which skimmer should i purchase

[marvinsae]

my tank is a 65 with 40gallon sump and was thinking of purchasing a seaclone 150... it is pretty cheap about under 100 but i was thinkin of spending around 200-250. anyone have any skimmer suggestions

[mseepman]

I would say you should look at the SWC or Bubble Magus skimmers...they have good reviews for the price.

I have a Aqua medic Blue1000 and I'm quite happy with it....not too expensive either. My tank is a 70G with 20G sump.

[Coleus]

+1 for BM

[burrows14]

I would check out the bubble magus NAC7 skimmer. I ran one for a couple months and was very happy with its performance . I only switched skimmers because I was upgrading systems. Im running the larger Bubble magus CS-180 now and loving it. Bubble magus is a good bang for your buck IMO

[Chaloupa]

STAY AWAY from the Seaclone..they are junk, honestly. Any of the others suggested would do 100x's the job that the seaclone would. I am a Euroreef fan but they just don't make them anymore....the Vertex is one I would consider for sure..but the BM would be fantastic!

[marvinsae]

wow bubble magus goes for pretty cheap and the reviews look great. i think i've made up my mind.

[burrows14]

let us know which one you get:biggrin:

[Millepora_Maniac]

Vertex!!! Go with them for sure, cheap and wicked quality!:biggrin:

[marvinsae]

well my buddy just bought a seaclone rated for 100 gallons. mine's 105 with sump but i know i should get a skimmer rated for at least 1.5x. i've heard bad things about seaclones but would it be better with some modding? i might purchase it from him

[mseepman]

They are complete junk and I don't think there is any saving them...mods or otherwise.

I think everyone here will concur.

[marvinsae]

They are complete junk and I don't think there is any saving them...mods or otherwise.

I think everyone here will concur.


lol i assumed that would be the answer...but even if it's free?

[steve fedyk]

I wuold go with the vertex 180

[Madreefer]

lol i assumed that would be the answer...but even if it's free?

If you take a saw and cut it up a bit you might find a use for the acrylic. I'm surprised people still get sucked in to buying them. Junk

[SmallFry]

Firstly, I am no skimmer expert, this is only from my own (limited) experience and quite a bit of reading. There are some skimmers that the reviews indicate perform pretty well for a modest price e.g. the Bubble Magus, having said that it seems they aren't as cheap as they apparently once were. My honest advice on skimmers is that it's one area where you really do not want to cheap out.

I did, (it's made by Weipro) and even after a year of fiddling with the thing I'm still bitterly regretting it. Thank goodness I'm only FOWLR and on a 27 gallon frequent water changes are cheap. OK it was only about $80 ($80 absolutely wasted), but it is the biggest piece of junk that ever showed it's miserable face on Earth. I literally despise the thing. I can't wait to get my new tank running so I can drive a steamroller over it. Repeatedly. It's sole purpose is now aeration, because I could do a better job of skimming myself with a drinking straw and a spoon..

With an upgrade in progress I've done a lot of research, and from what I've read you'll probably be best off looking towards the Vertex/Euro Reef price range as an entry point (though there do seem to be some questions on the Euro Reef meshwheels at present).

My tank upgrade has a Euro Reef RS100 (pinwheel) waiting, just to show I've learned my lesson! :biggrin:

[fishytime]

BM or vertex....the money you save getting the seaclown for free you will spend cleaning your floors or replacing your hair:razz:

two areas really that you should not skimp.........skimmer and lighting......if you go cheap to begin with you will usually end up spending more in the long run upgrading later:wink:

[Albertan22]

You might want to consider SWC as well. I have an SWC Xtreme 200 on my 120g and have been really happy with it. When I was looking for my skimmer I had initially debated between a Vertex or a Euro Reef but as I recall, there were issues with the pumps on both the skimmers I had been looking at. SWC puts Sicce pumps in their skimmers, which has proven to be quiet and reliable after the break in period.

[RuGlu6]

my tank is a 65 with 40gallon sump and was thinking of purchasing a seaclone 150... it is pretty cheap about under 100 but i was thinkin of spending around 200-250. anyone have any skimmer suggestions

Check this out good skimmers good prices shipping is around $75.

http://www.fish-street.com/bubble_magus_nac6__nac6a_protein_skimmer?category_ id=88

Excellent skimmer within your budget !
hth

[bauder1986]

STAY AWAY from the Seaclone..they are junk, honestly. Any of the others suggested would do 100x's the job that the seaclone would. I am a Euroreef fan but they just don't make them anymore....the Vertex is one I would consider for sure..but the BM would be fantastic!

The Seaclone isnt that bad really. Its great for nanos as long as you can figure out how to get those damned microbubbles to stop.

[no_bs]

Why waste money on cheap, useless skimmers? You will upgrade after frustrations. Now Euroreef is well worth the money, even used ones. They are plug and play.

[viperfish]

Lately a some sponsors are really pushing Bubble Magus, and there is nothing wrong with "knock off" skimmers, they are certainly a better value than the models they have cloned. Don't forget to have a look at Eshopps, they are also a sponsor, and make a very good skimmer delivering a lot of bang for the buck. If you're into the cone style check out this article http://reefbuilders.com/2009/03/10/cone-protein-skimmer-skoner-roundup/