thinking about switching out my skimmer...

[Skeptic9962]

Im curently looking for a skimmer that will pull pretty good, i have a tunze 9010 and it works good but not as good as i want...i got it cause it was small and could fit in my old sump now i have a larger sump so looking for other options...any suggestions? curently have a 75aga with 30 gal sump and 25 gal fuge was looking into the vertex IN 100 or 180, anyone used these yet?

 

[lvsuckerfish]

I personally like vertex skimmers for the price they are good skimmers, you are in a highly loved SWC skimmer area(Locals swear by them). and depends on if your looking for a cone or a cyl. body for a cone and cost wise a swc160 has good reviews also you know have a local vendor Skimmerwhisper who has them on sale now I believe check SWCs sponser thread so local no shipping.

 

[Skeptic9962]

yeah...i just was looking at the SWC 160 cone skimmer and for the price i dont really think you can beat the performance looks like its amazing.

 

[jrgilles]

I have a 160 on my system and like it a lot. Relatively small footprint too.

 

[Skeptic9962]

yeah im planning on ordering one real soon, anyone familiar with the tunze 9010? and has seen the 160 in action also? my main thing is i dont want to buy another skimmer unless its going to put the tunze to shame...:badgrin:

 

[lvsuckerfish]

tunze skimmers where never a real popular skimmer mainly cause of cause to performance you can get a swc or a bubble magnus to preform better for less money. which reminds me thats another skimmer that is good for the money also has good reviews. but I would stick to the swc of the bubble magnus IMO I like tunzes power heads lol those rocked my 100 gallon and will rock my 240.

 

[Skeptic9962]

yeah i got the tunze due to the fact that it was a small footprint for my old sump and the best skimmer i could get that would fit now that i upgraded the sump/display i have more room to work with...its a good skimmer for how small it is lets say that lol..now im just looking for a skimmer that will smoke that in a 75 gal...

 

[lvsuckerfish]

i would always buy a skimmer that you can still make a decent upgrade on a tank too so instead of a 160 go 180 lol less you will have to buy if you want to go to a 180 tank lol

 

[Skimmy]

welp..
the tunze 9010 is actually a decent skimmer for it's size, and it does work pretty well on smaller systems that dont have room in the sump for other skimmers, but i'd say it's efficency max'es out at about 55g...they give it something like a 250g rating for low bioload...lol
and it's expensive at over $360 retail...

a word about vertex skimmers...
I dislike them strongly...
the reason being the evil resun pump they use on it.
it's just a euro-reef knock off with a poorly designed bubble plate and a janky pump on it... another honya shenizen made skimmer with little thought for the consumer...

SWC skimmers are made in china as well, but the quality is much better, thicker acrylic and pvc, and the pumps they use consume less power and have performed very well on other skimmers for years, so there's no guessing if your getting a good pump or not, which is the heart of the skimmer, and makes or breaks it IMO...

the 160 cone would be great for your tank, but if you wanted to do SPS, a high bioload, or upgrade to a larger system, then you might want to take advantage of the sale on SWC mini s skimmers with sicce pump,

the 160 cone gets 700lph air injection for 25 watts, and costs $275 at most places,
the mini s cone gets 1200lph air injection for 25 watts and is on sale for $279 at a few places

the mini s would be good for up to 200g, and work great on your 75g.

 

[Skeptic9962]

sorry for not getting back to you guys i went ahead and ordered the SWC 160 cone, if i had a bit more room i would have gone with the SCW mini S but the SWC 160 cone will fit perfectly in my sump and is rated perfectly also for my size tank, figure if i upgrade these skimmers will have a pretty good resell :badgrin: will post pics once i get it, coming in on monday