Which Skimmer? Tunze or SRO?

[frogg21]

So I can get a Tunze 9415 for the same price as Super Reef Oct 3000
180 gal mixed reef, will have SPS. Total vol. 220 gal.

Tunze numbers

15 Watts 63 % less than SRO
Air draw: 850 l/h 224 Gal/h 23% less than SRO
Water 1100 l/h 290 Gal/h 32% less than SRO

SRO 3000
40w
Air draw: 1100 L/H (39 SCFH)*
GPH: 425*


A little less processing capacity on the Tunze, way less watts used.
SRO's awsome skimmer reputation vs. Tunze quality

Please let me know what you think and which way you'd go?

[Mmiller40gt]

25 watts in 220 gallons is not relevant. 3 years warrenty with the SRO. You choose

[shinninja]

Do you feel the quality on the Sro isn't as good as the tunze?

[frogg21]

No, if anything I'm going to have to give the german Tunze the edge in quality.. Tunze has great cust. service too, SRO 3 year warranty is a big deal.

I like the possibility of the SRO silicon nitride making calcium build up less of an issue. The Tunze used to have titanium shaft, now its ceramic..

[BlackPearlAqua]

I absolutely love both of my SRO skimmers. Some of the most efficient and effective skimmers around!

[Anemonebuff]

I switched out my Sedra pump to a Tunze silence pump on my ASM G3 and the skimmer works better than ever. I wish I had the Tunze skimmer body as well. Mine is on a 125 and I use the smaller Tunze silence, the larger one will do a 200+ tank IMO.

[SUP]

Never had a tunze skimmer but my SRO 2000 works great on my 75 gallon tank.


SUP

[shinninja]

I use a 3000 ext on my 180 display, 300 gallon total water. I only have fish in the 180. The skimmer works great! Produces some disgusting sludge in a matter of days. The customer service is awesome. The skimmer is built pretty solid. I felt it was almost as solid as my old alpha skimmer. Ive never dealt with tunze skimmers. Seems like a lot more folks run the octopus skimmers. Maybe due to cost or performance?

[shinninja]

About a month after i bought the skimmer the pump was very loud! Customer service asked my a few questions and sent me a replacement. Its been awesome ever since.

[James77]

Customer service with either company will never be a problem. It is hard to beat the 3 year full warranty on the bublle blaster pumps. I have no experience with Tunze skimmers, they are very good from what I have gathered. I use the SRO 2000 and love it enough that I bough the SRO1000 for my 75 gallon soon to be set up anemone tank, if I ever get my butt into gear.

[frogg21]

Thanks for all the input, when you remove the extra $$ for the Tunze it was a very tight race.. but even with equal prices, SRO 3000 it is! The consistency of excellent reviews is overwhelming.

[hondo3]

Excellent choice!

[Acronic]

Youll love it! I love mine

[TruReef]

SRO all the way, love mine.

[karsseboom]

This is no contest. The sro is a lot better skimmer.

[sasharotty]

I use an SRO 3000 ext on my 180. Best skimmer I've owned.

[frogg21]

Got the SRO going tonight, after seeing the Tunze, Karsseboom is right, this is not a contest. The Tunze is a toy, the SRO is a utility beast. I have to admit, I did not ever actually run the Tunze before returning it. BUT, the anti overflow doohicky ate seriously into the volume that should have been used for the reaction chamber.. Bottom line, I felt a lot better about the chances for success of my future reef when I pulled the SRO out of the box. Simple, solid, effective.. Also, glad I took multiple tips not to oversize, the 5000 would have been too much for a my normally stocked 180.

[wildman926]

Originally Posted by frogg21

Got the SRO going tonight, after seeing the Tunze, Karsseboom is right, this is not a contest. The Tunze is a toy, the SRO is a utility beast. I have to admit, I did not ever actually run the Tunze before returning it. BUT, the anti overflow doohicky ate seriously into the volume that should have been used for the reaction chamber.. Bottom line, I felt a lot better about the chances for success of my future reef when I pulled the SRO out of the box. Simple, solid, effective.. Also, glad I took multiple tips not to oversize, the 5000 would have been too much for a my normally stocked 180.

You are now added to the list of many happy SRO owners. Did you notice how thick the acrylic body was? These things are built solid. I use the 2000 and love it. I also use their waste collector. It is great in shutting down the skimmer in the event something occurs in the tank, and causes the skimmer to overflow.

[Craig Borowski]

Originally Posted by frogg21

I have to admit, I did not ever actually run the Tunze before returning it. BUT, the anti overflow doohicky ate seriously into the volume that should have been used for the reaction chamber.

Since 1963 when Tunze brought the first commercially available Venturi protein skimmer to market, we've been continuously narrowing down exactly which aspects of a skimmer's design increase performance and efficiency. These, performance and efficiency, are Tunze's two main design criteria. On the topic of reaction chamber sizing, we recognize that while it is possible to have a reaction chamber that is too small relative to air draw and water flow, it is also possible to have a reaction chamber that is unnecessarily large. In other words, there comes a point when increasing reaction chamber size does nothing to increase performance. After reaching that point, there is no practical advantage in further increasing the size of the chamber. It is at this point that the design focus shifts to other aspects such as ease of use.

The anti-overflow system is one such ease-of-use feature. By preventing the skimmer from foaming over when additives change surface tension, such as when feeding or using epoxy in the tank, this feature makes the skimmer more hassle free. Is it a necessary feature? No, it's a feature of convenience. But it comes at absolutely no cost to the skimmer's performance or efficiency. We can't stress that enough.

These days there is no shortage of very effective protein skimmers on the market. Cones, bubble plates, DC motors- the array of choices (and doohickies) is large. We at Tunze hope that every aquarist can choose whichever protein skimmer best meets their needs. At the same time, we want all aquarists to be as well informed as possible when making their choices. Gimmicks and trends come and go; in the end it are the educated hobbyists that discover which are important and, in doing so, they also decide the direction of the industry and of the hobby.

[frogg21]

Well, I'm new to a good sump system (beananimal siphon etc.) and its great, but the potential for overflow is a real problem and not just when getting the tank started. If a return pump shuts down the sump level will rise and likely overflow.., or scenario #2 something dies or causes increase in surficants. These could both be really bad for the tank. So I commend Tunze for being one of the first to figure out a way to eliminate this common problem. It also makes a lot of sense that the reaction chambers are sized by the pump and simply boosting that chamber wouldn't accomplish much without a proportional bump up in pump/watts.. If anyone has actually used a Tunze 9415, (especially on a 150 to 200 gal) please let us know how its doing for you! I think I'm going to have to wire up a float switch to the collection cup to the controller to kill the skimmer's power if it overflows..

[wildman926]

Originally Posted by frogg21

Well, I'm new to a good sump system (beananimal siphon etc.) and its great, but the potential for overflow is a real problem and not just when getting the tank started. If a return pump shuts down the sump level will rise and likely overflow.., or scenario #2 something dies or causes increase in surficants. These could both be really bad for the tank. So I commend Tunze for being one of the first to figure out a way to eliminate this common problem. It also makes a lot of sense that the reaction chambers are sized by the pump and simply boosting that chamber wouldn't accomplish much without a proportional bump up in pump/watts.. If anyone has actually used a Tunze 9415, (especially on a 150 to 200 gal) please let us know how its doing for you! I think I'm going to have to wire up a float switch to the collection cup to the controller to kill the skimmer's power if it overflows..

Just get an SRO waste collector with auto shutoff feature. Works like a charm.