Which skimmer to use?

[DUCADOS]

Having headache on which brand of skimmer to use on my 4x2x2.5?

I heard that dun use a too powerful skimmer as it will skim till the water too clean that no good for fishes?

And also if use a good skimmer,try not to operate it 24/7? True?

And if wan on 24/7 try get a underpowered wan???

[[V]tEc]

  DUCADOS said:

Having headache on which brand of skimmer to use on my 4x2x2.5?

I heard that dun use a too powerful skimmer as it will skim till the water too clean that no good for fishes?

And also if use a good skimmer,try not to operate it 24/7? True?

And if wan on 24/7 try get a underpowered wan???

not realli possible to overskim ur water...

good skimmer not on for 24/7? false

getting a underpowered skimmer will make u waste more money.

let us noe what ur budget for the skimmer. for ur tank size, a decent skimmer will not be cheap

[Solo77]

Hi bro, the advices u got may need some confirmation. U should see the skimmer performance and decide and don't just blindly go for brand. On off yr skimmer may not be good.

[FuEl]

If you don't mind second hand items,

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?...c=86866&hl=

The turnover rate should be more than sufficient to handle your tank.

[DUCADOS]

Thanks so much to all the info provided by u guys... But... I still dunno which skimmer is more appropriate for my tank.

Let's say if u guys were to be in my shoes wat skimmer will u use?

[DUCADOS]

And also m I right to say it's always better to overkill then under?

[Solo77]

Whether to overskim or underskim, it depends on yr belief and what u intend to keep. For demanding corals for gd water parameter and stocking of livestock, you may wish to get one which can handle more than ur water volume. Firstly, it can help to reduce chance of major crash as overskim likely to cleanse yr water faster and secondly the claimed capacity may be over stated for some skimmers. There are reefers who don't use skimmer or an underpowered skimmer for that tank and doing ok with good discipline in water change, having good refugium, etc. When u look out for skimmer, do note few things:

heavy stocking vs light stocking

type - venturi or needlewheel

space - not only holding but maintenance space

sensitivity - need constant fine tune or minmium tuning once setup

power consumption - some pumps consume high power and durability/reliablility

support - after sales service is one factor I look into.

Calculate yr water volume and search thr various sponsor or lfs website to decide. Brands like bubble king, deltec, h&s, bubble magus(may get the spelling wrong), reef octopus(new series look good), skimz monster, etc are using needlewheel and are general proven skimmer. Adv. Reef, reef manic and Beckett, etc are using venturi technology. Good also but need high flow pump to make it effective. However, with rio brand, they can support them with relatively low power consumption and give good skimming( bro fuel is selling). At the end, if you have deep pockets, no problem in sourcing, is only when u are on budget, then u need to source and hunt ard. Good day. Hope I don't confuse you more.

support

[TayHongSiang]

just go for deltec....no need to scratch yr head anymore...Reefdepot is open today till sunday...go and buy....

alternate choice will be grotech skimmer and skimz...which you can check out at aquamarin....

third choice will be reef octopus...which you can check out at Reborn

[arcanehacker]

  DUCADOS said:

Having headache on which brand of skimmer to use on my 4x2x2.5?

I heard that dun use a too powerful skimmer as it will skim till the water too clean that no good for fishes?

And also if use a good skimmer,try not to operate it 24/7? True?

And if wan on 24/7 try get a underpowered wan???

I've yet to see overskimming a tank relates to unhealthy fishes.. seriously. Corals.. maybe.. I've heard people who can't keep Xenias or certain mushrooms but have really nice SPS.. Theory is Xenias need some form of nitrate or something..

About turning the skimmer on and off would definitely shorten the lifespan of the skimmer pump(s) and its feed pump.. its just like turning on and off any return pumps.. they die off very quickly.. Its kinda similar to controllable and non-controllable wavemakers..

[BFG]

For that tank size, do not get the Deltec APF600, definitely under powered as I experienced. You could go high end ( Bubble King )or mid end ( Deltec or Reef Octopus 2009 model and above ). Big skimmer will have big collection cup, something to look into. If electrical consumption is a main concern, get one which operate on a single pump only, which draw water into the skimmer and add bubbles into the water column in the skimmer. After you consider these 2 points then you can set the budget.

I am using a Bubble King SuperMarin SM250 for my tank which is quite similar dimension to yours. Quite ex but I could not upgrade as this is at max already for my tank. Low power consumption which was why I choose this model after upgrading from the Deltec APF600. Take your time to consider getting which skimmer or else you're going to spend more money upgrading.

[DUCADOS]

Very steady for those bro here. Info provided very vividly. Really thanks alot. Didn't know to me a size of such tank is actually a big tank no wonder boss of reborn say mine's a big tank! So think really got to go for high end skimmer for better water quality Liao. Sigh. Hope can get a used wan so can lower my budget!!!

[DUCADOS]

Forget to add. Mine's a FOWLR tank so it still need such a good skimmer?

[Solo77]

Lol, bro, it depends. If u keep damsel, can save the money, if u keep exotic or expensive fishes, u may want to consider otherwise and who knows u will go into coral one day. Just get one gd one and ease yr mind. Cheers.

  DUCADOS said:

Forget to add. Mine's a FOWLR tank so it still need such a good skimmer?

[TayHongSiang]

  DUCADOS said:

Very steady for those bro here. Info provided very vividly. Really thanks alot. Didn't know to me a size of such tank is actually a big tank no wonder boss of reborn say mine's a big tank! So think really got to go for high end skimmer for better water quality Liao. Sigh. Hope can get a used wan so can lower my budget!!!

so wat model did reborn propose to u?

u can try reef octopus...i wd say its rather value-for-money.....u can make it up by doing 20% weekly water change instead of the usual 10% to help control yr nutrients....there r a few LFS that can supply you with NSW every week or month for water change...reborn is one of them and the other is iwarna.

actually for big tank it is easier to manage the nutrient levels as compared to small tanks...

how crowded is yr tank? like the one in aquamarin's display tank? you can also check out sealife...they carry H&S skimmer...but price wise its on the high side...they have a fowler tank there..u can ask Sam for tips how they maintain it so neat and clean....

[DUCADOS]

Cannot imagine how much would 1 of this high end skimmer cost when used Deltec people already selling $300-$350

[Solo77]

Those on sales at the price range u mentioned are for 2 to 3 ft in general, 4 ft one will easily cost close or above 500 depending on brand. Hopeful, if u go for. Beckett, etc, u can still get below 300 range for a 4ft. Brand new for deltec and bubble king are easily above 1k. Just search the lfs website, need to wonder, lol.

  DUCADOS said:

Cannot imagine how much would 1 of this high end skimmer cost when used Deltec people already selling $300-$350

[arcanehacker]

  DUCADOS said:

Cannot imagine how much would 1 of this high end skimmer cost when used Deltec people already selling $300-$350

and people selling 300-350 second hand Deltec models are probably too under powered for a 4ft tank.. you should be looking for the AP701 or H&S150 or models in league. Anything smaller and you would find yourself washing the cup everyday..

[TayHongSiang]

u can check out reef octopus...price wise is rather affordable....dun go for those china brand like weipro...those are only effective for first month...after that, it skims nothing....

u can go for the ORCA-135-INT @$300 for yr 4ft...

http://www.reefoctopus.com.sg/product.php?c=3

[DUCADOS]

Wow...1k wor??? Steam! Seems like reefoctopus is a good idea n also cheap. But dunno how big is the big u guys refering to for a 4feet tank skimmer coz my sump for all I c the only place to place the skimmer will be the place where the return pump is

[Solo77]

calculate your tank water volume and determine the skimmer based on their spec in handling the volume of water. Hope this help.

[BFG]

Look at the cone skimmer from Reef Octopus. One pump operation skimmer. Get the biggest model you can afford and can fit in the sump so that you do not need to upgrade again.

[DUCADOS]

Some1 intro me reef octopus skimmer. I think the model is NW-150-6530. That's the only thing I can found on the box. Say was meant for 150 gallon wan so wanna check with u guys this skimmer suitable for my tank?

[DUCADOS]

  AhSiang said:

u can check out reef octopus...price wise is rather affordable....dun go for those china brand like weipro...those are only effective for first month...after that, it skims nothing....

u can go for the ORCA-135-INT @$300 for yr 4ft...

http://www.reefoctopus.com.sg/product.php?c=3

tot reefoctopus also china made? That's wat reborn fellow tell me wan...

[[V]tEc]

for me, i get sometime tat is rated 2 times or more my tank size....my water vol is abt 500+L, my skimmer is rated for 1500L. my tank is over stocked but no3 is ard 10

[DUCADOS]

  [V]tEc said:

for me, i get sometime tat is rated 2 times or more my tank size....my water vol is abt 500+L, my skimmer is rated for 1500L. my tank is over stocked but no3 is ard 10

Wat u mean by no3 is around 10???