Skimmer help what to look for

[magicman357]

Running a 90 gl mixed reef tank. Heavy to medium bio load. Will be running a refugium. Custom trigger systems 39 sump. What do you guys recommend for an in sump skimmer. Was looking a reef octopus but not sure. Limited experience with the vast selection of skimmers. Hydro performer, redline eshopps?? DC no DC ......confused.
All opinions and help is appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Reef Octopus is a very popular brand, and for good reason. I don't think you could go wrong with one. Personally, I have a Skimz and absolutely love it. DC skimmers I'm not so sure about because I have never used one and haven't researches them much.

If I gave you one piece of advice, it would to be to give yourself a good bit of buffer on what the skimmer is rated for and what you have. A lot of the advertised max tank sizes are for lightly stocked tanks. If you have a heavy bioload you'll want to make sure you factor that in. BRS is a good place to research skimmers, they give different ratings for different bioloads. I have no experience with them, but I am very seriously considering my next skimmer being a Deltec. You can check them out here
https://battlecorals.com/collections/deltec-protein-skimmers
It's saying something if Adam trusts them.

 

[erk]

Don't rule out old used skimmers. I bought a PM CV626 that needed some repair. It is a venturi skimmer and one of the best skimmers I've used thus far. It came without a pump, but I bought a more powerful pump than recommended to increase its capabilities. Buying used gives you a chance of getting a high end skimmer for about the cost of a new lower end model.

If you haven't read this article yet, I recommend. Might give you some insight into what fits your needs:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/fm/feature/

 

[magicman357]

Thanks for your input. What are the basics in DC and non D.C.? Is it just the controller on the pump?

 

[erk]

DC pumps are basically brushless DC motors mated to a pump head. DC motors allow for precise control of rotation speed when used with an appropriate controller. The same can be done by turning a valve on a pump. The thing is you could possibly hookup that DC motor to your aquarium controller and control the speed through the controller interface. The equivalent for the valve method would be a motorized valve. Motorized valves are far more expensive than a DC motor since they use positional controls over speed controls.

 

[JenArmstrong]

I have a Skimz 163 for my 90 gal with a trigger 34 and is rated for high load up to 125g. It is sooooo quiet that I have to check to see if its on. No instructions, so to fine tune it you have to do the following... Make sure pump is about 9" deep in water. Close the gate all the way - then raise the pump speed till the waterline is in the middle of the angled skimmer neck - then start closing the air line to get the fine bubbles to the top of the cylinder before the collection cup (will almost be closed completely) - if the waterline gets to high, lower the pump speed by 1 till its back at the collection cup fitting- done! Good luck!!!

 

[Stolireef]

I have the Vertex 180i on my 125. Very quiet and super stable foam. What I really like though is the small footprint since the pump is inside the skimmer body. The build quality also appears to be excellent.