Protein Skimmer

[droyal1110]

OK I have narrowed my choice down to a few skimmers. I hate to bring this up but I just don't know, I've been trying to read the reviews and find any info on these skimmers but I would rather here testimonials of people I trust. Here is what I am thinking:

 

Precision Marine RL125

Octopus Needle wheel 200

ASM G-1

 

This would be going on a 90g DT with a 30g Sump, probably a total of 7-10 fish one day, mixed LPS and softies.

 

These are based on price range and reputation, however I want to hear anyone speak up or make suggestions. I am looking for a used one but if I can't find one in time I'll just go with new.

 

Thanks!

[jamesbuf]

Not familiar with those models, but just make sure to get a recirculating pump skimmer. Having the bubble producing pump as a stand along pump recirculating the inside of the skimmer makes a big difference in efficiency. I have first hand experience of turning both the pumps on an ASM G5 into recirculating pumps, and saw a tremendous increase in productivity of the skimmer. Someone on the boards recently modded a Euroreef skimmer to be recirculating and saw a huge increase in production as well. I will never ever own another skimmer that is not recirculating.

 

 

I would skim through the for sale threads to see if anything is available. If not, I'd contact one of the LFS to see what they have. Even if they don't have it in stock, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to order something for you. Plus I'm sure they'd come very close to internet pricing to get your business.

[jason the filter freak]

the G-1, it can be easily modded and are pretty reliable

[Sikryd]

I bought an MSX200 and love it. So do a few other guys on the other board. Its pretty sweet, especially for the cash, and HUGE.

[SteveM]

I have the Octo Extreme 200 and I must say that I am one of the few people to ever have problems with this skimmer. I have had it for 6 months and it has never worked. I am currently working with the company to repair the pump that came with it. For some reason I was told to fix it myself and when that didn't work they finally agreed to take a look at it. It was mailed back to me on Thursday and I have not gotten it yet so I don't know if they fixed it or not at this point. It has been very frustrating and I still can't believe they won't just give me a new pump. I can not personally recommend this skimmer but I know that most people that have it love it.

[Coral Hind]

I have a G1 and a G3 and both have been problem free. Once I set it up I have not needed to adjust anything.

 

I recommend doing the overflow mod to the skimmer.

[droyal1110]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Coral Hind - Could you please explain the overflow mod?

[ctenophore]

All of those should work, I would get the cheapest one in terms of energy efficiency. The ASMs are cheap and I think they work very well. I believe the overflow mod that Coral Hind is talking about involves replacing the standard effluent pipe with a gate valve kit like this. Here is a pic of it installed on another brand skimmer. I did this to my old ASM skimmer and it works very well.

[Coral Hind]

That is the mod I was talking about. It makes it a lot more quieter. I don't use the gate valve as I think it increases the chances of an overflow. I just use an 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" bushing slipped onto the skimmers slide stand pipe so I can still adjust the water level. From the bushing on I run 1 1/2" pipe. I now have this mod on both of my ASM skimmers.

 

Here is a pic from when I got my new G3.

[droyal1110]

Ok I see. So basically the overflow from the DT flows into the drain pipe, the drain pipe has a gated valve on it to control the amount flowing to the protein skimmer, water goes in the skimmer, gets cleaned, comes out and flows into the sump.

 

Does this mean that the height of the skimmer doesn't matter? As in there isn't a pump in the drain portion of the sump sucking in water?

 

Sorry I'm still new to these.

[zygote2k]

I currently use an ASM G1x on a 150 that's heavily stocked with softies and 12 fish. It'll pull about 1/2 gallon a week out and NEVER needs adjustment other than cleaning. It is the best, simplest, easiest skimmer that I have ever used. I recommend it to everybody.