skimmer comparison

[crankbait09]

I was looking at the Reef Octopus 170INT and the Eshopps PSK-300

Can anyone tell me the negatives to the Eshopps skimmer? What does the Eshopps skimmer lack that would cause the noticeable price difference?

Has anyone used either one of these to add some advise

[Jade5051]

There is not a bubble diffuser in the eshopps psk300 and the silencer will probably need a modification to make it more quiet. Other than that it's probably a very strong skimmer with a rock solid AC sicce pump which moves slightly more water and air than the RO pump. Simple straight forward design. I think their S-300 is probably better and efficient because of the cone design. It also has a bigger pump than the psk300 and the RO 170int.

The RO 170 int skimmer has a controllable DC pump on it. The silencer is probably more silent but still not silent. It also comes with a gate valve on the outlet to give you better control of the water level. The foot prints are quite a bit different.

I used a S-150. Extremely strong skimmer.

[kgtipton87]

I am going to be setting up a 75 gal and thinking of going with an Eshopps. Either S-120 or S-150. I am new to saltwater and fish keeping in general so my question is should I go with a bigger rated skimmer to help keep my water clean while I learn the tricks of the trade or would that be skimming out to much good stuff as well? I will be using a 40 gal for the sump so I should have room for just about anything.

[Jade5051]

Originally Posted by kgtipton87

I am going to be setting up a 75 gal and thinking of going with an Eshopps. Either S-120 or S-150. I am new to saltwater and fish keeping in general so my question is should I go with a bigger rated skimmer to help keep my water clean while I learn the tricks of the trade or would that be skimming out to much good stuff as well? I will be using a 40 gal for the sump so I should have room for just about anything.

Always go bigger if you can. I used the s-150 for two days it's basically brand new in box. I want to sell it and been meaning to post it in the selling thread here. If you are interested I can send you pictures. I'm thinking $200 or less to your door. Pm me if interested.

[Mock]

Look into AquaEuro...... Have had one for years, great customer service.

[wildman926]

What is driving you to look at these too skimmers?

Get the proper size of skimmer based upon your tank size. A properly sized skimmer will always outperform a oversized skimmer. If you oversize, it will be idle most of the time, not producing enough skim to overflow the neck as it will be too large, therefore not removing anything from the tank. To remove anything, you will have to set it internally very high. When it does finally build up enough to deposit in the cup, it will overflow.

[kgtipton87]

Originally Posted by Jade5051

Always go bigger if you can. I used the s-150 for two days it's basically brand new in box. I want to sell it and been meaning to post it in the selling thread here. If you are interested I can send you pictures. I'm thinking $200 or less to your door. Pm me if interested.

So for you it wasn't big enough? That's why you aren't using it? I might be interested.

[kgtipton87]

Originally Posted by wildman926

What is driving you to look at these too skimmers?

Get the proper size of skimmer based upon your tank size. A properly sized skimmer will always outperform a oversized skimmer. If you oversize, it will be idle most of the time, not producing enough skim to overflow the neck as it will be too large, therefore not removing anything from the tank. To remove anything, you will have to set it internally very high. When it does finally build up enough to deposit in the cup, it will overflow.

Well I'm looking into Eshopps because that's the brand my lfs sells and it seems a bit more in my price range compared to others. And I figured the S-150 would be good buy not too big. Most of what I am seeing from folks is to go a bit bigger. Would a skimmer rated to go up to 150 gals be too much for a 75 gal tank plus 40 gal sump?

[mikeatjac]

Originally Posted by Jade5051

Always go bigger if you can. I used the s-150 for two days it's basically brand new in box. I want to sell it and been meaning to post it in the selling thread here. If you are interested I can send you pictures. I'm thinking $200 or less to your door. Pm me if interested.

NO! Get a properly sized skimmer or it won't work.

[Jade5051]

Originally Posted by kgtipton87

So for you it wasn't big enough? That's why you aren't using it? I might be interested.

It was actually physically too big for my sump area. It made changing the filter sock, adjusting the heater, and routing biopellets effluent difficult. So, I decided to get a skimmer with a smaller footprint.

[Jade5051]

Originally Posted by mikeatjac

NO! Get a properly sized skimmer or it won't work.

He's right get a properly sized skimmer or it won't work right. I was generalizing because most ppl cannot afford to or don't have enough space to place a skimmer on their tank that is considered oversized. If I were trying to decide between a s-120 and s-150 and performance was my only concern then I'd go with the s-150 because it wouldn't be considered oversized. Perhaps an s-200 would be oversized a little but even then it wouldn't idle much if at all.

This all depends on bioload. It's not really realistic to rate a skimmer on tank size. If you have a 75 gallon tank with two clown fish in it as your livestock then yes an Eshopps nano skimmer is probably all you need. But if you have a 75 gallon tank with 15 fish then you probably want an eshopps s-200 or s-300. With 15 fish the waste production will be so rapid in a 75g you will need a skimmer that can remove the waste just as fast as it's being produced or your nitrates will get out of control very quickly. Think of the bioload that the skimmer can handle because not all manufactures rate their skimmers using the same system. Some manufactures vastly over rate their skimmers others will be spot on. But again it's more about bioload and not so much about tank size.