Which Protein Skimmer is Best?

[chrissu]

I've never been happy with my current Protein Skimmer (its junk) and I'm planning to upgrade. I was hoping to get recommendations on a good, reliable skimmer. Please share your thoughts and suggestions.

Goals:
1 With my current no-name skimmer, I'm always having to fiddle with the water flow valve to adjust with foam height. It seems either there isn't enough foam to work its way up into the cup or there is too much and the cup overflows with water. It would seem like someone would have a good solution to make this problem go away other than just tuning the pressure all the time. With salt creep clogging up the system, this would seem to be an ongoing problem anyway. The LFS's have huge skimmers and they seem to work fine. Are they just tuning theirs all the time too? I don't know. I did notice a brand or two that claim to have this issue worked out (according to their ads anyway). Any good experiences, recommendations?

2 I would like a skimmer with an auto drain feature for the skimate cup. I already have a 3/4" access hole behind the cabinet that I could use to drain the water outside. I was thinking it would be nice if there was a way to manually turn a vale to drain the skimate from the cup out that same access hole.

I'm hoping to stay within a $400 budget if possible. Am I asking for too much?

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[ghostman]

What is your tank size and bioload? That figures into calculating a properly sized skimmer. There are many good quality used skimmers on the selling forum when you can get in (90 days, 50 posts). Generally, used skimmers are a good deal. Most people have preferences on the "best" quality skimmer for the money. My personal preferences are for Deltec and H&S, as I cannot afford a Bubble King or anything like that. For less than $400 you should be able to find a nice Octopus, SWC, or similar skimmer that will do a great job. I had a crappy skimmer for years, never found a good medium. Then I splurged and purchased a Deltec and have never looked back. HTH

[chrissu]

Thanks for your reply and sorry I forgot to mention the tank size and bioload. Mine is a 92 gallon corner tank that I started 6 months ago. Here is a fish list - 11 in all.

1 4" Purple Tang
2 2" Blue Regal Tangs
1 Oscelaris Clown
4 Blue/Green Chormisis
1 Blue Reef Chromisis
1 Firefish
1 Dogface Puffer
1 Damsel

No intergibrates or corals.

What model of Deltec is yours? Does it keep the foam level at the correct hieght automatically somehow? Does it have an auto drain mechanism? Thanks for the info.

[Chris27]

Octopus Super Reef models come with a great pump and body, and they are well within your price range. I never have to adjust mine.....

Check here:

http://www.coralvue.com/

[chrissu]

I've taken your recommendations and reseached each of these brands. Please let me know if you like or dislike any particular ones I've found. Most of the terminology is greek to me. :-)

Reef Octopus 4 (100 Gallon) In Sump Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer w/ Bubble Plate $149.99
http://www.marinedepot.com/Reef_Octo...1-FIPS-vi.html

SWC Xtreme 120 Cone Protein Skimmer $224.99
http://saltwaterconnection.com/index...tvki57edbciunt

Super Reef Octopus XP-2000 Cone Protein Skimmer $398.99
http://www.saltysupply.com/Super-Ree...r-p/oc8111.htm

Octopus Extreme 160 Protein Skimmer $269.99
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...n-skimmer.html

Octopus NWB-200 Protein Skimmer $274.95
http://www.thereeftank.com/compare-p...otein-skimmer/

Reef Octopus Needle Wheel Skimmer - 8 in. - up to 250 gallons $289.79 New!
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/248866/product.web

Deltec - All $600+

H&S A110-F2000 $479
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...roducts_id=451

[KafudaFish]

There is a skimmer Q and A in the equipment forum that you could post this.

Of those the hot one seems to be the SRO.

Again look for Mojo's thread and he can explain the logic behind his choice.

[ghostman]

Agree with all of the above. The skimmers you listed would all serve you well. As stated by Kafudafish ,look at Mojo's thread for more info. My old Deltec was a 1060 Turbo, and my current skimmer is an H and S 200-3fx2001. I bought it off the used forum for less than 1/3 of retail. I'm not affiliated with this sale, but there is a nice SWC skimmer in the used forum for a couple hundy off new. Here is the thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1844828
Once again, it's not mine, and I don't know the seller, but the price is right. HTH

[Drjusc00]

Vertex.... Great product for the money. I'm very happy with mine

[chrissu]

I don't seem to have access to used forum. I just tried to go directly there using the link of "http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1844828" and I get the following message:

chrissu, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.
Log Out Home

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[rbnice1]

You wont be able to view the used section for 90 days and 50? posts.

Also here are the skimmers I would look into.

No octo unless it is the super reef line using the new bubble blaster. XP2000 is good but it really maxes out on a moderatley stocked 90 gallon. Your stocking list looks like your going to overstock so I would oversize your skimmer a bit. Go with the 3000 or XP3000.

In the SWC line the 120 would be to small. The SWC160 would be minimum, but look into the MiniS. It really is a nice skimmer.

You could also look into the ITech 200. It uses a tunzes pump. A?gain prob a little above your price point but a great skimmer.

If you bump up your top price you might be able to find a used ATB840 for $500-600

[jdthomas24]

following along.

[chrissu]

I found a handful of links for that model and it looks like a top quality skimmer. Thanks
ATB Econo Cone 840 Revision 1.5 Protein Skimmer (price unknown)
http://www.saltycritter.com/protein-...e-skimmers.htm

I didn't go into detail about my current water quality but perhaps I should. Even with all the fish I have, http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/....php?f=2&t=502. Prior to having an ATS, I had big ammonia and algae growth problems (as you could imagine).

This ATS scrubs out the Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates (and phosphates) like crazy. The only negative (which is seen as a positive for coral growers) is that the water retains the good nutrients (no ammonia but leaves the phyto and fish flakes, etc.) that corals need to thrive. In doing so, the water clearity isn't quite what it could be. I don't have corals so for me that isn't a real plus.

A blurb from reefcentral.com site: The word "nutrient" and "nutrition" are commonly mixed up when talking about reefs. Protein Skimmers (in this case, air bubbles) only remove nutrition, which is fine if all you have is fish, but skimmers/bubbles have no affect on nutrients. "Nutrients" are Inorganic Nitrate, Inorganic (Ortho) Phosphate, Ammonia, Ammonium, and Nitrite. Matter of fact, if you took a fresh batch of newly made saltwater and put a skimmer in it, then added pure nutrients, the skimmer would not have any skimmate at all. Algae, however, would start growing out of control. If, however, you added nutrition (phyto, plankton, ground up flakes, etc) to that same batch of saltwater, the skimmer would go crazy and remove it all.
SantaMonica
The Algae Master

So the "nutrients" (Ammonia, etc.) are removed well with the ATS but the nutrition (phyto, flakes, etc) stay. My thought was that perhaps a good protein skimmer would pull out that little bit of "nutrition" still left in the water. I have good water quality, just not good water clarity. Do you guys/gals think I'm wasting my time getting a protein skimmer or perhaps you can recommend a different approach?

[chrissu]

I ordered an Xp-2000 and it came in 3 days ago. Its a nice looking skimmer and its working but the motor and impeller make too much noise for a tank in a family room. My 950GPH main pump is ultra quiet in comparison. We're not talking about vibration off the skimmer either. I took the motor and ran it by itself in the kitchen sink and it just makes alot of noise. I honestly don't know alot about skimmers as this is my second one. (First one was much quieter), but the wife and kids have already asked me to put it on a timer so that it only runs at night. You might want to see and hear one running in person before buying it.

[rbnice1]

I would pull the pump apart. The xp2000 I saw running was almost silent.

[davidtsx]

Look in to the My reef creations Mr-2. The skimmers are by far better than any needle wheel in my opinion unless your looking at deltec and bubble king. Just look around for a pressure rate pump. Plus you can up grade it.

[dcs03tx]

ATB's rock

[James77]

There is no best protein skimmer, and spending thousands won't neccesarily get you a good one either. There are many skimmers- MSX, SWC, Octopus, ATB, Warner Marine, etc- that are priced in the 200-800 area that work extremely well.

[chrissu]

What is so dissappointing is when I read all the great reviews about this $400 skimmer. How quiet it is, etc. Last night, I was listening to it run from across the house. That shouldn't be the new sound in my house.

It this video, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCUH9...eature=related) I hear a competing product run and the air tube and silencer make more sound than the motor. For my $400, the little bit of sound that the silencer makes is completely drownded out by the motor/impeller. What's really bumbing me out is all the time wasted. Sorry to rant. Just glad that others are having better juck than I.

[riiz]

I like my Reef Octopus, but I wanna try their HOB model, but its not ready yet.

[fastfive]

Originally Posted by chrissu

I ordered an Xp-2000 and it came in 3 days ago. Its a nice looking skimmer and its working but the motor and impeller make too much noise for a tank in a family room. My 950GPH main pump is ultra quiet in comparison. We're not talking about vibration off the skimmer either. I took the motor and ran it by itself in the kitchen sink and it just makes alot of noise. I honestly don't know alot about skimmers as this is my second one. (First one was much quieter), but the wife and kids have already asked me to put it on a timer so that it only runs at night. You might want to see and hear one running in person before buying it.

I have a SRO-3000 and it was loud when I first got it. These impellers take about two weeks to break in. Most people have the same problem until it breaks in.

[muttley000]

What about the aqua C line?

[fastfive]

Originally Posted by muttley000

What about the aqua C line?

I had a AquaC EV240 before I got my SRO-3000 and the difference is night and day. All I ever did with the EV240 was adjusting it. My SRO-3000 is set it and forget it and pulls way more skimmate from my tank. The new Octopus skimmers are pulling crazy amounts of air per wattage from the pump.

[chrissu]

So I eventually ordered the Super Reef Octopus XP-2000 Cone Protein Skimmer $398.99

The thing arrived and was loud as can be. After many hours and calls to the company the sold them and coralvue, we realized that my motor didn't even have the necessary o-ring gasket in the assembled motor. I thought to myself, what kind of "made in china" low quality control product did I get myself into? They sent me an o-ring to install myself and it was quieter but still not wonderfully silent like their packaging claimed. Short story - My confidence in them is gone. I sent the whole thing back.

[rbredding]

I completely understand your frustration...

I just purchased a used MR-2 and I can't wait to set it up... I've heard incredible things about their ability to pull ABSOLUTE MUD out of the water..

one of the things that I like best about it is that it will run off my return pump (so i'm eliminating the current skimmer and it's dedicated pump, that should help to quiet things down)..

I'll let you know how it goes.. It should be here next week and It'll take me a week to get the time to install it (I'm reconfiguring my entire sump in the process)

the MR-1 pump is also a pretty solid performer and should be all you need on your 92 (unless you change to a TANG ONLY tank, that is)

www.myreefcreations.com the MR series skimmers are listed under the "standard" subcategory..

R

[rayn]

I'm starting to think that all skimmers are noisy before break in. I have a eshopps and for about the first month I couldn't hardly hear the tv over it in the family room. Now I hardly notice it is there. Quited down considerably with time.