swc or bubble magus?????????

[HUNTER01975]

Ok so after many months of a stalled build. We are off and running again..

So now it is time to buy a skimmer.. I have narrowed it down to 2 I think would be good. But thought i would see what the pros had to say.

#1 bubble magus curve 5

#2 swc 120

So my tank is a 70 tall and the sump is a 25 gallon I believe. I have a crp 90 over flow and little giant 3mdqx 1100 gph return pump.

Aright so lets get this show going I am ready to start buying up stuff before the wife hits the breaks again.:biggrin:

 

[DTECH07]

Check out Ocean By Design for a skimmer they make a solid system that lives to work. What size or gallon is your tank and total gallons? This makes a diffrences in your purchase.

 

[1guydude]

Ive owned both. Currently i am using a curve5 and a swc150
I kick myself in the butt for selling the 120swc and the sump i had...

Lots of ppl say swc r pieces. Idk if its because of how theyre built or if theyre canadian or wat lol...
I will say i find myself adjusting the swc150 every now and again. I could use an ato though on that tank.
My curve5 runs wet and is on a 120g.tank. Its built well and has an awsome drain plug in the body for easy cleaning.

Wat will ur bio load b? Reef? Heavy feeder?
Im not sure if i so much like the curve skimmer style... my bmk150 is my fav.
Hths and skimmy will chime in im sure for #s and "pro" talk
Lol
D

 

[HUNTER01975]

I am sure i will end up with a pretty big bio load.. mix of reef and fish

 

[1guydude]

By curve style i mean cone skimmerz lmao ...

 

[rainydave]

I've been running an SWC120 for a year or two. Seems like a good solid performer.

 

[HUNTER01975]

So I think i am going to go with the bubble magus curve 5.. It should be able to handle the 70 gallon tank a 20 gallon sump with a pretty good load as far as i can tell.

 

[HUNTER01975]

Just picked up my bm curve 5 today at lunch from BR.. super excited.... also have my wood working buddy coming over to help me figure out more bracing for my stand and doors for the front skins for the sides....

 

[HUNTER01975]

 

[Skimmy]

i had that skimmer on a 20g and i wanted more power...
but i thought it was a good skimmer... just really annoyed by the thin acrylic on the outlet...
its so weak that i know it will be an issue with those skimmers. just be really careful when your cleaning it.

i do think its over rated though... you want about 600-700lph air injection for every 100g.
that skimmer gets 300lph. so in my book, only good up to a 40g system.
but get a media reactor and run carbon 24/7, change it out weekly, and you should be fine.

 

[HUNTER01975]

i had that skimmer on a 20g and i wanted more power...
but i thought it was a good skimmer... just really annoyed by the thin acrylic on the outlet...
its so weak that i know it will be an issue with those skimmers. just be really careful when your cleaning it.

i do think its over rated though... you want about 600-700lph air injection for every 100g.
that skimmer gets 300lph. so in my book, only good up to a 40g system.
but get a media reactor and run carbon 24/7, change it out weekly, and you should be fine.

I did not think that we should be running carbon all the time? I thought it was to only be used trying to clean up stuff once in a while when things went wrong.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Agree with Mark. A good skimmer, but pretty underpowered for anything over a 20-30 gal. \
I have it on a 54 doing fine, but the tank has just little fish yet is filled with plants and softys which are nutrient exporters.

 

[HUNTER01975]

So went and did some quick reading.. So if I plan on running a mix of coral and fish. will it be ok to put a bag of carbon in the sump?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I did not think that we should be running carbon all the time? I thought it was to only be used trying to clean up stuff once in a while when things went wrong.

I run carbon non-stop on my 180. It is running used up and as a biological filter most of the time as only change it every month. I do this as have mixed sps, lps, softys all together. This keeps the chem warfare under control

 

[Ichthys]

I just noticed my post in this thread had been deleted by a mod? Interesting, would have been nice to have someone explain the reason or logic for that before deleting my post. Making an observation that some people have issues with an unmentioned skimmer brand because of ethical concerns and the fact that the owner of an unmentioned skimmer company was sentenced to fines and prison time for smuggling live rock and coral, is a valid response to someone asking whether to choose a unmentioned or BM skimmer. Performance and cost are not the only drivers of purchasing decisions, more and more people are becoming aware of the social and environmental impact of their buying power.