Good hang-on-back skimmer

otrlynn · 11/29/2008, 08:42 AM

I'm looking to upgrade my Coralife 65 HOB skimmer on my 58 gallon reef tank. It needs to be a HOB unit. I have no room for a sump. I have looked at Aqua C Remora and Octopus units. Any comments on either of these brands? Also, I remember locating a unit several months ago where the pump did not hang inside the tank itself, but I can't find the link or remember the brand. Anyone know? Actually my Coralife does not do a half-bad job of skimming but I'd really love to get rid of that ugly pump hanging in my tank. Thanks!

mfinn · 11/29/2008, 09:18 AM

Checkout the Warner Marine hob skimmers

http://www.warnermarine.com/Skimmers/

03LightningSVT · 11/29/2008, 09:27 AM

Consider the Deltec MCE600 , it is well worth the additional money.

GSMguy · 11/29/2008, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 03LightningSVT
Consider the Deltec MCE600 , it is well worth the additional money.

Agreed, or if you can wait a month or two the ATB is going to kick butt.

Harry_Fish · 11/29/2008, 12:52 PM

I am Very Happy with my Deltec MCE600

I believe there is a clone of it out there

Acan Addict · 11/29/2008, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Harry_Fish
I am Very Happy with my Deltec MCE600

I believe there is a clone of it out there

Do you know who makes it? DAS maby?

otrlynn · 11/29/2008, 05:20 PM

The Deltec MCE 600 looks very nice but is certainly pricey. Is anyone using the Octopus HB800S or the Warner Marine HX2? The price is considerably less. I have a 58 gallon tank with 5 small-med. fish and am not adding any more fish. I would not consider the tank heavily stocked. If anyone has any comments about the noise level of any of these skimmers, please post them. My tank is in my dining room and quieter is better. Thanks to all who responded!

AndreP · 11/29/2008, 06:16 PM

Deltec MCE-600 all the way...I changed my tunze 9010 and it makes such a difference:water clearer,cyano on the sand almost disappear...It worth every pennies.

krowleey · 11/29/2008, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by otrlynn
The Deltec MCE 600 looks very nice but is certainly pricey. Is anyone using the Octopus HB800S or the Warner Marine HX2? The price is considerably less. I have a 58 gallon tank with 5 small-med. fish and am not adding any more fish. I would not consider the tank heavily stocked. If anyone has any comments about the noise level of any of these skimmers, please post them. My tank is in my dining room and quieter is better. Thanks to all who responded!

i started a poll, im in the same situation as you, same tank really. here

and i also agree the deltec is wayyy over priced. there has to be a hob just as good without the price gouge.

otrlynn · 11/30/2008, 08:59 PM

krowleey, thanks for the link to your poll. I'm anxious to see whether you get any more responses. I definitly want the pump out of the tank!

hairyman1 · 12/02/2008, 12:52 AM

A bermuda rouge with either a mag 5, ocean runner 2500, eheim 1260, or a quiet one 2200 will outskim all the skimmers listed so far and still be cheaper than a deltec even if you choose the eheim. The watts will be higher than a deltec or any other aspirating needle wheel type skimmer, but maintenance will be less frequent and it will skim more consistantly day in and day out good or bad weather. Deltecs are neat though and skim better per watt than anything I've seen so far if that's important to you. ATB HOT is unproven at this point other than what's been posted at their website. Warner marine knockoffs are on some asian sites and a cylinder within a box is not impressive engineering. Kind of reminds me of a fancy skilter. CNC is unproven as well unless someone has a honest review of one. Anyways their custom built/ordered from what I understand so not readily available. Typhoons have siphon issues and are underpowered out of the box although that's easily remedied. With the above listed pumps and a rouge you will get good/consistant performance and with a few extra plumbing pieces you can place the pump behind the tank and pump into the skimmer. Not recommended with the mag. Octo HOT are not consistant and while better than a remora or bak pak aren't much to write home about. Rouges aren't perfect either as without the bubble trap they will release micros especially with the pumps I've listed. And the bubble trap sponge needs to be cleaned weekly or so. No big deal, but some people will gripe about it. All HOT skimmers all a compromise in design so choose carefully based on what a skimmer is supposed to do and then pick the best one you can afford. I forgot the Turboflotor blue 3000 looks interesting too, but again unproven yet.

MF15 · 12/02/2008, 11:55 AM

Well I have a Rogue with a mag 3 and my Coralife skims better.
The Rogue puts out just wet light green skimate, if and when it decides to skim. Lightly stocked tank, just two small fish with rock.
Have a very good air valve on it, have to close almost all the way
to get the bubbles fine enough.
Going from a mag 3 to a 5 would that make finer bubbles, I also think that there is too much turbulance even with a mag 3.
I have messed with this for months.
I will say that if I dump the skimate back into the tank it will remove it fast.
Old Mike

otrlynn · 12/03/2008, 05:42 AM

Thanks to all who replied. I haven't read a single negative thing aout the Deltec MCE600. But, it is really expensive and I don't think I can afford $550 for a skimmer. I'm still looking for a less expensive HOB alternative (with the pump outside the tank). I don't want to have to do any additional plumbing to accomplish this). Is anyone out there actually using the larger Warner Marine HOB skimmer? Feedback?

hairyman1 · 12/04/2008, 12:52 AM

Well MF15 I wouldn't worry about bubble size. The venturi will put out bubbles sized correctly for it's design. They will be larger than any needle wheel design. Remove the air valve and silence it if necessary and it should work better. Is it the only skimmer in the tank?

Harry_Fish · 12/04/2008, 02:41 PM

I would keep your eyes open for a Deltec MCE600 or MCE500 on the
used market, they do pop up from time to time at a lil better price.

I'll admit I too questioned the price, but after
seeing how well it skims it is worth it.

I also had a MCE500 that I put In my tank, and in
some ways I actually likes that one a little better.

The MCE500 is an in tank/ in sump model.

Like anything else you get what you pay for.

Good Luck

Dakota Reef · 12/04/2008, 11:48 PM

Otrlynn,

I ordered the Warner Marine HX2 and put it on a 40 gallon breeder. While I was impressed with the overall build quality there's one issue I hadn't heard mentioned by anyone. The lip that holds the skimmer on the tank is not wide enouch to fit completely over the plastic rim of the tank. Not an issue if you've got a rimless tank but on a typical All Glass type tank its a pain.

As for how it performs, I've been very happy with the amount of skimate that it has produced. The first couple of days it produced so much foam that I literally had to weight down the skimmer lid to keep it on the collection cup. Since then its settled in and I'm pulling a nice consistent foam. Thats with it sitting higher than its supposed to on my tank because of the undersized support lip.

I also like the fact that there's no pump in the tank and that there's room to toss a bag of carbon into the chamber.

Haven't used the Deltec or any of the Octopus HOBs so I can't compare them but it certainly outperforms my old Remora Pro and is much quieter.

They need to fix that strange issue with the support lip which for many folks will be a dealbreaker but I like how well it works so much that I'll figure out a way to make it fit permanently.

Hope that helps.

pheromo · 12/05/2008, 12:10 AM

what aboot the aquamedic turboflotor??

otrlynn · 12/05/2008, 05:53 AM

Dakota Reef, thanks so much for the specific feedback on the Marine HX2. I had read one other mention of the problem of hanging it on a tank with a rim, which I have. I can't imagine why it would be manufactured that way. I'm not sure whether it is really powerful enough for my tank. I keep reading on RC to buy a skimmer that is 2x your tank capacity. With a 58 gallon tank, I'm not sure the HX2, which is rated up to 80 gallons, is really big enough. Phereomo, I'll look into the Aquamedic Turboflotor--I haven't checked that out yet. Thus far, there is no shortage of HOB skimmers--finding the best for the money is the challenge!

otrlynn · 12/05/2008, 05:57 AM

I see the Aquamedic has the pump in the tank--one of my criteria is that the pump be outside the tank (without any modifications). That is one of the reasons I am replacing my current skimmer--I'm tired of looking at the pump in the back of my tank.

murraycamp · 12/05/2008, 06:03 AM

FWIW Jon Warner (Warner Marine) advised that the HX2 and H1 have been redesigned to fit 1" wide tank edges, and that the new designs should be available by the end of the year. HTH.

rbnice1 · 12/05/2008, 08:02 AM

otrlynn ussual;ly they say that because most skimmers are only rated for very lightly loaded tanks. For example your SS65 is rated for 65 gallons but I wouldnt use it on anything larger then a 20 gallon.

The HX2 is rated for a moderately loaded 80 gallon tank so a 58 gallon tank would be fine.

Now if you are considering upgrading to a larger tank down the line I would spend the extra money and get a larger skimmer so you dont have to go through this all over again later.

Just my .2$

otrlynn · 12/05/2008, 07:00 PM

Thanks for your input Murry. I'll have to think about whether I want to hold out until the new year. My "Santa" was going to get me a new skimmer for Christmast tho... Thanks also rbnice1, I will not be upgrading to a larger tank so that is not a consideration.

murraycamp · 12/06/2008, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by otrlynn
Thanks for your input Murry. I'll have to think about whether I want to hold out until the new year. My "Santa" was going to get me a new skimmer for Christmast tho...

No problem. BTW, I just ordered an Octo BH2000 hob for my 30 gal. softy tank. I'll let you know how it works out.

cveverly · 12/06/2008, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by murraycamp
BTW, I just ordered an Octo BH2000 hob for my 30 gal. softy tank.

Now that is a person I can relate to. I run a Octo 800S on a 46 gallon tank.

murraycamp · 12/06/2008, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cveverly
Now that is a person I can relate to. I run a Octo 800S on a 46 gallon tank.

LOL. I am also running a MSX 160 on my 55 Caribbean biotope and have ordered an Octo Extreme 160 for my 30 gal acro tank.

Skim hard.

11/29/2008, 08:42 AM	#1
otrlynn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chester County PA Posts: 1,508	Good hang-on-back skimmer I'm looking to upgrade my Coralife 65 HOB skimmer on my 58 gallon reef tank. It needs to be a HOB unit. I have no room for a sump. I have looked at Aqua C Remora and Octopus units. Any comments on either of these brands? Also, I remember locating a unit several months ago where the pump did not hang inside the tank itself, but I can't find the link or remember the brand. Anyone know? Actually my Coralife does not do a half-bad job of skimming but I'd really love to get rid of that ugly pump hanging in my tank. Thanks!

11/29/2008, 09:18 AM	#2
mfinn Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Olympia. WA. Posts: 8,648	Checkout the Warner Marine hob skimmers http://www.warnermarine.com/Skimmers/ __________________ 240 gallon soft coral tank 50 gallon lps tank

11/29/2008, 05:20 PM	#7
otrlynn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chester County PA Posts: 1,508	The Deltec MCE 600 looks very nice but is certainly pricey. Is anyone using the Octopus HB800S or the Warner Marine HX2? The price is considerably less. I have a 58 gallon tank with 5 small-med. fish and am not adding any more fish. I would not consider the tank heavily stocked. If anyone has any comments about the noise level of any of these skimmers, please post them. My tank is in my dining room and quieter is better. Thanks to all who responded! __________________ Lynn 1 horse, 1 dog, 2 cats, small pond with a few koi. The fish tank is gone.

11/29/2008, 06:16 PM	#8
AndreP Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Quebec Canada Posts: 93	Deltec MCE-600 all the way...I changed my tunze 9010 and it makes such a difference:water clearer,cyano on the sand almost disappear...It worth every pennies. __________________ Andre Current Tank Info: 230g with 40 g sump

11/30/2008, 08:59 PM	#10
otrlynn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chester County PA Posts: 1,508	krowleey, thanks for the link to your poll. I'm anxious to see whether you get any more responses. I definitly want the pump out of the tank! __________________ Lynn 1 horse, 1 dog, 2 cats, small pond with a few koi. The fish tank is gone.

11/29/2008, 09:27 AM	#3
03LightningSVT Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Denver, PA Posts: 425	Consider the Deltec MCE600 , it is well worth the additional money.

11/29/2008, 12:52 PM	#5
Harry_Fish Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Liverpool, NY Posts: 1,461	I am Very Happy with my Deltec MCE600 I believe there is a clone of it out there

12/02/2008, 12:52 AM	#11
hairyman1 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 271	A bermuda rouge with either a mag 5, ocean runner 2500, eheim 1260, or a quiet one 2200 will outskim all the skimmers listed so far and still be cheaper than a deltec even if you choose the eheim. The watts will be higher than a deltec or any other aspirating needle wheel type skimmer, but maintenance will be less frequent and it will skim more consistantly day in and day out good or bad weather. Deltecs are neat though and skim better per watt than anything I've seen so far if that's important to you. ATB HOT is unproven at this point other than what's been posted at their website. Warner marine knockoffs are on some asian sites and a cylinder within a box is not impressive engineering. Kind of reminds me of a fancy skilter. CNC is unproven as well unless someone has a honest review of one. Anyways their custom built/ordered from what I understand so not readily available. Typhoons have siphon issues and are underpowered out of the box although that's easily remedied. With the above listed pumps and a rouge you will get good/consistant performance and with a few extra plumbing pieces you can place the pump behind the tank and pump into the skimmer. Not recommended with the mag. Octo HOT are not consistant and while better than a remora or bak pak aren't much to write home about. Rouges aren't perfect either as without the bubble trap they will release micros especially with the pumps I've listed. And the bubble trap sponge needs to be cleaned weekly or so. No big deal, but some people will gripe about it. All HOT skimmers all a compromise in design so choose carefully based on what a skimmer is supposed to do and then pick the best one you can afford. I forgot the Turboflotor blue 3000 looks interesting too, but again unproven yet.

12/02/2008, 11:55 AM	#12
MF15 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 38	Well I have a Rogue with a mag 3 and my Coralife skims better. The Rogue puts out just wet light green skimate, if and when it decides to skim. Lightly stocked tank, just two small fish with rock. Have a very good air valve on it, have to close almost all the way to get the bubbles fine enough. Going from a mag 3 to a 5 would that make finer bubbles, I also think that there is too much turbulance even with a mag 3. I have messed with this for months. I will say that if I dump the skimate back into the tank it will remove it fast. Old Mike

12/03/2008, 05:42 AM	#13
otrlynn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chester County PA Posts: 1,508	Thanks to all who replied. I haven't read a single negative thing aout the Deltec MCE600. But, it is really expensive and I don't think I can afford $550 for a skimmer. I'm still looking for a less expensive HOB alternative (with the pump outside the tank). I don't want to have to do any additional plumbing to accomplish this). Is anyone out there actually using the larger Warner Marine HOB skimmer? Feedback? __________________ Lynn 1 horse, 1 dog, 2 cats, small pond with a few koi. The fish tank is gone.

12/04/2008, 12:52 AM	#14
hairyman1 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 271	Well MF15 I wouldn't worry about bubble size. The venturi will put out bubbles sized correctly for it's design. They will be larger than any needle wheel design. Remove the air valve and silence it if necessary and it should work better. Is it the only skimmer in the tank?

12/04/2008, 02:41 PM	#15
Harry_Fish Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Liverpool, NY Posts: 1,461	I would keep your eyes open for a Deltec MCE600 or MCE500 on the used market, they do pop up from time to time at a lil better price. I'll admit I too questioned the price, but after seeing how well it skims it is worth it. I also had a MCE500 that I put In my tank, and in some ways I actually likes that one a little better. The MCE500 is an in tank/ in sump model. Like anything else you get what you pay for. Good Luck

12/04/2008, 11:48 PM	#16
Dakota Reef Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: South Dakota Posts: 222	Otrlynn, I ordered the Warner Marine HX2 and put it on a 40 gallon breeder. While I was impressed with the overall build quality there's one issue I hadn't heard mentioned by anyone. The lip that holds the skimmer on the tank is not wide enouch to fit completely over the plastic rim of the tank. Not an issue if you've got a rimless tank but on a typical All Glass type tank its a pain. As for how it performs, I've been very happy with the amount of skimate that it has produced. The first couple of days it produced so much foam that I literally had to weight down the skimmer lid to keep it on the collection cup. Since then its settled in and I'm pulling a nice consistent foam. Thats with it sitting higher than its supposed to on my tank because of the undersized support lip. I also like the fact that there's no pump in the tank and that there's room to toss a bag of carbon into the chamber. Haven't used the Deltec or any of the Octopus HOBs so I can't compare them but it certainly outperforms my old Remora Pro and is much quieter. They need to fix that strange issue with the support lip which for many folks will be a dealbreaker but I like how well it works so much that I'll figure out a way to make it fit permanently. Hope that helps. __________________ - Phil - 270 gallon mixed reef - 54 x 48 x 24 Blonde Naso, Potters Angel, Majestic Angel, Regal Angel, Long Nose Butterfly, Copperband Butterfly, Starry Blenny, Pink Streaked Wrasse, Royal Gramm

12/05/2008, 12:10 AM	#17
pheromo Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 271	what aboot the aquamedic turboflotor??

12/05/2008, 05:53 AM	#18
otrlynn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chester County PA Posts: 1,508	Dakota Reef, thanks so much for the specific feedback on the Marine HX2. I had read one other mention of the problem of hanging it on a tank with a rim, which I have. I can't imagine why it would be manufactured that way. I'm not sure whether it is really powerful enough for my tank. I keep reading on RC to buy a skimmer that is 2x your tank capacity. With a 58 gallon tank, I'm not sure the HX2, which is rated up to 80 gallons, is really big enough. Phereomo, I'll look into the Aquamedic Turboflotor--I haven't checked that out yet. Thus far, there is no shortage of HOB skimmers--finding the best for the money is the challenge! __________________ Lynn 1 horse, 1 dog, 2 cats, small pond with a few koi. The fish tank is gone.

12/05/2008, 05:57 AM	#19
otrlynn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chester County PA Posts: 1,508	I see the Aquamedic has the pump in the tank--one of my criteria is that the pump be outside the tank (without any modifications). That is one of the reasons I am replacing my current skimmer--I'm tired of looking at the pump in the back of my tank.

12/05/2008, 06:03 AM	#20
murraycamp Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 492	FWIW Jon Warner (Warner Marine) advised that the HX2 and H1 have been redesigned to fit 1" wide tank edges, and that the new designs should be available by the end of the year. HTH. __________________ Murray Current Tank Info: 65 gal. E. Quadricolor/A. Barberi system (VCV/inoculant); 60 gal. gorgonian/mixed scleratinian (VCV/ inoculant/solid polymers); 30 gal. Oxymonacanthus longirostris/octocoral system (VCV/inoculant); 80 gal Acropora (Zeovit); 27 gal. jellyfish system

12/05/2008, 08:02 AM	#21
rbnice1 Moved On Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cedar Hill Posts: 3,905	otrlynn ussual;ly they say that because most skimmers are only rated for very lightly loaded tanks. For example your SS65 is rated for 65 gallons but I wouldnt use it on anything larger then a 20 gallon. The HX2 is rated for a moderately loaded 80 gallon tank so a 58 gallon tank would be fine. Now if you are considering upgrading to a larger tank down the line I would spend the extra money and get a larger skimmer so you dont have to go through this all over again later. Just my .2$

12/05/2008, 07:00 PM	#22
otrlynn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chester County PA Posts: 1,508	Thanks for your input Murry. I'll have to think about whether I want to hold out until the new year. My "Santa" was going to get me a new skimmer for Christmast tho... Thanks also rbnice1, I will not be upgrading to a larger tank so that is not a consideration. __________________ Lynn 1 horse, 1 dog, 2 cats, small pond with a few koi. The fish tank is gone.