest of it is just acrylic housing. some are easier to take apart than others. Avoid ones where they use a pump brand you have never heard of.

 

[ReefGirl87]

There are a wide range of opinion on skimmers - personally I am a big fan of #reefoctopus skimmers. I currently am running a Reef Octopus 110INT, a Reef Octopus Essence 130, and a Reef Octopus 150 classic on systems that are comparable to yours and am thrilled with the performance of all of them. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Any input on the Reef Octopus 110 classic, space saver Vs The 110 INT?
Just want to make sure I have enough space in my RS-100 sump...

 

[jda]

LifeReef will blow any needlewheel out of the water. Not all needlewheels are the same. I have a Sicce PSK powered RO that is a beast and every other newer model will not even get close. Models with the pumps in the body take up valuable area for contact time, so none of these are as good - only use one of these if you have no other choice with a small chamber.

I am mostly of the opinion that the "great" skimmers just got lucky on design and pump choices. ASM and ER are pretty much the same skimmer and they still kick as much **** as any new needlewheel skimmer maybe except for a Red Dragon based pump. My RO with the PSK was probably luck too. Tunze with the hydrofoamer pumps are really awesome.

If I were buying new and had the room, then LifeReef or Tunze. I have no idea about skimmers with internal pumps since I have never used one.

 

[Peace River]

Reef Octopus has a space saver line that is marked with either an “s” or an “sss” where the pump is inside the skimmer cavity.

@Jeff@CoralVue may be able to help with the dimensions.

 

[ReefGirl87]

Reef Octopus has a space saver line that is marked with either an “s” or an “sss” where the pump is inside the skimmer cavity.

@Jeff@CoralVue may be able to help with the dimensions.

The one I’m looking at is marked with an SS. The pump is inside the cavity. I have seen people recommending skimmers where the pump is outside of the body. What are your thoughts on this? What pros are there to having the pump on the outside vs inside?

 

[Peace River]

The one I’m looking at is marked with an SS. The pump is inside the cavity. I have seen people recommending skimmers where the pump is outside of the body. What are your thoughts on this? What pros are there to having the pump on the outside vs inside?

They are comparable, but I normally go with the external pump if I have room to maximize the space for water/bubble contact. I recently bought the Reef Octopus Essence 130 (which has the internal pump) so I could also fit the Reef Octopus algae reactor next to it in the main chamber of the sump.

 

[ReefGeezer]

My inexpensive, 10 year old, needle wheel skimmer is too efficient for my system as far as nutrient control is concerned. Power consumption and space wise it isn't as efficient. It needs two pumps to operate, a needle wheel based recirculation pump plus a standard feed pump. I guess the term "efficiency" needs to be qualified.