Protein skimmer - being oversold?!?

Mariette · May 12, 2019

Upgrading to 110g mixed reef.

I’d decided on the Coral box D700+ DC Skimmer For $350. Rated for 118 to 185g.

After talking to LFS, they’re trying to sell me the Red Sea Reefer Skimmer 600. Yeah. The 600!!! Rated for 160g SPS, 320g mixed reef, or 500g FOWLR. For $600!!!

I know Red Sea is good. Saw good reviews for the Coral box too.

1 - what do we think of the Coral box?
2 - if I do splurge on Red Sea, isn’t the 600 way way WAY overkill? Specially considering I’ve been running a 55g for 2 yrs with NO skimmer?

sa6hir · May 12, 2019

They shouldn’t be trying to sell you anything. The only thing they should be doing is advising, personal I would get the next 1 down from the 600 which I think was 400, however I do I have a mate who brought a Red Sea skimmer and hated it.

Billldg · May 12, 2019

Mariette said:
Upgrading to 110g mixed reef.

I’d decided on the Coral box D700+ DC Skimmer For $350. Rated for 118 to 185g.

After talking to LFS, they’re trying to sell me the Red Sea Reefer Skimmer 600. Yeah. The 600!!! Rated for 160g SPS, 320g mixed reef, or 500g FOWLR. For $600!!!

I know Red Sea is good. Saw good reviews for the Coral box too.

1 - what do we think of the Coral box?
2 - if I do splurge on Red Sea, isn’t the 600 way way WAY overkill? Specially considering I’ve been running a 55g for 2 yrs with NO skimmer?

If you decide on buying the Red Sea 600 then I would buy it online, normal price is 449.00. I think it may be to big though, you can over skim a tank.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/rsk-600-reefer-internal-protein-skimmer-red-sea.html

joseserrano · May 12, 2019

Stores don’t make much on dry goods, so I would imagine they are recommending something because they believe in it. The Red Sea has a much better pump, which is so much of the skimmer

Mariette · May 12, 2019

Billldg said:
If you decide on buying the Red Sea 600 then I would buy it online, normal price is 449.00. I think it may be to big though, you can over skim a tank.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/rsk-600-reefer-internal-protein-skimmer-red-sea.html

I should mention I live in Canada. $600 CAD is the price I’ve seen it for from many suppliers. Sometimes I wish I lived in the US lol

Billldg · May 12, 2019

Mariette said:
I should mention I live in Canada. $600 CAD is the price I’ve seen it for from many suppliers. Sometimes I wish I lived in the US lol

Ah, K, I should have seen that you are in Ontario. As mentioned before, buy what you feel you need, not what others try to push on you. Red Sea does make a good skimmer according to the reviews. Also, as stated before, I look at the pump, the Red Sea has a Sicce pump which is a great pump. I use a Vertex Omega 180i which also has the same pump and it works great. I use it on a 120 gal DT.

SeaDweller · May 12, 2019

sa6hir said:
They shouldn’t be trying to sell you anything. The only thing they should be doing is advising, personal I would get the next 1 down from the 600 which I think was 400, however I do I have a mate who brought a Red Sea skimmer and hated it.

A store shouldn’t be trying to sell her anything? Only advising? They have products they’re recommending people buy... this makes no sense to me.

ksed · May 13, 2019

I have a CoralBox 300+ , work fantastic, much quieter than my other skimmer which has a Sicce pump in it .
Very well balance skimmer and for the price you can’t go wrong. You can buy two of them and keep spare parts.

FlyPenFly · May 13, 2019

Get a NYOS, I’ve been in this game a long time and tried everything, it’s the best.

DMG Reef · May 13, 2019

You definitely don't need the Red Sea RSK-600 for a 110 gallon tank. I put the RSK-300 on my Reefer XL 425 which is 112 gallons. It's a great skimmer with awesome features. I love the drain hose which empties the cup without removing it. And the built-in cleaner for the skimmer neck is priceless IMO.

User1 · May 13, 2019

One thing to factor in your decision is if you plan any upgrades in the future. Yes, I guess you can over skim a tank but you can also control that. However, taking a quick assessment of the tank today, your stock plan, on honest assessment of your track record of staying on said plan and not grossly overstocking, then consider any possible upgrades, well, buying one or two steps up may be OK. Save money by buying one thing that can grow with you.

If you are more moderate, not going to overstock, and do not see a large upgrade then maybe split it down the middle and buy the 400 I think it was that was noted above. Personally I bought a skimmer in 2000 with a upgrade in mind. Worked well on my 100 and it works just as well on the upgrade to 210 gallons. Glad I went a bit larger.

Mical · May 13, 2019

For that size tank a Bubble Magus 5 would be plenty and they're as good as any of the above listed.

Pntbll687 · May 13, 2019

joseserrano said:
Stores don’t make much on dry goods, so I would imagine they are recommending something because they believe in it. The Red Sea has a much better pump, which is so much of the skimmer

Haha if you think so.

Probably 40-50% margin on most dry goods, excluding tanks and stands. I think 30% Marin would be on the very low end for the skimmer.

Lasse · May 13, 2019

I use a Coral Box 500 + to a 80 gallon tank and I am satisfied with it. And I can afford a spare pump too.

Sincerely Lasse

George81 · May 13, 2019

Mariette said:
I should mention I live in Canada. $600 CAD is the price I’ve seen it for from many suppliers. Sometimes I wish I lived in the US lol

Here is a list of of online places, I bought my reef octopus 150 for 230$ From petsandponds, it must have been a clear out. They don’t have it anymore, they do however have the model up 150 for 399$

Shop around

http://www.petsandponds.com (coralbox dc700 is 300$ here)
Jlaquatics.com
Reefsupplies.ca
Fragbox.ca (if you are in the Toronto area this place is worth checking out)

Mariette · May 13, 2019

George81 said:
Here is a list of of online places, I bought my reef octopus 150 for 230$ From petsandponds, it must have been a clear out. They don’t have it anymore, they do however have the model up 150 for 399$

Shop around

http://www.petsandponds.com (coralbox dc700 is 300$ here)
Jlaquatics.com
Reefsupplies.ca
Fragbox.ca (if you are in the Toronto area this place is worth checking out)

Hey thx. Was thinking of the
Coral box D700+ DC Skimmer for $310 at Fragbox (it’s on sale). It’s rated for 118 to 185 gallons. JL aquatics is awesome. I’ve ordered from them before. Hadn’t heard of petsandponds so that’s worth a look. Thanks!!!

Mariette · May 13, 2019

saf1 said:
One thing to factor in your decision is if you plan any upgrades in the future. Yes, I guess you can over skim a tank but you can also control that. However, taking a quick assessment of the tank today, your stock plan, on honest assessment of your track record of staying on said plan and not grossly overstocking, then consider any possible upgrades, well, buying one or two steps up may be OK. Save money by buying one thing that can grow with you.

If you are more moderate, not going to overstock, and do not see a large upgrade then maybe split it down the middle and buy the 400 I think it was that was noted above. Personally I bought a skimmer in 2000 with a upgrade in mind. Worked well on my 100 and it works just as well on the upgrade to 210 gallons. Glad I went a bit larger.

I’ve currently got 2 small fish and 10 inverts. 1 word: Velvet. I plan to stock as many fish as I can keep happy. I have a list in mind but am willing to cut it down if I see signs of aggression or stress. I’d hate for my protein skimmer to limit my fish list. Absolutely no plan to upgrade. But that’s what I said before I found R2R so who knows? Certainly not anytime in the near future lol.

russell13 · May 13, 2019

I think the size of your skimmer is more determined by bioload then gallon Size. That being said I am a fan of going a step up when it comes to skimmers. It give you some Cushioning if something goes wrong. First know what size footprint the skimmer is to sit in and then figure out a budget of what you want to spend. Once you have that figured out go online and read some reviews to try to figure out where you will get the best bang for your buck. I’m currently running a Skimz protein Skimmer and it works great. I have also had a lot of success with reef octopus and simplicity skimmers. Haven’t heard much about the Red Sea ones but they look pretty sweet

joseserrano · May 13, 2019

Pntbll687 said:
Haha if you think so.

Probably 40-50% margin on most dry goods, excluding tanks and stands. I think 30% Marin would be on the very low end for the skimmer.

I have wholesale accounts. I know exactly what stores pay!

Ponraj A · May 14, 2019

I have used Skimz SM163 previously it was super, now changed to Life reef SVS24 internal. Which is un-comparable and the best of it is, you can use any pump (no need of needle wheel) of their recommended size. In case of pump failure its enough you change only the pump. I am running it with Jecod DCp12000 pump.