Noise
 

Zylum, thanks for posting this question.

Dont mean to hijack but a few people have complained about noise with the euro reefs.

I was going get one of the smaller in sump euros but noise is a big concern of mine. Any other option for tried and true and quiet skimmers.

Thanks,

Jon

Trust me, I've installed a few of these, you'll need a large sump with slow flow to keep the bubbles out your tank. I've installed these in 40" sumps with plenty baffles but still get bubbles in the tank running the skimmer stock. The best solution I've found to solve this problem is to install a 1" ball valve on the input of the pump (ball valve -> venturi -> pump -> skimmer) this allow you to cut back the flow without any major mods, ideally it would be better to place the valve on the output of the pump but that results in more in sump space required. With the ball valve in place you can tune the flow rate to a point where the bubbles remain in the skimmer. The best pump for this skimmer would be the 3500 (same as RS80 and 100) this pump is still large enough.

It's hard to say if you'll experience the same problems, Euro Reef seems to be changing their pumps all the time (from sedra to gen-x, and now both), so depending where you get it and when it was ordered from wholesale you may or may not have these problems. I just now the latest ones coming out of wholesale have these pumps.

Honestly the difference between the RS100 and 135 is very small, just a few inches taller, I would use the 100 over the 135 and expect just as effective skimming. Either that or go to the 180.

Don't get me wrong Euro Reef skimmers are excellent, it's only the RS135 that could use a different pump selection.

The majority of noise from these skimmers comes from the air line, you just need to make a silencer. The best way to do this is install a PVC cap on the output riser pipe, drill a small hole (~3/16) in the top of the cap, then drill a 3/8" hole in the side of the pipe right below the new cap and run the air line through the hole and into the riser pipe.

Had one the old ER CS6-2's. Really did well after mesh-modding it. Doing the gate valve mod also helps as well.

is an RS 100 going to be ok with a 80 gallon tank and 30 gallon sump - I was thinking about the 135 as a possibility but not im concerned and the 180 is a lot more money. What do you think.

Thanks for the info sphelps.

RS100 will be fine

I would really think twice about getting this skimmer.

They were all the rage about 4 or 5 years ago when I was researching my system.

The pump (not the air intake) is noisy.

There are other better choices depending on what factor you want to optimize. If you want to optimize value there are better values including ASM. If you want to optimize quietness there are quieter skimmers. If you want to optimize performance there are several better choices.

All in all I think this was a good skimmer for several year old technology but for 2007 it is not up to par.

You feel like naming some better skimmers, that are up to par?

You know ASM uses the same pumps right?

I have two RS250s. I don't notice any pump noise at all. There is some noticeable air intake noise, but what I find to be the noisiest of these skimmers is the actual foaming action. However, this is not to say that it annoys me. Heck, one of them is in my bedroom and I sleep with it on. Occaisionally I will unplug it as sometimes after cleaning it really ramps up and takes a day or two to "break in" again, but 95% of the time I'm satisfied. Long story short, I got used to it. It's the only "real" skimmer I've owned (compared to a Prizm Pro. Ha!) so I'm not one to compare EuroReefs to other "real" skimmers.

HTH and cheers,