Skimmer for 33gal?

wayoutacontrol · #1 09/24/2007, 09:30 PM

Any advice on what kind of HOB skimmer for a 33gal, medium bio-load. Price is a limiting factor.

dmo · #2 09/24/2007, 10:12 PM

I've had two AquaC Remora skimmers on my 30g, and I couldn't in good conscience recommend them. One spewed microbubbles into the tank, and the second which I got as a replacement under warranty simply never pulled anything out of the water. I'd be lucky to get a half inch of cloudy water in the cup after letting it run for a week.

This did lead me to setting up a simple sump, which I like a lot, and it opens up a good deal of skimmer options. I'd say look into that if it is at all possible. Sorry I can't actually recommend a skimmer, as the only hang-on that I've had experience with is the Remora.

wayoutacontrol · #3 09/24/2007, 11:19 PM

I have thought about putting a sump in, its just then I need to get an overflow, and find some kind of tank that will fit inside my stand. Would a 10 gal. sump be large enough to do any good?

Drilling the tank at this point is not much of an option, too much work to tear down, relocate everything, drill the tank and re-assemble everything.

happyface888 · #4 09/25/2007, 01:21 AM

Get the biggest tank you can fit under your stand

notenoughtanks · #5 09/25/2007, 07:10 AM

get a prizm, I've had excellent results with them on a 29 up to a light load 75. I recommend them up and down for smaller tanks.

kodyboy · #6 09/25/2007, 07:38 AM

get a sump if you can, then get an octopus nw110 or 150 (whichever fits)
if you do not want a sump get a D&D terminator HOB, great unit for the cash

luke33 · #7 09/25/2007, 07:55 AM

I think Kody meant typhoon as the terminator is an insump and waay to big for a 33g. The octo 110 would be great for that setup. A 10g tank for a sump would work well. Added water adn a place to hide your equipment.

dmo · #8 09/25/2007, 09:56 AM

For an idea, if you did use up your budget to set up a sump instead of getting a skimmer for now, you could try getting an inexpensive grow light and growing macroalgae in the sump for nutrient export. I don't have any macro myself, so I can't say how effective this would be in comparison.

kodyboy · #9 09/25/2007, 11:46 AM

yep meant typhoon not terminator

Wryknow · #10 09/25/2007, 01:05 PM

I would recomment the Tunze classic DOC skimmer 9205 that actually sits inside your main tank at the top of the water line ($255 at marinedepot.com.) They are good little efficient (12W) skimmers if you don't have a sump. They sit about 2-3" below the water line so they are visible in the tank but I think that's better than your other alternatives in a non-drilled tank. (The look really isn't that bad - no worse than some of the larger power heads and you get used to it IMHO.) I strongly recommend against adding one of the u-tube over-flows to a non-drilled tank. It's just too easy for them to lose their syphon and then you'll have a big flood. You do need to have an automated top-off system to keep them running well though, water fluctuations are tough on skimmer performance.