Lets talk about HOB Skimmers

well im lost,
ive been searching for a good HOB skimmer for my 75g reef and i almost bought an AquaC remora till i read some complaints about it.
Deltec seems to be a decent skimmer and everyone got it liked it but it is way too pricey and i cannot afford it at the moment.
so here is what i was looking at:
-AquaC remora (with MJ1200, Rio or mag drive3?)
-octopus HOB
-coralife (recommended by the new lfs im going to)
-other skimmers that i know nothing about like eshopps and CPR.
please advise what make and model and im open to new suggestions.
thanks

 

I have a CPR Back Pak running on one of my reefs, and it does a decent amount each day. I don't have any other experience with the other options out there, but for the money paid, (100 bucks) I love my CPR. I am sure it is not the best, but it gets the job done for me. Best of luck in your skimmer hunt!

 

I run an eshopps and I've had my gripes with it. IMO,there are really no "good" HOB's. They're a niche to satisfy the need for enthusiast's that don't have a sump. Skimmer's, I feel, are one example of "you get what you pay for". If I could do it over I would've opted for an octo. Ultimately I'll be going sump with a real skimmer. Good luck.

 

Nismo, you've prob never run a Deltec .

I bit the bullet and bought a Deltec MCE 600 HOB for my heavily stocked 55g reef, and couldn't be happier. It destroys my old Remora + maxijet 1200 combo in terms of what it produces, noise, water movement, & design. Everyday it produces a nice amount of skimmate, where the Remora would take a week + to do the same. I used to have a haze and a film on the surface of my water, but a day after setting up my Deltec those two things dissapeared.

Also, I was able to get rid of my reactor and run my Chemi Pure Elite in the media compartment of the skimmer. My PO4 still tests at 0 and it's nice to remove another pump in the water.

I would buy it again for the price, since I got what I paid for and that's not always the case in this hobby/life. Many times I've bought the more affordable thing and then wished I had just saved up a little more to get the thing I really wanted, in this case I'm glad I did.

 

thanks all for the input

what kind of cpr you have and on what size tank?

i was considering a sump but my tank is not drilled, and i live in an apartment and im gonna move eventually, so the sump will add an additional burden to the move and overflow boxes (as i read) are noisy and may stop working.
the LFS guy suggested i get the coralife 120 it is a sump skimmer that can be hob. but this thing is huge and i donno how good it is and how noisy it is.

 

I've never run a Deltec or any other skimmer for that matter. I did exactly what you mentioned in your last paragraph!! I do that a lot since impatience gets the best of me sometimes. I'll keep the Deltecs in mind when it's time to upgrade. Thanks

 

Believe me, the price is nuts for it, but I had to see for myself how good it was. Was kinda like going to the other side of the lawn and seeing just how green the grass really was . I think you can nab a used one for much less too. I actually get tired of emptying the collection cup everyday now as opposed to just waiting on my Remora to fill enough when I had it. But my tank is so much happier with it & that makes me happier of course

 

Good to know since the upgrade may be coming sooner than later. I just introduced Ecobaks in my system a week ago. My tank isn't heavily stocked yet, but I have quite a bit going in soon along with more rock. I have a feeling that fact coupled with bacteria production of the Ecobaks will overwhelm my poor little Eshopps. Tax season can't come fast enough for this guy !!

 

what about RedSea Berlin X2 turbo? anybody is running one of these? are they any good?

 

Dont forget SWC Skimmers. They have a nice HOB.

I have owned a Remora and liked it at the time. It did take a couple days to make a collection cup full of skimmate, but it did the job well.
I would go with the Pro version if you must get a Remora.