To recirculate or not

So I have been reading alot of threads lately and looking at alot of products to make my first salt water tank. I am doing a 40G breeder tank with a 29G Sump and possible refuge. I had pretty much made up my mind to get the Octopus NW 110. Then I found a recirculateing version the Octopus DNW 110 Recirculating skimmer. So what kind of added benifit would the Recirculating skimmer give my reef and what additional equipment/ pipeing would I need? Besides the additional pump. Is it worth the extra money? Is it more or less work to maintain, and is it prefered for a refuge?

I have listed the 2 models I am looking at below, but feal free to share any experiences you have on this subject. I tried a search but came up empty handed. So if you know of another thread that discuses this, please forgive the re-post and point me in the direction. I hope this thread can also help any other noobs with the same questions.

Reef Octopus NW 110
Reef Octopus DNW 110 Recirculating Protein Skimmer* - AquaCave

Octopus DNW 110 Recirculating skimmer
Reef Octopus DNW 110 Recirculating Protein Skimmer* - AquaCave

 

Boy, I don't know the answer to that. But you may want to look into the sister to octopus....ASM. Same basic design, but a little more high end. Take a look at the G1 and G2. I don't mean to steer you away from your decision if your mind is truly made up. Octopus and ASM are so closely related that it just flat out bears mention.

 

Where recirculating skimmers are preferred is as external or gravity fed skimmers, where the skimmer is fed from the tank, and in both cases the skimmer is not dependent on the feed pump to inject the air.

Other than that, its just a matter of how much production you get out of the skimmer. Whether its a cone, recirculating, downdraft, or spray injection, is it sized right for your system. Reef Octo is one of my favorite brands btw. HTH

 

There is more dwell time for the water to mix with the air in recirc skimmers. That's why they are usually rated higher than their non-recirc counterparts. They are much more efficient.

BTW I had the Octopus DNW 110 Recirculating skimmer, and I probably wouldn't buy it if I were you. They can do very well if you mesh mod them, then re mesh mod them every 3 months. But its a PITA. Look at ASM same price range, and IMO a much better skimmer (even non recirc vs. recirc)

 

so would you recommend the G-1x or the G-2 seeing as how the price is only a few bucks more for the G-2

 

With your size tank g1x, if you had a larger tank I would say g2. G2 is a better skimmer because of the larger reaction chamber, but too much on your system.

 

I would also suggest looking at the Reef Octopus Extreme Pro 160 or 200. ASM is a little behind the curve in terms of skimmer design - the Extreme Pro has a bubble plate and did some work with the volute on the pump. It gives the best price performance in its price class in my opinion, and really deserves consideration

 

Extreme pro? I never heard of that. They have extreme's and they have pro's. I have the pro 300, its an AMAZING skimmer, too good it strips everything from my tank. But you should take a look at the octopus extreme 160, good skimmer and doesn't cost much. Last time I was looking for an extreme 200 and EVERYWHERE was sold out. I sat on a waiting list for a month. Marine solutions also has their own that they call MSX, basically the same skimmers. Either way, I do agree the octopus extremes are the best skimmers in their class.

 

I would agree the Octopus Extreme skimmers are much better than the ASM skimmers. The ASM skimmers are made out of very light weight material with no upgrades over the last decade or so. They are good skimmers, just not great for the money.

If you don't want to spend the money on the Extreme line, go with a NW-150, it is not a lot more than the 110, but it is a lot more powerful, 6 inches in diameter (larger than the ASM g1/2 series)

Kim

 

I appreciate the input, but would the 150 be to much for my small tank? With the tank and the sump I will be running like 63 gallons. I went to a local shop today and they had the asm mini G in there, and I wasn't really impressed. I will probably end up getting the 110 or 150. I also need to check the measurements of the 150 to see if it will fit in my sump and stand.