Skimmer 28" Height For Tessa Moray

[fishermandave333]

Hi guys,

Never had a SW, I have a 400 and 700 gal FW so I am not totally hopeless. I really want to get a Tesselata Moray eel, I have a 180 gallon bowfront just BEGGING to be used. It has a 75 gallon sump and I will be running 2 mag 9.5's on it (you guys think I will need a powerhead for the moray to be happy as a side question? or is the ~1500 gph turnover enough for him?). I know I need a powerful skimmer for these guys, and I know the bowfront may not be good for the eel all it's life so I may go with a smaller moray (dragon maybe?). My issue is the sump under the tank only has 28" from the bottom of the tank to the "ceiling" of the stand above. Do you guys have any recommendations as to what specific skimmer I can buy that will fit in the sump? Worst case scenario I can build a 2x4 stand but I would rather not, a) because the skimmer and live rock will already kill the bank account and b) the stand is nice because it fits the bow of the tank. Any recommendations guys? I want this to be as little maintenance as possible so I am happy buying a real strong skimmer but I get the feeling that I will be limited for 28" in space.

Thanks my friends.

 

[heath]

wow, be careful when you do your research for a skimmer, check and double check the water level that is needed for the skimmer to do its job... I have a reef octopus on my big tank ( 125g) and its water level is 9" and I have bubble magus curve 7 on my 75g mixed tank and it works the best in 11" of water.. have you been to sealife central, Ian and Linda are very knowledgeable... good luck and welcome to the site...

 

[Sewerat]

Life reef has excellent quality skimmers and one that is 22 1/2" tall also available with a shorter cup apparently. I'd call Jeff directly tell him what you've got in mind, your constraints and see what magic he can perform for you.


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[reef keeper]

Life reef has excellent quality skimmers and one that is 22 1/2" tall also available with a shorter cup apparently. I'd call Jeff directly tell him what you've got in mind, your constraints and see what magic he can perform for you.


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THIS

 

[fishermandave333]

Ya I realized after I posted this that my water level is going to be 12". Is this literally going to take magic to find something strong enough for what I need within 28" total height and a 12" water level? Anyone have experience building skimmers? I am contemplating building my own considering the space requirements.

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[reef keeper]

Jeff at lifereef can make it fit

 

[Sewerat]

28" clearance 12" of water, lifereef 23" with 9" tolerance, lift 3" on stand, still 2" clearance.

Mine sits on 2 acrylic boxes that were made from a job overflow, I think each box is 2-3" so I've got 4-6" of lift on mine to meet the 9" zone.


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[fishermandave333]

Thank you guys. Will the lifereef be strong enough for my tessy?

 

[fishermandave333]

Follow up question, for a 180 bowfront with a 75 gallon sump, if I want to keep my Tessa happy for as long as possible, how many pounds of live rock will I need in there? Planning to use crushed coral as substrate.

 

[reef keeper]

The skimmer goes a long way to helping you keep the tank clean.

I have 320 total gallons, and maybe 130 lbs in dt and maybe 40 in sump. No nitrates.

 

[fishermandave333]

So think if my skimmer is decent I can go with something around the 100lb mark? These things produce a heavy bioload.