Which protein skimmer?

[reefs+waves]

I have narrowed my list down to 3 skimmers, eshopps axium x120, skimz sn123, and reef octopus 110 space saver. It is a 55 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump.

 

[reefs+waves]

I must add that I have limited sump space.

 

[Liquid360]

My Reef Octopus has functioned without a hiccup for 7'ish years. I never even think about unless the topic arrises.

 

[luke33]

All three would work just fine, but I would up the skimz to a 143. Out of the three if your looking for your most budget i'd say the octo is the least expensive and should work fine. Another inexpensive to use would be this guy.

https://premiumaquatics.com/products/vertex-somatic-60s-skimmer.html

 

[reefs+waves]

The skimz 143 and the somatic will not fit in my sump, my sump space is just a little bigger than the reef octo 110 space saver. The eshopps and the skimz are actually cheaper than the reef octopus.

 

[reefs+waves]

My footprint of my sump chamber is roughly 7 by 9 inches

 

[JBradford]

I can't speak for the space saver model but I just switched to a reef octo about 3 months ago and I have no complaints. It's been a work horse. If I had to come up with a con, I'd say it can be a tad bit noisy because of how much water it's moving.

 

[reefs+waves]

As you can see in my sump there is a mount for a filter sock but that is only up top, I wonder if I can fit the reef octopus 110 int pump underneath that, I would really like a vertex omega 130 if that would fit.

 

[jsker]

I have the RLSS R5-i works really well, small foot print in my sump of 6-7 inches. I have 80 gallon water volume

 

[reefs+waves]

Thank you, the RLSS looks pretty nice.

 

[ReefRebuild]

You did say roughly 7x9. I have a SCA 302 and it works great for me now that its broke in. Good luck

 

[luke33]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RLSS-R-5I-I...76d0ad9&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=162369902015

Pretty dang powerful skimmer for such a small footprint. The capacity of this vs your others in your list is nearly double.

 

[reefs+waves]

I am leaning towards the eshopps because i read a thread on reef central and the people who had it were very happy compared to some of the reviews of the skimz, the octos reviews are great but I don't like the space saver shape.

 

[luke33]

Last thing i'll say is just make sure you know what your getting : ) The pump turnover is quite different vs the rlss, meaning it cycles through your entire tank nearly double the rest of the pump's, and i know that pump will pull nearly twice the air as well. But i'm sure all would work well for a 55g, now if you plan on an upgrade......

Skimz 123 - Pump - 317gph
Octo 110 - Pump - 264gph
Eshopps - Pump - 357gph
RLSS 5i - Pump - 660gph

 

[Liquid360]

I agree! ALWAYS buy with an upgrade in mind. You won't regret it.

 

[Liquid360]

I can't help but chime in with a shameless plug. Have you checked out our skimmers? Poke around and I think you'll find we have a value that is hard to beat!

Wow! Just looked at your site... that's an insanely good value if it's as good as it seems.

 

[reefs+waves]

I can't help but chime in with a shameless plug. Have you checked out our skimmers? Poke around and I think you'll find we have a value that is hard to beat!

I will definitely check your skimmers out!

 

[reefs+waves]

I am here to help if anyone has any questions! We even have humans answer our phone

I am liking the looks of the simplicity skimmers, anybody have experience with the 120dc?

 

[Trueblue17]

I have a 55g with 10 gal sump with very limited space and I just bought a bubble magus curve 3.5 and it fit perfect and works great , good quality and super quiet, love it.

 

[luke33]

Skimz 123 - Pump - 317gph
Octo 110 - Pump - 264gph
Eshopps - Pump - 357gph
RLSS 5i - Pump - 660gph
Simplicity 120 - 317gph

Skimz and simplicity both use jebao 1200