Skimmer for 90g

[jjersey85]

hey im looking for an inexpensive skimmer for my 90g. i was looking at the seaclone 100, the won brothers 125, or the berlin air 90. all are somewhere under $100 minus shipping. any opinions???

 

[ryangrieder]

those skimmers are not going to do anything except give you a head ache and a flooded room. i know it sucks but you really cant cheap out on the skimmer. even if you have to wait a week or two to save up some more money....you'll be happy in the long run that you did. why waist 100 bucks on crap when u can waist 200 on gold? just my opinion

 

[jjersey85]

well what would you suggest in the up $200 range, i didnt wanna make it perminant, just to get myself started, then keep it as an emergency backup.

 

[ryangrieder]

tunze are my new favorite. check out the skimmer thread. kinda long but a great thread

 

[ryangrieder]

here ya go. i learned alot from it...

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/equipment/8625-skimmer-thread.html

 

[beerfish]

I'd look for a used ASM G3 or similar if you have a sump. As for the Seaclown, you'd get better skimming tearing up the $100 bill and tossing it in the tank.

 

[jjersey85]

how about a coralife super skimmer?

 

[Killerdrgn]

Wait are you looking for a hang on back type or can you swing a sump one?

 

[jjersey85]

either really, i kinda wanted a hob though

 

[beerfish]

If you have a sump, why are you looking for a HOB?

 

[jjersey85]

cause i have no clue what im talking about lol i.e. why im asking questions lol

 

[jjersey85]

i actually have to set up a fuge, a 20g tall, which is where i would be placing the skimmer

 

[Killerdrgn]

Wait why do you HAVE To set up a fuge? I do have a octopus bh-100f, that I would like to sell.

 

[jjersey85]

this is what im hearing i need in order to provide better filtration since im not using a canister filter, and provide benificial algae and micro-organisms that would otherwise be completely consumed by fish in the show tank.

 

[beerfish]

My suggestion... let us know exactly what you're setting up and what you want to keep and we can help guide you in the right direction.

A 20g fuge on a 90g tank isn't going to do nearly as much as a good skimmer will. (Not to mention the fact that 98% of the fuges out there aren't set up properly and barely do anything.)

 

[jjersey85]

well i want to have the skimmer running in my fuge, possibly in a seperate chamber before the actual fuge cause ive heard it can kill of certain benificial bacteria. in the long run i want a few tangs, a couple large clowns, and a school of either blue/green chromis or cardinals, and then maybe some shrimp gobys in the main tank with tons of sps corals and some other sessile inverts.

 

[beerfish]

Ok... if you're planning SPS, scratch the fuge entirely. A small part of a 20g won't do a thing for you.

I have a 20g sump on my 75g. I run an ASM G3 skimmer, with a filter sock on the return and one on the skimmer output. I have a reactor for phosphate remover, and a kalk reactor through auto top off. Toss my return pump and a few probes in there (my heater doesn't fit), and you won't be able to squeeze a paperclip in the leftover space.

Fuges don't belong on reef tanks unless they're set up properly. You can't set up a proper fuge in your sump. If you really want a fuge, use a separate tank, with a very slow feed pump and a gravity drain into your sump.

 

[jjersey85]

well thats why i either wanted a hob or external skimmer. i was going to have an overflow drain on my main tank with and adjustable flow outlet for the fuge with a bypass to another tank, which is also gravity fed by the fuge, and which houses the return pump.

 

[beerfish]

Trust me... ditch the fuge.

Get the biggest, baddest sump skimmer you can get. A HOB skimmer on a 90g isn't going to do what a bigger sump model will.

 

[Killerdrgn]

So you want the main tank to drain into the fuge? If that's the case any plants/macro algae you put inside will become detritus traps.