skimmer help / help choose new one...please help!

macawmagic · 02/13/2008, 12:11 PM

First off I'll explain my tank. 75 gallon display. about a 20 gallon fuge/sump. and then a 30 gallon breeder frag tank all on same system. fragtank ran by mag 18. main tank ran by some panworld pump. I plan on keeping mostly sps, with rare zoas and other softies/lps mixed in a little. sump level stays constant due to ato, but sometimes I forget to fill it up(busy with school and work) I'm just having rought times with my skimmer!

Right now i've got an etss 600(I think). It doesn't say 600 on it or anything, but its about the same size. Has square flanges instead of the 600's round ones. Pic at bottom. I've had 3 pumps running it. mag 12. mag 7, mag 5. I found my best results with a mag 7, but after tuning it in, the next day it doesn't work. It's either wayyyyy to wet, aka gallon in about 10 min. or a if I adjust it a little and i mean a little the other way, it doesn't even make it over the top. It's ****ing me off and I want to get rid of it, but everyones telling me that it's way better than the options i'm looking at.

The skimmers I was looking at were one of the octopus recirc skimmers, or a das ex-2. Another option that i just saw for 500 is the octopus pro series. Only drawback is that its an internal skimmer so I would have to setup a seperate little sump for that.

If anyone has an opinion on if I should keep the etss and could tell me what i'm doing wrong that would be greatly appreciated, or if anyone could recommend a diffarent skimmer.

Pics were taken right when I tuned it to it's sweet spot, but it's only like that for like 5 or 10 min. pics of collection cup are after not cleaning for like a month cuz I've got soooooo fed up with this skimmer!

simple question...could it be that this skimmer is just too overrated for my tank and doesn't have to skim that much?

any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

macawmagic · 02/13/2008, 12:12 PM

p.s. after cleaning it out and hooking it back up last night...when i woke up this morning i had a gallon of very very very slightly green water...no settings have changed. I don't get how sometimes it skims dry and sometimes super wet when Idon't change anything!

afelder · 02/13/2008, 12:21 PM

Look into the bermuda line of skimmers. They are excellent build and skim like nothing else. I replaced my EuroReef with one and the difference is night and day.

That is one day with the bermuda. It would have taken my ER a week to get the same amount of skimmate at the same consistency

ebin · 02/13/2008, 02:28 PM

what pump drives that bermuda?

macawmagic · 02/13/2008, 09:29 PM

bump...i've got 2 opinions so far...any one else???

skimmy · 02/13/2008, 09:51 PM

ati bm 160, msx octopus extreme 160, ATB small cone skimmer, coralvue octopus pro 200 all would be great.

yep, i hate etss skimmers...(let the flaming begin!!)
and the model you have is an older reef devil, not the 600.

the 2 in sump bermuda skimmers i've seen (3c and 5c) completely unimpressed me personally, i think there's many other skimmers for the money that would be waaay better. although i hear the hang on rouge kicks ***. but i think you need something bigger/better than that for a 75g imo

02/13/2008, 12:11 PM	#1
macawmagic Moved On Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Weston, fl Posts: 1,910	skimmer help / help choose new one...please help! First off I'll explain my tank. 75 gallon display. about a 20 gallon fuge/sump. and then a 30 gallon breeder frag tank all on same system. fragtank ran by mag 18. main tank ran by some panworld pump. I plan on keeping mostly sps, with rare zoas and other softies/lps mixed in a little. sump level stays constant due to ato, but sometimes I forget to fill it up(busy with school and work) I'm just having rought times with my skimmer! Right now i've got an etss 600(I think). It doesn't say 600 on it or anything, but its about the same size. Has square flanges instead of the 600's round ones. Pic at bottom. I've had 3 pumps running it. mag 12. mag 7, mag 5. I found my best results with a mag 7, but after tuning it in, the next day it doesn't work. It's either wayyyyy to wet, aka gallon in about 10 min. or a if I adjust it a little and i mean a little the other way, it doesn't even make it over the top. It's ****ing me off and I want to get rid of it, but everyones telling me that it's way better than the options i'm looking at. The skimmers I was looking at were one of the octopus recirc skimmers, or a das ex-2. Another option that i just saw for 500 is the octopus pro series. Only drawback is that its an internal skimmer so I would have to setup a seperate little sump for that. If anyone has an opinion on if I should keep the etss and could tell me what i'm doing wrong that would be greatly appreciated, or if anyone could recommend a diffarent skimmer. Pics were taken right when I tuned it to it's sweet spot, but it's only like that for like 5 or 10 min. pics of collection cup are after not cleaning for like a month cuz I've got soooooo fed up with this skimmer! simple question...could it be that this skimmer is just too overrated for my tank and doesn't have to skim that much? any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

02/13/2008, 12:21 PM	#3
afelder Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Tustin, CA Posts: 1,160	Look into the bermuda line of skimmers. They are excellent build and skim like nothing else. I replaced my EuroReef with one and the difference is night and day. That is one day with the bermuda. It would have taken my ER a week to get the same amount of skimmate at the same consistency __________________ Thought For The Day.... "In the Torah it says "love thy neighbor as thy self". The Buddha says there is no "self". So maybe you are off the hook." All animals are created equal some are more equal than others.~Orwell Current Tank Info: NEW 70 gallon rr with a 25 gallon sump Bermuda 3-C that skims rings around a RS80 and 2 koralia 4 & 2 tunze 6045 eheim 1262 return 6x39 watt t-5

02/13/2008, 02:28 PM	#4
ebin Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: temecula Posts: 51	what pump drives that bermuda? __________________ say hi to your mom for me! Current Tank Info: full of water

02/13/2008, 12:12 PM	#2
macawmagic Moved On Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Weston, fl Posts: 1,910	p.s. after cleaning it out and hooking it back up last night...when i woke up this morning i had a gallon of very very very slightly green water...no settings have changed. I don't get how sometimes it skims dry and sometimes super wet when Idon't change anything!

02/13/2008, 09:29 PM	#5
macawmagic Moved On Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Weston, fl Posts: 1,910	bump...i've got 2 opinions so far...any one else???

02/13/2008, 09:51 PM	#6
skimmy T3am Zissou Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Galactic Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha Posts: 1,123	ati bm 160, msx octopus extreme 160, ATB small cone skimmer, coralvue octopus pro 200 all would be great. yep, i hate etss skimmers...(let the flaming begin!!) and the model you have is an older reef devil, not the 600. the 2 in sump bermuda skimmers i've seen (3c and 5c) completely unimpressed me personally, i think there's many other skimmers for the money that would be waaay better. although i hear the hang on rouge kicks ***. but i think you need something bigger/better than that for a 75g imo