Looking For Skimmer For 180gal

[Dima]

Hi guys,

started to look for a new skimmer for my 180 gal + 60gal sump. No fish yet.
I am looking at icecap and bubble magus anybody can suggest which one is better ?

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/IceCap-K2-200-Protein-Skimmer.html

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Bubble-Magus-Curve-A9-DC-Skimmer.html

 

[TORX]

Out of those 2, I would suggest the Curve. It is always a good suggestion to aim match your TWV with the heavy bioload rating.

 

[derrick orosz]

I have the curve 9.

impeller broke within the first 6 months and had a hell of a time trying to get a replacement.

 

[Letsdiscus]

Hi guys,

started to look for a new skimmer for my 180 gal + 60gal sump. No fish yet.
I am looking at icecap and bubble magus anybody can suggest which one is better ?

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/IceCap-K2-200-Protein-Skimmer.html

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Bubble-Magus-Curve-A9-DC-Skimmer.html

Try Reef Octopus Super Reef series. Cant go wrong with them...


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[TORX]

If you are still looking for suggestions. I love my vertex. I have a Vertex Alpha Cone 250 on my set up and it has been good to me. I would really like a Bashsea Twisted skimmer. I saw the company first at London Fragfest and fell in love with their designs. I love the looks of their finished acrylic.

 

[Josh]

If you are still looking for suggestions. I love my vertex. I have a Vertex Alpha Cone 250 on my set up and it has been good to me. I would really like a Bashsea Twisted skimmer. I saw the company first at London Fragfest and fell in love with their designs. I love the looks of their finished acrylic.

you and me both man. Just wait til i post the final setup pics of my bashea sump. She looks beaut!

 

[Dima]

If you are still looking for suggestions. I love my vertex. I have a Vertex Alpha Cone 250 on my set up and it has been good to me. I would really like a Bashsea Twisted skimmer. I saw the company first at London Fragfest and fell in love with their designs. I love the looks of their finished acrylic.

Still looking. The bashsea looks awesome, never heard of it before, but like reef octopus its almost double the price compare to bubble magus. Just curious if its really worth it ?

https://www.bashseacanada.com/catalog/twisted-skimmer_2/twisted-skimmer-8-24_3

 

[TORX]

Still looking. The bashsea looks awesome, never heard of it before, but like reef octopus its almost double the price compare to bubble magus. Just curious if its really worth it ?

https://www.bashseacanada.com/catalog/twisted-skimmer_2/twisted-skimmer-8-24_3

I would trade my Vertex Alpha Cone 250 for a Bashsea Twisted skimmer in a heartbeat. They use a twist (pardon the pun) on the Beckett style skimmer that injects air into the water column as apposed to the ventri system like typical skimmers. They tend to have a better gas exchange and finer bubbles. If I knew about them when I purchased my skimmer, I would have gone with a beckett style. I recently helped someone set up a MRC, which is a Beckett skimmer, and I really liked it. So on a side note, if anyone wants a good deal on a Vertex Alpha Cone 250, get me a Bashsea 6-24 and I will give you my 250. I think I even have a spare needlewheel impeller around here somewhere.

 

[Dima]

If you are still looking for suggestions. I love my vertex. I have a Vertex Alpha Cone 250 on my set up and it has been good to me. I would really like a Bashsea Twisted skimmer. I saw the company first at London Fragfest and fell in love with their designs. I love the looks of their finished acrylic.

As for vertex I found this one for decent price but I guess it might be too small for my 180gal
http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Vertex-Omega-180i-Protein-Skimmer-180-Gallon.html

 

[Dima]

So as for the size of the skimmer, do I have to buy twice more size as its recommended as it is suggested on many sites ? Or just pick one where it says 180gal heavy load. I have 180 gal tank, 60 gal sump (half empty), and will have lots of rocks. There are some good reef octopus regal 200INT . The Bashsea also looks very cool, but I guess it is more expensive as I need to buy also pump to it.

 

[Letsdiscus]

So as for the size of the skimmer, do I have to buy twice more size as its recommended as it is suggested on many sites ? Or just pick one where it says 180gal heavy load. I have 180 gal tank, 60 gal sump (half empty), and will have lots of rocks. There are some good reef octopus regal 200INT . The Bashsea also looks very cool, but I guess it is more expensive as I need to buy also pump to it.

Always better to take min double size per gallon as u dont want looking for replacing soon if ur bio load increases.

At the same time u dont want to take 10x big in volume of ur aquarium size as that would skim out everything and may hence negate corals to thrive..

Look for a mixed reef bio load range between 300- 400 gallons


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[Dima]

Always better to take min double size per gallon as u dont want looking for replacing soon if ur bio load increases.

At the same time u dont want to take 10x big in volume of ur aquarium size as that would skim out everything and may hence negate corals to thrive..

Look for a mixed reef bio load range between 300- 400 gallons


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Thank you. That is what I am trying to understand. Basically I have no fish no corals right now. I am going to get them over the years, but that is over the years, some skimmers I like says 180gal heavy stocked. I assumed this is lots and lots of fish I am really very long way from that point as I am moving slowly but skimmer is good for 250 gal lightly stocked, so would that work for me . as I have 180 gal + 60gal sump. 180 gal - 80 gal taken by the rocks, and sump half empty. This makes my water amount about 130 gal all together. am I wrong ?

 

[Letsdiscus]

Thank you. That is what I am trying to understand. Basically I have no fish no corals right now. I am going to get them over the years, but that is over the years, some skimmers I like says 180gal heavy stocked. I assumed this is lots and lots of fish I am really very long way from that point as I am moving slowly but skimmer is good for 250 gal lightly stocked, so would that work for me . as I have 180 gal + 60gal sump. 180 gal - 80 gal taken by the rocks, and sump half empty. This makes my water amount about 130 gal all together. am I wrong ?

No ur absolutely right but remember what happens in this hobby.. once u have your tank cycled and setup .. even though u may start slow with fish first then cors, human impulsions will surely take over at some point where u will come across some fish or coral which u may not want to miss buying .. and soon u will have a nicely stocked tank.

Also each individual may have their own preference for feeding. I personally like to keep my fishes well fed, some may not.. while others wud be doing a healthy dose of manually feedjng corals separately. All that wud add to biol loads. So its best to plan for a bit bigger from start even though u wud move slow wth ur stocking.

In this hobby, the capital cost of equipment will always outbeat the price of livestock. And rhis is something u dont want to change as often unless u really intend doing a massive upgrade etc.

So my best thoughts to plan good enough from start even though u may not need it at begining.

A brighter way of lookkng at it, u wont be doing any wrong having a good effective skimmer take care of ur water quality from the very start. After all thats what we all need for our tanks to stay healthy n thrive..

Side note. U can keep adding addnly bio pellets in mesh bags or reactor ir marine pure bricks as space permits to be very safe in over stocking/overfeeding ur tank..

I have been using reef octopus supereeef 3000 int skimmer from reef supplies . And i love it. Keep in mind of the pump wattage consumption and thts one thing i like abt reef octopus skimmer pumps. The wattage is very reasonable as u will be keeping the pumps on for most part of the day n night minus feeding times..so keep the skimmer selection linked to the pump wattage comsuptilon too..

We dont want to keep paying ontario hydro our hard earned money.. thanks to K.Wynne..

Hope this helps..


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[Dima]

No ur absolutely right but remember what happens in this hobby.. once u have your tank cycled and setup .. even though u may start slow with fish first then cors, human impulsions will surely take over at some point where u will come across some fish or coral which u may not want to miss buying .. and soon u will have a nicely stocked tank.

Also each individual may have their own preference for feeding. I personally like to keep my fishes well fed, some may not.. while others wud be doing a healthy dose of manually feedjng corals separately. All that wud add to biol loads. So its best to plan for a bit bigger from start even though u wud move slow wth ur stocking.

In this hobby, the capital cost of equipment will always outbeat the price of livestock. And rhis is something u dont want to change as often unless u really intend doing a massive upgrade etc.

So my best thoughts to plan good enough from start even though u may not need it at begining.

A brighter way of lookkng at it, u wont be doing any wrong having a good effective skimmer take care of ur water quality from the very start. After all thats what we all need for our tanks to stay healthy n thrive..

Side note. U can keep adding addnly bio pellets in mesh bags or reactor ir marine pure bricks as space permits to be very safe in over stocking/overfeeding ur tank..

I have been using reef octopus supereeef 3000 int skimmer from reef supplies . And i love it. Keep in mind of the pump wattage consumption and thts one thing i like abt reef octopus skimmer pumps. The wattage is very reasonable as u will be keeping the pumps on for most part of the day n night minus feeding times..so keep the skimmer selection linked to the pump wattage comsuptilon too..

We dont want to keep paying ontario hydro our hard earned money.. thanks to K.Wynne..

Hope this helps..


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I hear you. I guess will be looking for a better one. I agree with you. RO3000 or SSS looks really good to me.

 

[Josh]

If you have a really solid skimmer you can control your nutrient levels, you think tank is too clean for coral, feed more. etc etc

 

[Bigfish]

Try Reef Octopus Super Reef series. Cant go wrong with them...


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I have an sro2000int and find it to be extremely inconsistent. Having to build a proper output tube so it doesn't spray all over your sump is a bit ridiculous too as it isn't a cheap skimmer.

 

[Letsdiscus]

I have an sro2000int and find it to be extremely inconsistent. Having to build a proper output tube so it doesn't spray all over your sump is a bit ridiculous too as it isn't a cheap skimmer.

Thats suprising.. i have not known of this issue or faced one.. once the skimmer has cycled in should not generally face a problem unless some chemical balance in the water has changed. I have notices mine to go overboard if i add few coral plugs and stick them with coral putty.
I would assume that would be the case with most people and thier skimmers..


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[Bigfish]

Thats suprising.. i have not known of this issue or faced one.. once the skimmer has cycled in should not generally face a problem unless some chemical balance in the water has changed. I have notices mine to go overboard if i add few coral plugs and stick them with coral putty.
I would assume that would be the case with most people and thier skimmers..


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Not sure why mi e acts up. I've contacted coralvue regarding it and Its set up exactly as it should be. Do you have any pointers that may e I haven't though of? Also, what did you do for the output so it doesn't spray out horizontally?

 

[Letsdiscus]

Not sure why mi e acts up. I've contacted coralvue regarding it and Its set up exactly as it should be. Do you have any pointers that may e I haven't though of? Also, what did you do for the output so it doesn't spray out horizontally?

Oh i think i know ur issue.. coral vie gives the output pipe just like that opening in sump which creates splashes n noise.
There is a simple Diy trick to fix this what i have done to mine. If i am not mistaken, the output pvc pipe wud be 1.5" in diameter. All u got to do is conect either a flexi pvc or hard pvc attached to 90 degree pvc elbow. This gives u more control on the output n u can orient the elbow just above ur sump water line where ur skimmer is placed. Remember not to glue the elbow so u can play around wth the orientation.

This shud take care of both the splashes and virtually silent output flow of water from ur skimmer back to sump.

Try n let me know else i can send u pics of my setup.


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[Bigfish]

Oh i think i know ur issue.. coral vie gives the output pipe just like that opening in sump which creates splashes n noise.
There is a simple Diy trick to fix this what i have done to mine. If i am not mistaken, the output pvc pipe wud be 1.5" in diameter. All u got to do is conect either a flexi pvc or hard pvc attached to 90 degree pvc elbow. This gives u more control on the output n u can orient the elbow just above ur sump water line where ur skimmer is placed. Remember not to glue the elbow so u can play around wth the orientation.

This shud take care of both the splashes and virtually silent output flow of water from ur skimmer back to sump.

Try n let me know else i can send u pics of my setup.


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I did that as soon as I bought the skimmer, as it was very noisy and messy otherwise. No worries, better let this thread get back on topic!