High Tide Aquatics

Skimmer?

DeadEnd

DeadEnd

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I have three questions about skimmers:

1. Is the skimmer load capacity calculated based on the volume of the display tank or the display tank + the sump?

2. If I have a fleece roller filter should I undersize the skimmer a little bit?

3. I was going to buy an Octopus Reef skimmer but decided to save some money to invest it on other more ”important" equipment. What affordable skimmer would you guys recommend for a 140 gallon aquarium (110g display/30g sump) with a fleece roller? I was looking at the bubble magus elite 7 but I really don't want to mess it up. Any recommendations? Should I not save money on this one?

Thanks!
 
skimmers are based on bioload more than total volume. i wouldn't undersize the skimmer and bubble magus are cheap for a reason. spend a little more for something better. i would look at total air flow (pH related) when searching.
 
jhuynh said:
skimmers are based on bioload more than total volume. i wouldn't undersize the skimmer and bubble magus are cheap for a reason. spend a little more for something better. i would look at total air flow (pH related) when searching.
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What skimmers would you recommend?
 
Coral reefer said:
I would rate it by bio load not volume. It’s a tough question. I think you’ll be ok w the bubble magus brand. Not sure on the model
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Ah it's just when I got to BRS it shows ”good for tanks of 100g with heavy bio load" that's why I thought it was also based on gallons.
 
jhuynh said:
simplicity as mention above. you can look at reef octopus (regal), nyos, or red sea. personally, i run a red sea psk900 (used to be psk600) on a red sea350 tank which is overkill.
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Simplicity is the least expensive ($300) the red sea rsk-600 looks like it would be good for my tank but I haven't read much about them, the Nyos I believe the comparable version would be the 220 which the price jumps to $800+ and the regal I think I could get by with the 150sss?

So the three contenders would be: the regal 150sss, the red sea rsk-600, and the simplicity 240DC.

Haha it's a hard decision! Anyone wants to jump and assist hahaha
 
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DeadEnd said:
Simplicity is the least expensive ($300) the red sea rsk-600 looks like it would be good for my tank but I haven't read much about them, the Nyos I believe the comparable version would be the 220 which the price jumps to $800+ and the regal I think I could get by with the 150sss?

So the three contenders would be: the regal 150sss, the red sea rsk-600, and the simplicity 240DC.

Haha it's a hard decision! Anyone wants to jump and assist hahaha
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I really like a DC controlled skimmer
 
DeadEnd said:
I have three questions about skimmers:

1. Is the skimmer load capacity calculated based on the volume of the display tank or the display tank + the sump?

2. If I have a fleece roller filter should I undersize the skimmer a little bit?

3. I was going to buy an Octopus Reef skimmer but decided to save some money to invest it on other more ”important" equipment. What affordable skimmer would you guys recommend for a 140 gallon aquarium (110g display/30g sump) with a fleece roller? I was looking at the bubble magus elite 7 but I really don't want to mess it up. Any recommendations? Should I not save money on this one?

Thanks!
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There are really 4 things to look at in a skimmer:
Quality, Neck size, Body size, and Pump.

With a fleece roller, I would definitely look for a smaller neck size.
Size is a function of bio-load needs, not gallons, and a roller reduces that.

Body size: As large as possible.
Increases dwell time.
Unfortunately, not separable from neck size. So you get what you get.

Quality:
Unless skimmer is junk, it does not affect performance all that much.
It mostly affects noise and ease of use. That may or may not be a big deal to you.
So don't go super cheap.

Pump:
DC pumps are a big win. Quieter, adjustable, and more efficient.
But most DC pumps use the same pump block, and only have different controllers.
 
Can never decipher what heavy, med, light bio loads mean anyway.

Having both a fleece roller (Red Sea 500) and a reef octo 130 essence I can say the fleece roller now does the heavy lifting but I would not downgrade the protein skimmer too much.

The total system in my tank is 64g -and the protein skimmer was probably overkill when I bought it (prior to fleece roller) but it really worked well and is easy to assemble/disassemble it.
 
L/B Block said:
Can never decipher what heavy, med, light bio loads mean anyway.

Having both a fleece roller (Red Sea 500) and a reef octo 130 essence I can say the fleece roller now does the heavy lifting but I would not downgrade the protein skimmer too much.

The total system in my tank is 64g -and the protein skimmer was probably overkill when I bought it (prior to fleece roller) but it really worked well and is easy to assemble/disassemble it.
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I don't understand them either lol.

I don't think I want to undersize it. I think I will get one that matches the heavy bio load to my DT size. Like the Octopus Reef 150.

Does your skimmer works way less than before?
 
DeadEnd said:
I don't understand them either lol.

I don't think I want to undersize it. I think I will get one that matches the heavy bio load to my DT size. Like the Octopus Reef 150.

Does your skimmer works way less than before?
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By not changing the inflow of air -it definitely skims a whole lot less. I have been slowly increasing the amount of air. Unfortunately one or twice the skimmer went into overflow mode due to water being too high in sump so I have been very very conservative on this.

I also go for the dark dark really dark green stuff!
Whatever one you do get I also recommend the ability to be able to maximize the ability to allow air in increments. Why I went for the reef octo 130 essence. The dial is great.
I think it’s not sufficient for your tank though.
 
No real experience here yet, but I've been doing similar research (and posted a similar question) and overall people have suggested that a skimmer just won't skim if it's too big. Without a fleece roller, it's usually OK to oversize, but with a fleece roller, I've been advised to follow the low bioload rating on skimmers.

Here's my current plan (if it's helpful):
126g DT, ReefMat 500, Ultra Reef Akula 160 skimmer

If I wasn't such a gear head, I would just be using my existing NYOS 120 skimmer, but I really wanted to try out the Ultra Reef.

That all being said, I'm probably selling my NYOS 120. It's all cleaned up (citric acid), original box included and works great, and IMO would work for your 110g display with the fleece roller.
 
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