Protein skimmer?

[Supramike]

Well the next pice of equipment I'm going to purchase is a skimmer and I'm not under standing how to base my purchase. I've been reading some what and the bigger the better but how do I decide? Meaning volume wise. 2x tank size in gallons? Tank is a 60g. So should I be looking at a 100-120g rated skimmer? Or a 75-100g? And what else should I look for in a skimmer? All help is welcome. Thanks.

 

[xbrentx]

A lot of factors come into play, but you usually want to aim for a well respected brand that is sized for water volume a bit larger than what you have. You also have to take space into consideration if it's going under the tank.

I have a 125G DT with a 40G sump behind the tank, so space is not an issue for me. I went with a Super Reef Octopus 3000 rated for a 300G size. I LOVE IT.

 

[xbrentx]

Do you have a sump?

 

[Supramike]

Yes I have a sump and I have about 27" of room before I would hit the bottom of the stand. And 14" in the sump it's self.

 

[Coral Dreams]

Vertex Omega 150

 

[11f150]

I was going to suggest the omega 150 as well. Coral Dreams hit it on the head.

 

[Coral Dreams]

:bigsmile: Nice skimmer you get quality build and a work horse I have the 170 and now I have a 150 for my frag tank build that I am currently working on. Nice 11f150 gave you some kudos/rep rating.

 

[robbrouse]

[h=1]Reef Octopus NWB110 is less than half the money of the Vertex Omega 150, bit it's not half the skimmer.. I have a buddy running it in is 65 and he loves it.. Just another option. [/h]

 

[Supramike]

So I should be looking into one that's rated for 75-110?

 

[kateater]

Depends on bio load. I would personally shot for the 100-150 range. Save up and buy the best skimmer you can afford. If you skimp on this you will end up replacing it in the future. Reef octopus is going to be the best bang for the $ IMO.

 

[kacrocorals581]

My buddy has a 60 cube 30 gallon sump with a asm s3 awesome skimmer and has great success with his tank

 

[Supramike]

I am looking towards the reef octopus it's a descent price. But what model? The 110 sounds about right. I plan on starting with fish and maybe some coral to see if I can keep it alive then in time adding more coral. And have a mixed tank.

 

[Supramike]

Also when should I start skimming?

 

[Thereeferboss]

Depends on bio load. I would personally shot for the 100-150 range. Save up and buy the best skimmer you can afford. If you skimp on this you will end up replacing it in the future. Reef octopus is going to be the best bang for the $ IMO.

+1 indeed

 

[Supramike]

Ok after doing some looking into the reef octopus brand I'm torn between the nwb110 and nwb150. My total volume is 75g. 60g DT and a 15g sump and the 110 states it'll pull heavy at 75g. But should I go bigger to the 150 just to be on the safe side with the skimming? And the 150 states it has a 500gph pump and that's around what my return is at. If I do go with the 150 it will be fine wont it? They also say its for tanks up to 120g. I'm really not sure how to base this decision. So it should be based on bio load? I plane to have a fully stocked tank down the line. So with that said should I go with the 150?

 

[TheSaint216]

If your gonna spend the money and want Reef Octopus go with the Bubble Blaster models. I just went from nwb 110 to a nac 7 on my 65 and I love it. The skimmer decision will spin your head because its like buying a car, everyone has their favorites.

 

[robbrouse]

If you have the money and the space in your sump the larger skimmer would be better. The rule I've always heard was to times your water by 1.5 to 2. Even tho you have 75 gallons of water surface I'm betting it will be close to 60 or 65 by the time you figure in the sand and the rocks.

What I'm saying if your tank was empty of water and just had sand and rocks in it you would not get 60 gallons of water in it and I'm pretty sure you sump (if it's 15 gallons) goes go to the top.

 

[Supramike]

The nac7 won't fit it requires 9-11.5 water depth and all I have is 9 I can fill the sump up more but it'll raise the water level over the baffle. I think I'm just going to go with the nwb150. Unless that's to much but idk. Still hung up on this. And robbrouse ya I ended up taking out at least 6-8 gallons of water when adding the sand and rock maybe even more lol. Thanks everyone so far.

 

[Zoacoral]

I owned the Vertex omega 150, and it wasnt very consistent, I swapped it out for the RLSS R6-I and this thing has skimmed from day 1 and no inconsitencies. I would recommend the RLSS over the Omega.