what skimmers are you all using?

Plecosam · May 18, 2020

Nyos user here, very happy, I tend to avoid any company who trash others. Lifereef look way to DIY for me, are they only available in the US?

I had a Dalua, but I sold it, the 3d printed parts, no pump mounting and plastic turned me off, the pump did seem quite good.

I would not hesitate in using use Reef Octopus, Nyos, or Red Dragon.

h2so4hurts · May 18, 2020

I have 4 on mine, adds an extra foot in height.

Octopus Neck Extension 300

Simple way to increase dwell time Stackable Provides Greater Control Solid Construction Silicone O-ring Seal Stackable Neck Extension for Reef Octopus Skimmers These stackable extensions are designed to extend the neck of Reef Octopus skimmer to achieve greater...

premiumaquatics.com

Devaji · May 18, 2020

h2so4hurts said:
I have 4 on mine, adds an extra foot in height.

Octopus Neck Extension 300

Simple way to increase dwell time Stackable Provides Greater Control Solid Construction Silicone O-ring Seal Stackable Neck Extension for Reef Octopus Skimmers These stackable extensions are designed to extend the neck of Reef Octopus skimmer to achieve greater...

premiumaquatics.com

good to know I was just looking at the life reef skimmer neck extension for there units. good to know reef octo now has it as well.

Keithb22 · May 18, 2020

Lifereef will fall about in the middle, 400-600 depending. But what you get is the best customer service, full customization, and the dang thing will run forever. Plus it’s Venturi.

Devaji · May 18, 2020

Plecosam said:
Lifereef look way to DIY for me, are they only available in the US?

they do look a bit DIY but from what I here there tanks some have been running for over 20 years and still have support. + it's a one man operation, there not mass produced in china.
IDK I have never seen one in person. going to look into them for sure tho.
I believe they can ship anywhere but shipping would be pretty hefty tho?

Devaji · May 18, 2020

Keithb22 said:
Lifereef will fall about in the middle, 400-600 depending. But what you get is the best customer service, full customization, and the dang thing will run forever. Plus it’s Venturi.

yeah that is what I hear, great CS and long running skimmers. do you have one? mind sharing it with us?

Keithb22 · May 18, 2020

Yeah absolutely. I was able to get the color without any additional charge. The hardest part was getting it dialed in, since I have a tendency to mess with things a lot lol. the gate valve allows you to fine tune your skimmate incredibly precisely.

Keithb22 · May 18, 2020

Plus when you order you can call Jeff up and he’ll dial in what you need for you’re set up. Was a nice addition for me, ya he didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t need.

BullyBee · May 18, 2020

EShopps x120

Devaji · May 18, 2020

Keithb22 said:
Yeah absolutely. I was able to get the color without any additional charge. The hardest part was getting it dialed in, since I have a tendency to mess with things a lot lol. the gate valve allows you to fine tune your skimmate incredibly precisely.

witch model did you get? looks like a WB aquarium ? what size?

Devaji · May 18, 2020

BullyBee said:
EShopps x120

thanks but that is a little small for a 300 gal min, system

do they make any larger units?

BullyBee · May 18, 2020

Yeah but if I had to move up to a bigger model I would have gotten Red Sea.

r2odie · May 18, 2020

I’m using a reef octopus 250 int on my 375. I was advised to size correctly when I set my tank up and not oversize. It works great.

Sdot · May 18, 2020

Plecosam said:
Nyos user here, very happy, I tend to avoid any company who trash others. Lifereef look way to DIY for me, are they only available in the US?

I had a Dalua, but I sold it, the 3d printed parts, no pump mounting and plastic turned me off, the pump did seem quite good.

I would not hesitate in using use Reef Octopus, Nyos, or Red Dragon.

+1 Nyos user here as well. Used them on my last 3 builds.... no regrets

h2so4hurts · May 19, 2020

Devaji said:
good to know I was just looking at the life reef skimmer neck extension for there units. good to know reef octo now has it as well.

They've had them available for a good 4 or 5 years. They make a huge difference

McPuff · May 19, 2020

I've got a Reef Dynamics INS300 running my 300DD. I think it's rated for 450 gallons. They are no longer made which is too bad. It's been my best skimmer so far.

Whatever you get, I recommend getting it used and saving a bunch of money. Huge skimmers are expensive, especially new, but they are also hard to sell secondhand because there aren't nearly as many people with huge tanks.

Borg · May 19, 2020

Nyos 220

JoshH · May 19, 2020

Devaji said:
they do look a bit DIY but from what I here there tanks some have been running for over 20 years and still have support. + it's a one man operation, there not mass produced in china.
IDK I have never seen one in person. going to look into them for sure tho.
I believe they can ship anywhere but shipping would be pretty hefty tho?

I believe Jeff will ship anywhere in the world if you're willing to pay it, I forget what it cost me for shipping but I think it was around $150 with taxes and border fees taken into consideration (Live in Canada and UPS is famous for charging the living daylights out of things).

Keithb22 said:
Plus when you order you can call Jeff up and he’ll dial in what you need for you’re set up. Was a nice addition for me, ya he didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t need.

I think next to the fact that you can 100% customize your skimmer to your liking and this are two of the biggest selling points on working with Jeff. Yes he will bash other skimmers to no end, but, he will never recommend something unless you don't absolutely need it. And his products will out last almost anything on the market.

Silver14SS · May 19, 2020

OP - what features are you looking for in a skimmer? Performance only, noise level, energy efficiency, footprint, etc.

JoshH said:
Yes he will bash other skimmers to no end, but, he will never recommend something unless you don't absolutely need it.

I don't understand that approach at all, I read it and think "off-putting" instead of "wow, this must be the best." I still tried one though

NO SUCKING or WHISTLING NOISES, silent operation, no injector nozzle noise, no out-of-balance needle-wheel noises.

My experience was different, it made a fair amount of noise that I would describe as sucking and injector nozzle noise. When I asked about it, I was told that I must be pacified into thinking skimmers are supposed to be silent

. If sound and energy efficiency are not at the top of your wants, it may be a fine solution for your application, they certainly seem to skim well.

Devaji · May 19, 2020

Silver14SS said:
OP - what features are you looking for in a skimmer? Performance only, noise level, energy efficiency, footprint, etc.

I don't understand that approach at all, I read it and think "off-putting" instead of "wow, this must be the best." I still tried one though

NO SUCKING or WHISTLING NOISES, silent operation, no injector nozzle noise, no out-of-balance needle-wheel noises.

My experience was different, it made a fair amount of noise that I would describe as sucking and injector nozzle noise. When I asked about it, I was told that I must be pacified into thinking skimmers are supposed to be silent. If sound and energy efficiency are not at the top of your wants, it may be a fine solution for your application, they certainly seem to skim well.

this is a great question,
like us all I want it all...
great price point
skim very well
last for years and years to come
energy effect big tanks do suck down the electricity
tune able
something that I dont have to mess with everyday.

at this point in the game I am just getting ideas and pricing things out between a large tank and a monster tank so i can get the numbers for startup and operating cost to help make the decision that is right for my budget.