Protein Skimmer Recomendations!!

Topreefer92 · May 12, 2020

Hi All,

"What is your favorite skimmer?"

I know this is a can of worms but I want to open it anyways!!

I have had an aquamax fc-80 on a 90 gallon cube for over a year. Total water volume is probably around 110 gallon. I have had consistent issues with it being inconsistent, usually working well for a few days but than collects large amounts of skim at the neck. I have adjusted everything to no avail. I have 2 tangs in the tank and clownfish. I am in the market for a new skimmer as this one seems to be missing the mark and wanted to know your thoughts. Leaning towards red sea or nyos. Past systems I have used bubble magus and reef octopus with no issues but those were for larger skimmers. Thanks all!

Phil D. · May 12, 2020

Seeing the reviews and videos on the new Red Sea skimmers, I would go with that. I am waiting for my Reef Octopus to fail and then upgrade to the Red Sea

Topreefer92 · May 12, 2020

Phil D. said:
Seeing the reviews and videos on the new Red Sea skimmers, I would go with that. I am waiting for my Reef Octopus to fail and then upgrade to the Red Sea

I like the way you think!! I wonder if I should go the rs400 instead of the 300. I just don't want to go too big like BRS states and have a worthless skimmer. Thoughts?

Phil D. · May 12, 2020

Would go with the size Red Sea recommends, it's pretty powerful.

Doctorgori · May 12, 2020

Phil D. said:
Seeing the reviews and videos on the new Red Sea skimmers, I would go with that. I am waiting for my Reef Octopus to fail and then upgrade to the Red Sea

I need a new skimmer also and saw the same thing.... still I’ve owned 2 Reef Octos and I’m still waiting on them to fail....

Viking_Reefing · May 12, 2020

I would go for a tunze skimmer, the 9400 series might not have the bells and whistles that some do but they straight up work and being tunze, will never break.
I have one and I’ve never been more happy with a skimmer, never had to fiddle with it once.

Plecosam · May 12, 2020

Redsea is a bit plastic fantastic for me, priced ok though personally I prefer Nyos and Reef Octopus they would be my recommendations.

jphilip813 · May 12, 2020

Are you going DC or AC for your skimmer? I just purchased TWO of them...yes, TWO...to replace my SKIMZ 161 I had since 2016...bigger load now on my 120...went with the DC Aquamaxx AquaMaxx ConeS DCQ-2...its a replacement for the Bubble Magnus D8 I purchased a month ago...

Hemmdog · May 12, 2020

What footprint can your future skimmer occupy in your sump?

lakai · May 12, 2020

I have a deltec 1000i works very well.

Aneasytarget · May 12, 2020

Are they paid reviews is the question?
My Redsea was so noisy it drove me crazy .
No it wasn’t touching the side of the sump and yes I reassembled it to ensure everything was tightened correctly.

Phil D. said:
Seeing the reviews and videos on the new Red Sea skimmers, I would go with that. I am waiting for my Reef Octopus to fail and then upgrade to the Red Sea

Aneasytarget · May 12, 2020

If you’re going AC get a Nyos.

jrlg · May 12, 2020

MichaelE said:
I would go for a tunze skimmer, the 9400 series might not have the bells and whistles that some do but they straight up work and being tunze, will never break.
I have one and I’ve never been more happy with a skimmer, never had to fiddle with it once.

I second the Tunze skimmer 9400, they are rock solid and easy to use

Plecosam · May 12, 2020

Aneasytarget said:
If you’re going AC get a Nyos.

I rate my Nyos, not sure why people say they are hard to tune, I find it easy.

Topreefer92 · May 12, 2020

jphilip813 said:
Are you going DC or AC for your skimmer? I just purchased TWO of them...yes, TWO...to replace my SKIMZ 161 I had since 2016...bigger load now on my 120...went with the DC Aquamaxx AquaMaxx ConeS DCQ-2...its a replacement for the Bubble Magnus D8 I purchased a month ago...

I like ac so probably ac!

Topreefer92 · May 12, 2020

Hemmdog said:
What footprint can your future skimmer occupy in your sump?

12 by 12 by 30 tall.

Topreefer92 · May 12, 2020

I did notice that red sea is injected molded. Looked a little flimsy on BRS video. I might have to talk to Adam at battlecorals about the Deltecs.

reeftivo · May 12, 2020

Topreefer92 said:
I like ac so probably ac!

check out the Akula line of skimmers. they ship direct from Italy. i have a UKS 160 and it's on par with Bubble kings
skims very very well. you can get a quote direct from their site contact link. http://www.ultrareef.it/product.htm.

jda · May 12, 2020

I have been at this for more than 25 years and for all this time, "new" skimmers have just meant uncertainty. Some work out OK, but most fade into nothingness. If you have a skimmer than you are unhappy with, then get a tried and true one like LifeReef, Tunze, something with a Red Dragon Pump, ASM, etc. Some ROs are good and some suck - they have made so many different models with so many different pumps and they are not all the same (I have one with a Sicce PSK pump and it is awesome, but also had 4 or 5 DC models and they sucked). It is hard to tell with a RO.

Seriously, how can a review of a new skimmer mean anything?

All of this said, I will buy any LifeReef or Tunze that hits the market used. They are that good. I will look and see if a RO has a Sicce Pump and I will buy it - I pass on the rest. I will avoid used Bubble Kings since they are hard to service, but they do skim well. I will buy ASM bodies and put new HydroFoamer pumps on them and turn them into beasts. I do like to run two skimmers per tank, and will run three sometimes when my fish start to get big.

Shaun_in_Cali · May 12, 2020

Topreefer92 said:
Hi All,

"What is your favorite skimmer?"

I know this is a can of worms but I want to open it anyways!! I have had an aquamax fc-80 on a 90 gallon cube for over a year. Total water volume is probably around 110 gallon. I have had consistent issues with it being inconsistent, usually working well for a few days but than collects large amounts of skim at the neck. I have adjusted everything to no avail. I have 2 tangs in the tank and clownfish. I am in the market for a new skimmer as this one seems to be missing the mark and wanted to know your thoughts. Leaning towards red sea or nyos. Past systems I have used bubble magus and reef octopus with no issues but those were for larger skimmers. Thanks all!

I have an aquamaxx EM-300 and it did take a little while to settle down but I am pleased with it now. Quiet, stable performance and pulls a solid amount of gunk out of the water for sure. Not sure why you are having difficulty, have you tried leaving on settings for a few days? I only made very small adjustments as I dialled it in..