Protein Skimmer Confusion
 

Hi everyone my first post,
My son and I are going to be setting up a 130 FOWLR tanks (for now) after the holidays. I'm having a sump/refugium made for me (48x18x16). I have had a saltwater tank some years ago, but never had a protein skimmer. What is confusing for me is the "recommend tank size". Most people on these forums say go bigger than the recommend tank size, that the manufacturer over rates them. Then I hear of people having problem dialing in their skimmer and are told that their skimmer may be to big for the tank with their bio load. Can anyone help me with this. I have been looking at several skimmers but unsure of which one to get due to this confusion. Here are a couple.

AquaMaxx ConeS CO-1 rated for tanks 90-175 Ga
AquaMaxx ConeS CO-2 rated for tanks 160-300 Ga
Vertex Omega 130
Vertex Omega 150

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

If only option is from above mentioned skimmers get the Aquamaxx Cone CO-2. Stay away from Vertex they are very expensive and hard to adjust. Other good options are
RLSS R8i $400 (200-300 gal)
Super Reef Octopus 2000 $420 (150-200 gal)
Reef Octopus 200INT $300 (150-250 gal)

I have run many brand name skimmers (red sea, aquamaxx, reef octopus, asm, vertex, rlss) the best I have ran is the RLSS

Those were just a couple I was looking at. I was looking at the RLSS, some of the Reef Octopus and the Bubble Magus Curve 7. But didn't know if I should go on the larger side or one the is recommended for my tank.
Thanks for the input !

Anyone have any experience with any of the these two skimmers? Would these be fine on my set up?

Reef Octopus Prime 200INT
IceCap K2-160 Protein Skimmer
Bubble Magus Curve 7

I run a Beckett on my 240 reef and it's a horse. It's built by GEO and it can outperform a needlewheel hands down. Not to mention, when I upgrade my tank to a big tank, I can just put a bigger pump on the skimmer.

Corey

The RLSS is the best skimmer I have ever owned.

Here is a vid of it running.

https://youtu.be/AGQoKCjil5U

The Reef Octopus Prime is a Vertex knock off with an aquatrance pump. The Bubble Blaster pump in the Super Reef Octopus is better.

IceCap is the same maker of Reef Octopus (Coralvue) compare it to the Skimz Monster SM163.

They would all be good its just what brand is more reliable, has good customer service, and the price.

Geo. Handmade one at a time. Build quality is second to none and customer service is handled by the builder as well. He is a one man show.


Corey