Protien Skimmer

[PsuedoHippy]

I need to figure out what protien skimmer I should get for my 54 gallon corner reef tank. Any suggestions would be great especially with an explanation as to what the differences are between them. The prices range drastically. Money is only a mild opponent of mine as far as the skimmer goes. I want a high quality skimmer.

Ethan

 

[mojoreef]

Ethan welcome to Reef Frontiers. You dont need a big skimmer for a tank of that sixe so you should be able to get lucky and buy one used from someone that is upgrading tank size. Here is a brief discription of the different types. Remember one thing its all about the bubbles no matter how they make them.

Airstone skimmer = simple and old design that uses an airstone for the creation of bubbles. Still a very effective system but the stones need to be changed out from time to time, also the cheapest.
Venturi= uses a pump to blow water into the skimmer and has a venturi valve that draws in air to mix with the water. Effective unit, the venturi will need to be cleaned from time to time. can be a bit noisy to.
Counter current skimmer= can be either the airstone or venturi type, the only difference is that the water enters from the top giving the skimmer water more contact time.
Beckett= Uses a pond fountain fixture for mixing air and water. Very effective unit but requires more of a pressure rated pump which can be pricy. The beckett nozzle has to be cleaned from time to time and can be a bit of a pain.
Downdraft= uses a strong pump to blow water over media such as bioballs to fractionate the water and air. Very effective unit but requires a strong pricy pump. no real maintence.

anyway that give you an idea on what and how they work

Mike

 

[NaH2O]

Ethan - Welcome to Reef Frontiers! Hope you enjoy it here!

You can also check out the Equipment Gallery by clicking on "Equipment ID Reference" in the menu at the top of each page. This will help you see the different varieties out there. If you are looking for a new unit - I like Aqua C on smaller tanks. I think they work well.

 

[john]

I think you would also need to know if you are putting it in a sump or if it will be exteral

 

[reiple]

Mike/Mojoreef - how about so called Euro-skimmers? How do these work? I think they are also venturi but the body/form looks different. Are they better/worse?

 

[ahenson]

I have euro ES5-2 on 30g with 20g sump and it does the job. It pulls out much smellier skimate than my old aqua c remora. Not that much price difference if you already have sump. I bought mine online for 199+ shipping.

 

[mattseattle]

i have an euro-reef es5-3 on my 60 gallon tank. it pulls some of the rankiest smelliest skimmate out of the water and it's low maintenance. i just clean the skim cup out every week or so....no adjusting needed. the sedra pump is also very quiet. i highly recommend it over the aqua c. the euro-reef is an in-sump model. i think there are conversions though.

 

[NaH2O]

I also have a Euro-reef. They work by bringing air into the pump, which has a specialized impeller. The impeller has teeth all over it, and breaks up the air into tiny bubbles. Not the best explaination, but I hope it made some sense.

 

[mojoreef]

Reiple the euro reef is a venturi skimmer but uses what they call a pin wheel in place of the regular impellar. The concept is the venturi puls air in and the pin wheel shops and blends the air/water together. They are a very popular skimmer as you can see, IMHO they are one of the better pin wheel style units but it really depends on the size of the tank.

Mike

 

[reiple]

Thanks for the info Nikki and Mike. Please post an image or link of how this impeller looks like? thanks again!

 

[NaH2O]

Reiple - here is a link to Euro-Reef Technology

 

[reiple]

thanks again Nikki. excellent info/link.

 

[big t]

I really would say from what I have seen in person the Euroreef's really pull out some gross skimmate. I think that for the amount of electrictiy they use compared to beckett makes them the best.

 

[PsuedoHippy]

Thanks for the skimmer info

Well I ended up buying a cpr backpak 2R and it seemed to be working ok. Then I was also given an Aqua Systems which is a cheaper one but I have both hooked up and the Aqua Systems seems to be outperforming. I know they need to be adjusted and Im certainly no pro at that but then you could say the Aqua Systems is more user friendly then the CPR.

From what I am told it is ok to run both skimmers right?