What kind of Skimmer to get?

Superclouds - sorry dude, but you paid way too much there for the 220.

^ I read about your problem with the broken ceramic shaft, which was why I was expecting a quick and hassle-free warrantee exchange with ESU. Called yesterday (now 3 weeks) and the replacement pump was never shipped - backordered, out of stock. I sent them an email copy of my reciept, so they are sending me a whole new skimmer unit (must be too hard to take the pump out of the box). Meanwhile, I'll be taking out the old pump and making a trip to Home Depot - official skimmer modification headquarters - to hunt out a new thicker o-ring, which I suspected was the manufacturing/design problem from the start. I'd like to have a sump, but not enough room under the tank - I picked the wrong cabinet/stand with 3 divided compartments, oh well. I'll build my own new stand and get a 90+ gallon tank when the blue tang outgrows the 55.

 

Take a very hard look at Tunze. They WORK.
Have a Nano 9002 on 50 main with 23 fuge/sump.

 

Just a quick update for anyone buying the coralife super skimmer 125/220. You will need to remove the pump o-ring and go to your local TrueValue hardware store and sort through their bins of O-rings to find one that is about the same size or slightly bigger but with a thicker cross-section. The o-ring that worked for me cost 60 cents. It should be a much more snug fit to get the pump outlet over the o-ring, then just turn it 90 degrees to lock it in place (and do this carefully so that you do not break the ceramic shaft). That should fix your problem with the pump leaking out microbubbles.

 

Try a precision Marine Bullet 2. This unit is rated for tanks up to 250 gallons and should keep your tank well clear of DOCs. I don't have experience with it, but my local fish store uses two of these units and they continuously pull out large volumes of disgusting scum. It is expensive, but as with most things in the saltwater hobby, you get what you pay for IMO.

 

+2 ;D

 

I’m not sure about other people but I wouldn’t buy a coralife again. The level of the microbubbles in the skimmer will vary significantly based on how much evap you have. This might only be noticeable if you have it as an in sump setup as the water level in a sump changes more rapidly with evap then if it was hooked up to your main tank. I have also had the coralife overflow on me a number of times for no apparent reason causing some close calls with getting some electrical stuff wet.

I'm surprised that no one had mentioned the ASM skimmers, they are what all the LFS use in my area. Recently adding one to my tank I have found that the ASM is the one skimmer that maintains a good micro bubble height regardless of evap.