New Skimmer Ideas

OK, I have 93g main display tank, 29g second display and 20g sump, but the sump will likely be upgraded to 40 or more gallons soon. So, figure, about 140g when all is said and done, excluding rocks etc...

Right now I have a reef octopus 110 recirculating skimmer, which actually seems to be working. I am carbon dosing quite a bit now and have not seen any blooms. I have no detectable nutrients and no nuisance algae.


Fish stocking is:
3 lyretail anthias
2 OC clowns
1 Melanurus wrasse
1 Spotted mandarin
1 Puple firefish
1 YW gobby
1 McCoskers wrasse

I feed 4-5 times per day.

So, I'm surprised the RO is working so well LOL.

I'm toying with the idea of using the RO for a different project and figure a more proper sized skimmer might not be a bad idea.

Any ideas?

I have some ideas and am leaning in a certain direction, but am curious to hear what others think. Figure budget $400 or so. Less is better

 

BTW, I do not plan on adding more fish and the sump flow-through is about 240gph. I may also start feeding live rotifers for the corals.

 

Check this one out it's a big sale

Octopus OPS-250E - Clearance

 

Cool, thanks nc208082. Great find! I think that may be a bit overkill though LOL.

I was looking at the ROs. I was thinking of a Super Reef Octopus skimmer. However, the 2000 seemed like it might be about right, but not much leeway if I decide to expand a bit or need more as the tank matures. The 3000 on the other hand seemed like overkill, but get outstanding reviews. And then, really do I need an SRO? Or would a NW200 or NW250 do?

I also seem to always go with ROs, so, another brand sounds appealing if for nothing else, just to try something new. However, I have a lot of faith in RO, so, that's a tough one. I was intrigued by some of the other companies such as Bubble Magnus and a few others. The BM though I think uses Atman pumps, which I am not sure about. Also, they are 220V I think, so I need to look into how expensive and how reliable a 220 to 110 converter is.

Anyone else have a thought or suggestion?

 

My BM skimmer is 110V. I would think the only 220V BM's would be ones that are not imported to North America. I have heard great things with the SWC skimmers...and I plan on getting the 180 Cone for my 150 build. It is within your budget as well.

 

Thanks, I'll look into the SWC. Are you sure the BM is 110V? All the websites seem to list them as 220, and I have found vague references on the web to converters.

Edit btw re-reading this I was asking if the American BMs are 110 volts, but was rushing out the door. It looked like I was questioning if I was sure yours was 110, which I will assume you know LOL.

 

I recently went with an Aquamaxx 250. I have about ~120gal of volume and a similar load as you. I looked into this quite a bit and Aquamaxx was the direction the skimmer expert around here (Powerman) steered me, as well as another expert elsewhere. The only real restriction I had was the footprint size, as I was a bit limited on space.

The Aquamaxx line is really the old Warner Marine line, just re-branded and quite a bit cheaper. You can't beat the bang for the buck on them.

I couldn't be more happy with mine, and every week when I empty the cup I'm amazed (and a bit grossed out ). You could go with the 200 model if you wanted something a little smaller. Both the 200 and 250 use excellent pumps (SICCE PSK-1500 and a Sedra 9000, respectfully).

I was considering the SWC stufff too, but I was steered away due to them having the old sicce pumps, which are prone to reverse starts.

 

LOL I have been on the aquamax trail since this morning. I came across a review of the aquamaxx by mojo and it seemed impressive. Then I came across your threads here and elsewhere and was going to pm you to see which you went with lol. Thanks for the info, glad You found this!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Not a problem, glad to help.

Mojo was the other guy I was referring to

Originally, I was going to go with the 200, but they were out of stock everywhere for weeks. I shoehorned in the 250, and I'm not at all sorry I did.

 

Cool. Do you get constant output or does it pause a bit to build up foam? In other words do you think it is fairly oversized for your system? Or just a little?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk