Skimmer Experience Needed!

That is just a waste..... sorry. You have a 90g right? So lets take a common pump, Mag 9.5. 950 gph at 4' of head 800 gph MAX. Most plumbing will knock that down to 650gph. So you get a skimmer pump that puts out 1100gph. First of all all you will be doing is recircing your sump, you will not be processing more water. You will still just turn over the tank 6 times an hour.

Those pumps you are looking at use 90ws of power. For a skimmer for your tank you are looking at a needle wheel that uses about 20w. A quarter to a third of what you are talking about and doing a better job in the mean time. If the pump is air cooled that is better, but most external pumps are still water cooled so most of that heat still goes to the water.

 

Good Point, I didn't really think about power consumption. Thanks for the help!

 

No sweat. Again, it isn't that other designs don't work because they do. It's just you can do the same job for less money and power.

I also understand when you have already invested in a piece of equipment and want to see it work. The age old problem of "when do you cut your losses and stop putting money in".

 

That is exactly the point I'm at, when you invest in a good piece of equipment you expect it to perform well. I always research my equipment and do now mind spending extra money if I'm getting a better product, but In this case I'm just not very happy with all the time and money I have invested thus far. I'm leaning towards the Octopus more so than any other brand but my only drawback is space, I think I have a 10"X10" space in my sump but I have to work around 2 bulkheads already drilled for the ETSS and my filter sock. I really appreciate all the help.

 

Legitimate concern. 10x10 is tight

 

SRO cones come in space saver models

 

I saw those, I believe they would fit but how effective are they, I haven't see many reviews on the space saver models.

 

Space savers have been around a bit. Putting the pump under causes the skimmer to sit more out of the water. More head pressure means less air draw. But small trade off. When you need one you need one. Still very much worth it.