skimmers
- Thread starter jschutt
- Start date
j,
As one member stated in a similar post, you'll probably find that hobbyists will typically endorse the one they purchased
Myself, I decided on an AquaC Remora Pro (HOT, "hang on tank"), with a Maxi-Jet 1200 powerhead to drive it & a pre-filter box. I decided on this one based on its consistent reputation as a very efficient skimmer.
http://www.proteinskimmer.com/
Others will doubtless recommend other very effective makes/models. The only other thing I could add to this is that it never hurts to over-compensate in regards to the rating of the skimmer vs your tank size.
Good luck
As one member stated in a similar post, you'll probably find that hobbyists will typically endorse the one they purchased
Myself, I decided on an AquaC Remora Pro (HOT, "hang on tank"), with a Maxi-Jet 1200 powerhead to drive it & a pre-filter box. I decided on this one based on its consistent reputation as a very efficient skimmer.
http://www.proteinskimmer.com/
Others will doubtless recommend other very effective makes/models. The only other thing I could add to this is that it never hurts to over-compensate in regards to the rating of the skimmer vs your tank size.
Good luck
Euro-Reef CS5-2
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=ER1211
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=ER1211
in function:
many becketts are good.
many needle wheels are good.
airdriven are good but there aren't many
in my opinion, standard venturis are not. the bubbles they form are way too big. most hang on skimmers are a standard venturi type thus they aren't real great.
the Aqua C is not a standard to my understanding... i have never owned one.
also there are downdraft skimmers with media in the tubes that will break up the bubbles and they apparently do good job. ETSS makes some good examples of these and i know of more than one reefkeeper that swears by these things.
the action inside them looks great and that is all i really can say about them.
to maintain:
between becketts, needle wheels and standard venturis...i don't know how to respond.
needle wheels and powerhead venturis are more reliant upon a clean, debris free intake that is often submerged in water... whereas a beckett just has an intake valve that is very accessable and easily cleaned at any time.
but then a beckett is larger and i would think harder to clean the interior of the skimmer... but i have never owned one so i couldn't say for certain.
air driven are pretty tempermental. they require constant fiddling to stay dialed in. they also need regular airstone changings.
economically:
becketts are spendy.
i would look at something like a Precision Marine model if i were to buy one.
this is still about a 400 dollar investment.
by some, needlewheels are said to be spendy in the bang for the buck and i don't fully agree.
i bought an economy series Euro-reef and paid 246 dollars.
i did the math and found that the body and wheel cost me about 100 bucks after subtracting the pump retail.
that seems acceptable to me, even if it is an injection molded plastic chamber.. the collection cup is the same as the C series and the function is identical.
Turboflotor makes a very reasonably priced needlewheel although it won't perform like a Euro-reef, Deltec or Bubbleking.
standard venturis are cheap.
airdriven are very inexpensive as they don't need a water pump to operate them. Lee's makes one that i picked up as my first skimmer for ten bucks! i already had an air pump.
the energy you save using one of these would buy your airstones.
lowdown:
becketts are noisey and many take up a lot of space although they are easy to maintain and really perform.
needlewheels add heat to the water and a replacement wheel will put you in the poorhouse but they make a good foam at a quieter decible level.
standard venturis are weak unless they are a downdraft design.
airdriven are ugly without a sump and tempermental although they do a great job at keeping the water clean when functioning and also make very little noise.
anyway, there are some of my opinions... it might help if we new exactly what size tank you were planning on.
many becketts are good.
many needle wheels are good.
airdriven are good but there aren't many
in my opinion, standard venturis are not. the bubbles they form are way too big. most hang on skimmers are a standard venturi type thus they aren't real great.
the Aqua C is not a standard to my understanding... i have never owned one.
also there are downdraft skimmers with media in the tubes that will break up the bubbles and they apparently do good job. ETSS makes some good examples of these and i know of more than one reefkeeper that swears by these things.
the action inside them looks great and that is all i really can say about them.
to maintain:
between becketts, needle wheels and standard venturis...i don't know how to respond.
needle wheels and powerhead venturis are more reliant upon a clean, debris free intake that is often submerged in water... whereas a beckett just has an intake valve that is very accessable and easily cleaned at any time.
but then a beckett is larger and i would think harder to clean the interior of the skimmer... but i have never owned one so i couldn't say for certain.
air driven are pretty tempermental. they require constant fiddling to stay dialed in. they also need regular airstone changings.
economically:
becketts are spendy.
i would look at something like a Precision Marine model if i were to buy one.
this is still about a 400 dollar investment.
by some, needlewheels are said to be spendy in the bang for the buck and i don't fully agree.
i bought an economy series Euro-reef and paid 246 dollars.
i did the math and found that the body and wheel cost me about 100 bucks after subtracting the pump retail.
that seems acceptable to me, even if it is an injection molded plastic chamber.. the collection cup is the same as the C series and the function is identical.
Turboflotor makes a very reasonably priced needlewheel although it won't perform like a Euro-reef, Deltec or Bubbleking.
standard venturis are cheap.
airdriven are very inexpensive as they don't need a water pump to operate them. Lee's makes one that i picked up as my first skimmer for ten bucks! i already had an air pump.
the energy you save using one of these would buy your airstones.
lowdown:
becketts are noisey and many take up a lot of space although they are easy to maintain and really perform.
needlewheels add heat to the water and a replacement wheel will put you in the poorhouse but they make a good foam at a quieter decible level.
standard venturis are weak unless they are a downdraft design.
airdriven are ugly without a sump and tempermental although they do a great job at keeping the water clean when functioning and also make very little noise.
anyway, there are some of my opinions... it might help if we new exactly what size tank you were planning on.
I've owned 3 skimmers. red sea prizm (just stay away from these, I've got it hanging on a 7 gallon tank now and it's not skimming anything), aqua c remora (did a great job on my 75 but it's not big enough for it, still an awesome skimmer) and a euro-reef es5-3.
I like the remoras and the euro-reefs. They give you nasty, stinky skimmate for a good price.
J.
I like the remoras and the euro-reefs. They give you nasty, stinky skimmate for a good price.
J.
LordNikon":2e61f5oe said:long time no see mountainbiker..Its been almost two years since Ive seen you on here..
LordNikon,
Yes, I have been away for quite some time. Sold all my aquariums when I moved New Years day of 2004 and have yet to get back into the hobby. But as you can tell by my reappearance, thinking about putting together a small reef tank.
Again bob is in the minority. Most consider a skimmer an extreemly helpful part of their filtrations system. Tanks can and do exist without skimmers. The point of the skimmer is to pull the waste out before it begins to decompose. For a 55g with a sump my personal choise would be a euroreef ES5-2 or ES5-3 if they still make them if not the CS5-2 or CS5-3. The ES5-2 is what I run on my 60 and I am quite happy with it.
I've been following the threads on various boards about those glass airstones. Supposedly a soak in muriatic acid or vinegar once a year and they're good as new. Modern air pumps are much improved as well. It seems many of the limitations/problems with air-driven skimmers of the past may be overcome with this modern equipment.
There's no arguing that a good air-driven skimmer, especially one that is gravity fed, is certainly an extremely energy efficient skimming solution. Very easy and cheap to DIY as well - lots of bang-for-the-buck. Should be interesting to see how this trend works out. Maybe air-drivens will make a big comeback...
There's no arguing that a good air-driven skimmer, especially one that is gravity fed, is certainly an extremely energy efficient skimming solution. Very easy and cheap to DIY as well - lots of bang-for-the-buck. Should be interesting to see how this trend works out. Maybe air-drivens will make a big comeback...
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