Skimmer options for 40g Breeder that won't overflow, no sump

Rcj520 · 03/02/2016, 07:58 PM

I just started my 40g Breeder tank so I'll need to get a skimmer soon. It won't be a heavily stocked tank and I'll be doing weekly water changes. My skimmer doesn't have to be so powerful that I hardly have to do water changes, I don't mind doing them regularly. My biggest concern is overflowing. I live on a second floor apartment, so I absolutely can't have any water spills. I've heard all hob skimmers have the potential to overflow at any time. Is there any small profile skimmers that sit inside the display tank so it won't overflow onto the floor? And I am set on not using a sump for at least the time being on this tank.

RocketEngineer · 03/03/2016, 05:07 AM

I use a Tunze 9004 for that exact reason. I had an overflow early on and it just made a mess on the top of the skimmer. Like mine so far.

mgraf · 03/03/2016, 05:34 AM

I have a aqua c remora pro S that I run with a mag 5. Skims great on my 65. Never, in 3 years of use has it overflowed. I don't even see how it could be possible unless something huge blocked the waters exit. I just picked up a vertex skimmer, waiting to get it setup to compare and see just how well the remora has been working for me. I hear a lot of bad talk about aqua c but, I personally like the skimmer.

Rcj520 · 03/03/2016, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketEngineer

I use a Tunze 9004 for that exact reason. I had an overflow early on and it just made a mess on the top of the skimmer. Like mine so far.

Any picture of it in your tank? So I could see the space it takes up visually?

Rcj520 · 03/03/2016, 11:32 PM

My LFS has a 47 gallon tank with 4 fish and corals, running off of an eshopps nano in tank skimmer. I like the small footprint of it and they're tank is crystal clear with it. How would that compare to the tunzee?

RocketEngineer · 03/04/2016, 06:30 AM

Can you spot the skimmer?

david.faik · 03/04/2016, 12:52 PM

Tunze are nice, per prior comments. I prefer the older squarer models though, as I find the newer more rounded ones quite hard to take apart and reassemble. I'd thus suggest going 2nd hand. (I have the newer 9012 and the older 9021)

Alternately, if you have a top off system and your water level stays fairly constant, look at the ones that hang on top. These would hide under most lids, and are great if you can put somewhere not under your lighting.

Drae · 03/04/2016, 04:45 PM

http://www.zaya.co/

newbie2014 · 03/04/2016, 05:17 PM

I use an Aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer on my 40B. It looks like a wider version the Tunze 9004 with a pump inside the body. Its collection cup has an overflow spout which drains back into the skimmer itself. Or, with a longer tubing, you can connect the collection cup to a bigger external collection container.

newbie2014 · 03/04/2016, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketEngineer

Can you spot the skimmer?

Wow, that looks awesome.

I wish mine is that nice. What size is the tank?

RocketEngineer · 03/04/2016, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie2014

Wow, that looks awesome.

I wish mine is that nice. What size is the tank?

That's a 40B. I set it up using a Tampa Bay Saltwater "package" which is the main reason it looks as good as it does.

Reefvet · 03/04/2016, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rcj520

I've heard all hob skimmers have the potential to overflow at any time.

In the 40+ years I've been in this hobby I've overflowed a sump a few times. I've never overflowed an HOB skimmer. But this is RC and you can 'hear' anything and everything, that doesn't make it fact.

I'm currently running a couple of the AquaMax HOBs on 40B frag tanks because I don't want any potential problems with an overflow, so no sumps.

I have the original and the current model HOB-1 and the larger HOB ConeS. As another poster mentioned above they have drains on the collection cups that can be positioned to just return back into the skimmer should the collection cup become too full.

I've used the AquaC and CPR HOBs in the past and they're pretty inefficient designs by comparison. I also have a couple of Tunze internal skimmers sitting out in the garage, again by today's standards they're pretty poor skimmers.

AquaMax is just a re-branded JNS skimmer. DeepWater Aquatics also rebrands a JNS HOB that's a great little skimmer.

Be prepared for the small bubbles any HOB with a Needle wheel/Venturi introduces to your tank. It's not a problem unless you obsess over it.

ReefInterest · 03/05/2016, 12:22 AM

I've got a CPR AeroForce 2 skimmer with bubble trap and overflow and it seems to skim very well for my 40 breeder. However, I've still got some protein on the top of the tank. I'm waiting to see if it will clear up (this is my first attempt at a sumpless reef).

I've also got one of these (large), but it is so big and heavy that I had to build a stand for it to sit on (the tank was bowing pretty badly from the weight).

I went sumpless because of the beautiful, open stand that I built. However, the jury is still out. I may bite the bullet and go back to "sumpful" at some point.

newbie2014 · 03/05/2016, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reefvet

Be prepared for the small bubbles any HOB with a Needle wheel/Venturi introduces to your tank. It's not a problem unless you obsess over it.

Yeah, those small bubbles get on my nerve sometimes. I really don't care about the aesthetics of it, but I just worry that they might affect the fish. Unfortunately, it happens only when I deep clean the skimmer.

And, it's good to hear that you like the aquamaxx. Being a noob, I have no ways to judge a skimmer. It pulls half a cup of dark skimmate every 3-4 days, so it seems to be efficient.

newbie2014 · 03/05/2016, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketEngineer

That's a 40B. I set it up using a Tampa Bay Saltwater "package" which is the main reason it looks as good as it does.

Cool. I need to move down to Florida.

RocketEngineer · 03/05/2016, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie2014

Cool. I need to move down to Florida.

Richard ships all over the country. The closest airport that does freight and you are in business.

K.C. · 03/05/2016, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie2014

Yeah, those small bubbles get on my nerve sometimes. I really don't care about the aesthetics of it, but I just worry that they might affect the fish.

It would be pretty unusual for the fish to be affected by the small bubbles. Most of the fish we keep enter tidal zones and shallow areas of the reef where there are plenty of bubbles. None of the bubble put out by a skimmer is small enough to be a threat to the fish.

cougareyes · 03/06/2016, 09:10 AM

Eshopps hob skimmers are awesome makes the small tunzes seem like toys. The ehopps collection cup has a hose attachment that you can direct to larger container if overflowwing is a concern.

Darryl Hey · 04/07/2016, 09:27 AM

TUNZE 9004 works great

03/02/2016, 07:58 PM	#1
Rcj520 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 51	Skimmer options for 40g Breeder that won't overflow, no sump I just started my 40g Breeder tank so I'll need to get a skimmer soon. It won't be a heavily stocked tank and I'll be doing weekly water changes. My skimmer doesn't have to be so powerful that I hardly have to do water changes, I don't mind doing them regularly. My biggest concern is overflowing. I live on a second floor apartment, so I absolutely can't have any water spills. I've heard all hob skimmers have the potential to overflow at any time. Is there any small profile skimmers that sit inside the display tank so it won't overflow onto the floor? And I am set on not using a sump for at least the time being on this tank.

03/03/2016, 05:07 AM	#2
RocketEngineer Space is big. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Maryland Eastern Shore Posts: 3,226	I use a Tunze 9004 for that exact reason. I had an overflow early on and it just made a mess on the top of the skimmer. Like mine so far. __________________ -RocketEngineer "Knowledge is what you get when you read the directions, experience is what you get when you don't." - Unknown Current Tank Info: None Currently

03/04/2016, 06:30 AM	#6
RocketEngineer Space is big. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Maryland Eastern Shore Posts: 3,226	Can you spot the skimmer? __________________ -RocketEngineer "Knowledge is what you get when you read the directions, experience is what you get when you don't." - Unknown Current Tank Info: None Currently

03/04/2016, 12:52 PM	#7
david.faik Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 83	Tunze are nice, per prior comments. I prefer the older squarer models though, as I find the newer more rounded ones quite hard to take apart and reassemble. I'd thus suggest going 2nd hand. (I have the newer 9012 and the older 9021) Alternately, if you have a top off system and your water level stays fairly constant, look at the ones that hang on top. These would hide under most lids, and are great if you can put somewhere not under your lighting. __________________ Using Tapatalk Current Tank Info: Mostly tangs, soft & hard corals

03/03/2016, 05:34 AM	#3
mgraf Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Canal Fulton Posts: 741	I have a aqua c remora pro S that I run with a mag 5. Skims great on my 65. Never, in 3 years of use has it overflowed. I don't even see how it could be possible unless something huge blocked the waters exit. I just picked up a vertex skimmer, waiting to get it setup to compare and see just how well the remora has been working for me. I hear a lot of bad talk about aqua c but, I personally like the skimmer.

03/03/2016, 11:32 PM	#5
Rcj520 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 51	My LFS has a 47 gallon tank with 4 fish and corals, running off of an eshopps nano in tank skimmer. I like the small footprint of it and they're tank is crystal clear with it. How would that compare to the tunzee?

03/04/2016, 04:45 PM	#8
Drae RAIDER NATION! Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: City of sin... Posts: 3,476	http://www.zaya.co/

03/04/2016, 05:17 PM	#9
newbie2014 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Posts: 235	I use an Aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer on my 40B. It looks like a wider version the Tunze 9004 with a pump inside the body. Its collection cup has an overflow spout which drains back into the skimmer itself. Or, with a longer tubing, you can connect the collection cup to a bigger external collection container.

03/05/2016, 12:22 AM	#13
ReefInterest Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 108	I've got a CPR AeroForce 2 skimmer with bubble trap and overflow and it seems to skim very well for my 40 breeder. However, I've still got some protein on the top of the tank. I'm waiting to see if it will clear up (this is my first attempt at a sumpless reef). I've also got one of these (large), but it is so big and heavy that I had to build a stand for it to sit on (the tank was bowing pretty badly from the weight). I went sumpless because of the beautiful, open stand that I built. However, the jury is still out. I may bite the bullet and go back to "sumpful" at some point.

03/06/2016, 09:10 AM	#18
cougareyes Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 713	Eshopps hob skimmers are awesome makes the small tunzes seem like toys. The ehopps collection cup has a hose attachment that you can direct to larger container if overflowwing is a concern.

04/07/2016, 09:27 AM	#19
Darryl Hey Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: walden ny Posts: 73	TUNZE 9004 works great