Nano Skimmers

[lorenz0]

So guys for my new build i am looking for some help from you nano guys. With the new tank build i am stuck on what skimmer i should run. Spec's of the tank are:

24" long x 16" deep x 14" high which will be roughtly about 24 gals in the display and the "sump" area will be about 5 gals. now for the design i am looking for a skimmer that will fit in about a 6"x6" area. i am also considering some of the hang on the back skimmers (eshopps psk-75) but most of them are rated for something around a 75 gal and with shy of 30 gals of volume in the tank this may be a bit of over kill for the tank. On my previous set up i was extremely happy with the euro-reef compared to the deltec.

any ideas what i should run? its the only piece i am a bit flustered trying to figure out what i should buy.

[noirsphynx]

Haven't heard any negatives about the Tunze 9002. I'm going to run one on my tank 24" x 24" x 14"(high). I like that I can conceal this skimmer in the rear chambers that I'll build since it's just over 13" tall.

[OceanicCorals-Eugene-]

i think you can pretty much go with whichever skimmer you find fits your budget and skims well. I think a skimmer thats rated for a 75gallon system will do well in a sub 30g tank, heres a few reasons why.

-more oxygen for your tank inhabitants
-faster contaminant removal if it was to get in your tank
-more feeding of fish

those are the first 3 that i can think of but im sure theres more.

Just for example, on my personal tank, i am running a deltec MCE600 on a 30gallon tank, it never stops skimming and my tank has never looked better ever since i switched it over. Thats a skimmer rated for 120 heavy stocked tank on a 30. I think you'll be fine with which ever skimmer you pick as long as you know it'll work.

[lorenz0]

i am just not sure about the tunze 9002. After seeing a few in action i am just not sold on it. The only reason i am even considering a eshopps is due to the design of it.

Its funny, i have only heard good things about the deltec mce-600 but i hated my mc500. after dishing out $600 for the thing it was a pain in the butt from the start. barely skimmed and i was unhappy with my choice. after switching to the euro-reef i was extremely happy with the results of my tank. Better color, growth and clearity in the tank itself. This is what i am looking for.

As for the design of the tank, I am basically building a all in one due to the location of the tank (will be on a dresser in my room) so there will be not pipes. just and area cut off from the display so i don't have to look at a heater, skimmer, water pump for carbon and rowa-phos.

Just seeing whats out there cause i know the footwork of most skimmers similar to my rs-80 is about 6x8. And i can't find diamentions for all those euro-reef nano skimmers so i don't want to play russian rulette ordering one and hoping it will fit

[OceanicCorals-Eugene-]

im surprised you hated your MC500, most people i know that own it loves it as much as the MCE600. But its one hell of an expensive skimmer for its performance i must say.

The BMQQ nano skimmer packs quite the punch from all the reviews ive seen. using a Pin Wheeled MJ1000 it pulls more air than the MCE300 (as its got more pins on the wheel) and its footprint is much smaller and dont forget the the pricing. Just something to look into, you can probably by 2 of the BMQQ for less than the MCE300 too haha.

Cheers,
Eugene

[brizzo]

i think you can pretty much go with whichever skimmer you find fits your budget and skims well. I think a skimmer thats rated for a 75gallon system will do well in a sub 30g tank, heres a few reasons why.

My nanocube 28g is drilled with a herbie drain, 10g sump, vertex in-80 skimmer. Just finished water testing it all tonight, and all went well. This gives me faith I made the right choice in going with an over sized skimmer :lol:

[mseepman]

I have a BMQQ skimmer and for $79.00 all in I couldn't complain. it works well as long as you stabilize your water level. Well built too. I got my at www.nuocean.com as I don't think anyone here carries them.

[Rogue951]

I've used a Tunze 9002 on my 20G (+10G sump) for about a year and it did the job. Considering it's just a tiny pump inside I wasn't expecting huge amounts of skimmate but it did produce regular amounts of it. Wetter than most skimmers I've seen but after reading around this seems to be normal.
A couple weeks ago I bought a used Deltec 500 since I'm upgrading tanks and it's been running in my new 30g sump and pulling out much dryer dark skimmate, as I expect a higher power unit would.

the only thing with the 9002 is that it's in tank. I didn't have a sump at first on my 20g and it was annoying having that big block on the side.

[freezetyle]

. i am also considering some of the hang on the back skimmers (eshopps psk-75)

I have the Psk-75h on my biocube. I have been pretty happy with it. my only issue is that it is a bit louder then other ones due to the water moving through the tubes. Other than that it pulls out quite a bit of gunk.

[OceanicCorals-Eugene-]

I have a BMQQ skimmer and for $79.00 all in I couldn't complain. it works well as long as you stabilize your water level. Well built too. I got my at www.nuocean.com as I don't think anyone here carries them.

I believe Aqua Digital is the Canadian distributor for BM now, so Im sure they can get the BMQQ for you if you are able to wait a few months for it. Otherwise Nuocean is probably the way to go

[ElGuappo]

i have a psk 75 for sale. and i believe red coral is now selling buble magnus skimmers.

[Oscar]

Have a look at the euro-reef nano skimmers. I am extremely pleased with mine. Ocean Aquatics carries them.

[OceanicCorals-Eugene-]

Have a look at the euro-reef nano skimmers. I am extremely pleased with mine. Ocean Aquatics carries them.

Not to put down the euro-reef skimmers, i think they are constructed well but the alloy they use for the meshwheel just doesnt last very long, even the new version of the alloy which is supposed to last longer just disintegrates after a while. I wouldnt want a skimmer thats worth $200 or so to need a replacement meshwheel after 6 or so months of use (thats saying the new alloy lasts 6 months) just my personal opinion.

Other then the meshwheel i think the skimmers are constructed very well.

[LeeR]

Not to put down the euro-reef skimmers, i think they are constructed well but the alloy they use for the meshwheel just doesnt last very long, even the new version of the alloy which is supposed to last longer just disintegrates after a while. I wouldnt want a skimmer thats worth $200 or so to need a replacement meshwheel after 6 or so months of use (thats saying the new alloy lasts 6 months) just my personal opinion.

Other then the meshwheel i think the skimmers are constructed very well.



agreed..mine is sitting in the floor next to my tank..

[Oscar]

Well, I am only at the 4 month mark so I have not had an issue with the mesh wheel yet. Can a person get the appropriate mesh themselves and cut/install when the time comes?

[LeeR]

no you just have to buy a new one from nanoreefsystems... at $30+.. im pretty un happy at this point.. considering a spent $200 on it and its pretty much junk now.. id rather not shell out another 30 bucks on something that will fail in say 4 months...

[Oscar]

OK then, if that is the case is there another pump out there that can be installed? After much frustration this is the first skimmer that I have used that actually fits AND works in my tank.

I am not ready to give up on this one yet.

[LeeR]

well im going to try using enkamat.. i have a feeling it wont be fine enough.. if nto maybe the mj1000 from the BMQQ will fit?

[Oscar]

well im going to try using enkamat.. i have a feeling it wont be fine enough.. if nto maybe the mj1000 from the BMQQ will fit?

Here's a DIY page. http://www.randystacye.com/diythreadwheel.htm

Let me know how your attempt goes.

[paddyob]

I have been using the Rio Nano skimmer for over two years... works great.

Dry foam... thick dark green slime. This is also more affordable than most at under $50.

There are a lot of people who recommend the higher end ones... but for a smaller tank... is it really worth it? They say you don't even need one, so why pay more than you have to?

If you are looking for something good, but not "the best"... try one out.

[intarsiabox]

Some other HOB skimmers that are supposed to be good are the Octopus HB1000, Warner Marine H1 and Deltec 300 (although Deltec is more pricey). I haven't used these myself but all get good reviews.

[lorenz0]

Thanks for all the input guys. but in the new place its starting to look like i will be buying a JBJ nano-cube (not much room). but for sure looking into the euroreef's

[Sean]

Thanks for all the input guys. but in the new place its starting to look like i will be buying a JBJ nano-cube (not much room). but for sure looking into the euroreef's


I have a JBJ 28g HQI nano and the skimmer that came with it was uselessand broke easily. I haven't replaced it yet and was thinking of doing so but im at a stand still with what will fit in the back. If you find something let me know. :)

Also I love my Nano-cube but temp is a problem with the HQI in appartments or small rooms so if you don't want to be dropping money on ways to cool it you might want to go with just the regular lighting. :)

[trilinearmipmap]

I used a Tunze 9002 on my 30 gallon cube for a couple of years, IMO it was a piece of crap. Very finicky, couldn't get consistent skimmate production. The air intake was constantly plugging up with dried salt. It required frequent servicing to keep it working, and the inside of it is quite small and difficult to work with. Overall it was a huge headache and I would take it out in the back yard and shoot it if I had a firearm.

I've had my EuroReef nano skimmer for almost a year, I did have to replace the meshwheel 5 months ago and it has been fine since then. They charged $12.00 for a new meshwheel so if I have to replace it one to two times per year I guess I can live with that.

The EuroReef produces more skimmate in one day than the 9002 would make in a week.

The only advantage the Tunze 9002 had was it was silent where the EuroReef is just very quiet.

Overall the 9002 was a real let down, I have always bought Tunze products on faith due to their excellent reputation, this product did not live up to the Tunze reputation for quality and reliability.

[VFX]

I ran a Tunze 9002 on a lightly loaded 20g for almost 2 yrs without any problems. It worked fine for me, pulling enough skimmate to fill a quarter of the collection cup every week & quickly pulling a cup's worth of really dark thick skimmate when one of my clams died.

It would sometimes appear to pull nothing at all when I've done a water change but, I put that down to lack of nutrients for it to work on.

I've also been running a Euro Reef Nano on my Solana. At first it took a few weeks to settle down properly & not over fill the collection cup within a few minutes.

Once settled down it would start to overfill the collection cup about once every few days until I cleaned out the foam at the base of the skimmer. I got tired of this so I removed the foam altogether which gave me about a week or so before the skimmer will overflow the cup.

After a few months of this, it now 3/4 fills the cup every day (I do over feed this tank & it's quite heavily stocked) but occasionally will overflow once the lights go out.

I have no idea why it overflows once the lights have gone out for an hour or so. Could the change in pH effect the running of the skimmer causing it to overflow?

Anyway, when it's working it's an amazing skimmer & 30% of the time, when it's not working, it's a complete PITA. At least it's pretty quiet.

I haven't tried the Bubble Magus, Warner Marine or Sapphire Nano Skimmers, but if I had the budget for it I'd go back to using my favourite HOB skimmer, the Deltec MCE600.

As it stands, discounting the MCE600 due to cost, I still haven't found a perfect Nano skimmer.

.