Protien skimmer questions.

[tava716]

Hey guys!

Ok. I have made up my mind to ditch the home made air driven counter current skimmer and purchase a venturi style skimmer. If I put it in my sump, I think for a 90 gallon FOWLR, I can get away with a relatively small one. Whether I put it in the sump, of hang on the back of tank, I need one that is a maximum of 24 inches from top of collection cup to bottom of reaction chamber. Also can not be more than 4 inches in diameter. Due to the "girlfriend factor" it must as quiet as possible. Any suggestions on which is a good one to get? Any web links to some nice places to buy?

As always...........you guys and gals are great!!! I can always trust the advice I get from you all!

James

 

[Krish]

You are going to kill me for this, but all this time I thought you were a girl by your name Tava716 and was just a tomboy into DIY (LOL)!!!!! Sorry about that.

As for skimmers, there are a lot out there and it took me about 2 weeks to decide on one. I went with the Aqua C EV120 skimmer which I purchased from one of the sponsors, Premium Aquatics. I have only ever heard good things about them and so far it works great. Euroreef skimmers are supposed to be fantastic as well as a few others. I'd check out Premium Aquatics website or Marine Depot (or any of the sponsors) and see what you like as you look at the different specs and stuff. Once you see something you like, come back and post it and see what responses you get. That's what I did.

Good luck James and you can also go in the equipment gallery on the forum and check out the different reviews on some skimmers.

 

[tava716]

Cool. Thanks!! (Tava was the name of my wolf) I use it for my screen name all the time.

 

[Tigerczr]

I have a Euroreef skimmer and love it. It really pulls a lot from my water. The footprint and height isn't bad either.

Cesar

 

[Jeff]

The only 4 in diameter may be really limiting in what skimmer you can put down there. A turboflotor is almost those exact dimensions plus a pump. I have the hang on version on a tank in my bedroom, and with an air silencer on the air hose it is pretty quite. If you could squeeze another inch or two I really like Euro-reef or ASM, again both would be pretty quiet.

 

[tava716]

I have looked at the Turboflotor 1000. Dr fosters and Smith have it for $139.00. Then I have pump that is rated at 700 GPH. I am concidering it.

 

[tava716]

Ok all. I will bug ya one more time. Through Dr Fosters adn Smith I can get a Berlin Turbo Classic with a pump included for $199.00 or I can get a Turbofloater 1000 Multi with a pump for $252.00. Here are the sites for both of them. Which in your expireince is the better skimmer. Quite honestly, the Berlin will fit my space constraints a little better.
Turboflotor: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...5&N=2004+113771

Berlin: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...8&N=2004+113771

Thanks for the input!

 

[Jeff]

I bought a used turboflotor multi about three weeks ago. It works well. I can adjust it to get a wet skimate or a pretty decent, for a hang on skimmer, dark skimate. The biggest thing that I don't like about it is the conical skimmer neck is a little tough to clean - small opening and all. Also if you were going to use this in the sump, as opposed to HOB, I would get the 1000 instead of the multi. When I run the Aquabee pump by its self in my tank it produces very fine bubbles like my Euro-reef. However, after I run it through the 4 90 degree elbows in the "Multi" configuration the bubbles look much larger in the reaction chamber. But, as I said it still works well. I have to say again, at $199-250 you are really close to the price of an ASM G-3. If there is any way it would fit I would highly recommend it.

 

[BobinCovington]

Ok just looking more for input on what I have...

I have a Aqua C Remora with a maxi Jet 1200 for my 29 gallon tank. When I upgrade to the 92 gallon corner tank with a 29 gallon sump, will that Remora work for an in sump skimmer for a while until I can afford one with more capacity? And the follow on question is...what is a good lower priced skimmer to upgrade to?

 

[Krish]

Bob, that skimmer is i think rated for 75 gals. Nevertheless, I don't see why it wouldn't work for the mean time until you can get a new one. If you think about it, the 92 gal you are planning on using won't exactly hold 92 gallons of water. If you've got rock and substrate they will take up a bit of water. I'd say it would depend on your bio-load at the time which will determine how effecient the Remora will be. You might have to do a little more weekly cleaning and stay on top of things a little more when switching to the 92 to give the smaller skimmer a helping hand. As for a lower priced good skimmer, that would depend on how much space you've got to work with and if it will be an in-sump skimmer or external. Have you decided on that yet?

 

[Krish]

Oh sorry Bob, I just realized you said in-sump in your last post (lol). Will you want the new one to remain that way or go external? The ASM series skimmers which was recommended a few times on a number of threads seems to be a very good option for the price as it is said to be similar to the Euroreef skimmers which are just plainly bad a$% and a few other members like Steve (Wrightme43) uses one. It's a good recommendation if you have the space.

 

[BobinCovington]

Yes, it is in sump. I understand I can convert the AquaC to an in sump by a few adjustments.
As far as recommendations for another in-sump, what would the top 3 economic/good perfromance models be. (then I will quit hogging this post)

 

[Krish]

I've only had experience with 1 in-sump skimmer so far which I love and has been respected for it's good performance, efficiency and reliability by many and that is the Aqua C EV series skimmers (which can also be used externally). The ASM series skimmers as well as the "originator" the Euroreef skimmers are also highly reccomended (like I made mention about above). I know that Steve (Wrightme43) uses the ASM G-3 series skimmer and he says it kicked major butt, even before he did his little upgrade mod which I'm sure he'd share with you if you went that route. Economically, I would suggest the ASM series skimmer. It is priced the best and would give you just as much skimmate as any of the other more expensive skimmers. I would have bought one myself and saved myself $100 plus dollars if I had the space, but I didn't. So I opted for one with a lower profile. Nevertheless, I still love my AquaC EV120 and still think it was a great buy and honestly wouldn't trade it for anything else right now.