Good hang on back skimmer?

Kissfan79 · #1 07/16/2007, 01:11 AM

What is generally considered to be a good hang on back skimmer for a 75 gallon reef tank (something better than a sea clone 100)? Are the prizms any good? Typhoon?

Thanks,

Jim

ghostbear29 · #2 07/16/2007, 02:34 AM

aqua c remora pro with a mag drive pump.
Maybe a coralife superskimmer.

Ive got friends who have these and they are extremely happy. Good dry gunk not to soupy not to hard to dial in...

Me, Im stuck witha CPR backpac. 29 gal. tank. I wouldnt use it on a 75 though. Mine is so so with my little tank.

hahnmeister · #3 07/16/2007, 02:40 AM

Good and HOB dont go in the same sentence... its an oxymoron.

kodyboy · #4 07/16/2007, 03:20 AM

true HOBs are not as good as in sump or external skimmers, but the typhoon is a decent HOB skimmer, as is the odyssea PS75. One of the better ones is the Bermuda rogue wave, and the aquamedic turbflotor is also good.

luke33 · #5 07/16/2007, 07:22 AM

For a 75g your choices are limited for hot imo. The bermuda being your best bet, then the turbofloater, but if you want to get the best one imo, get an intank tunze, then you can use it when you upgrade and get a sump. An Aqua c remora will do nothing more than a cup every other week.........which is the amount you should be collecting daily.

rutz81 · #6 07/16/2007, 07:29 AM

If money isn't really an object, your best HOB option, IMO, is the Deltec MCE600. It is a very good skimmer, I use it on my 75G SPS. I have 11 fish, and am overstocked with corals and it is constantly removing cupfuls of stinky skimmate. I wouldn't suggest the Coralife Superskimmer, I had one and didn't have much luck.

Kissfan79 · #7 07/16/2007, 08:01 AM

Thanks for the replies. I was looking for one for my folks. They have a 75 and they were sold a sea clone 100 as part of the package. I wanted to buy them a different one to upgrade them. I had to work last night unfortunatly and I could not increase my bid on the typhoon on E-Bay. It went for $26.50 (used of course). Believe it or not....and new berlin turbo classic went for more than a new Octopus NW150!

Jim

Zann · #8 07/16/2007, 12:42 PM

Good and HOB dont go in the same sentence... its an oxymoron.

well as said above the deltec has a great hob skimmer .

slowride · #9 07/16/2007, 12:44 PM

If you have no other choice, HOB is better than nothing.

silvers · #10 07/16/2007, 12:52 PM

coralife ss 220 w/ a larger pump, venturi and gate valve. makes for a verry good skimmer but with all the mods you could just buy a good skimmer

somethingphishy · #11 07/16/2007, 12:54 PM

not so good skimmer that i own=seal clone 100......
but i would say even worse= prizm

slowride · #12 07/16/2007, 12:59 PM

I have a Seaclone 100, and it pulls a full cup every week and a half to two weeks or so out of my 30g. I am working on an upgrade, but sometimes you get lucky with those.

hahnmeister · #13 07/16/2007, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zann
Good and HOB dont go in the same sentence... its an oxymoron.

well as said above the deltec has a great hob skimmer .

No, I stand by what I said. Look around, the MCE600 isnt that great at all. I think it blows, and so do some who have owned it.

Honestly, the tunze is most likely the best option, although not a HOB.

Bang for the buck the best is the Coralife prolly, although the pumps are the weakness with that skimmer.

If I had to have a HOB, I would be making my own in a heartbeat. The best option, IMO, would be to use a 5' tall 4-6" diameter skimmer that stands behind the tank, rather than hang on the back. The skimmer could be recirculating and fed from the top (like a HOB skimmer where the pump hangs in the tank), and then the overflow pipe could spill back into the tank.

kolokefalo · #14 07/17/2007, 08:38 AM

The reason HOB skimmers get sch a bad name is because few people invest the time to use a surface skimmer in conjunction with a HOB skimmer. Here is a pic of a fantastic way to make your HOB skimmer 2x as effective.

4" ABS cut to incorporate the powerhead. Just drill a few holes in the middle then cap them off until it skims the surface well.

GSMguy · #15 07/17/2007, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kolokefalo
The reason HOB skimmers get sch a bad name is because few people invest the time to use a surface skimmer in conjunction with a HOB skimmer. Here is a pic of a fantastic way to make your HOB skimmer 2x as effective.

4" ABS cut to incorporate the powerhead. Just drill a few holes in the middle then cap them off until it skims the surface well.

No! HOB skimmers dont skim well, thats why they have a bad name, most people like their equipment to work... seaclones and remoras do less than 5%water changes so whats the point.
i do water changes anyway.

i like my deltec HOB but its not like the in sump units

shred5 · #16 07/17/2007, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hahnmeister
No, I stand by what I said. Look around, the MCE600 isnt that great at all. I think it blows, and so do some who have owned it.

Honestly, the tunze is most likely the best option, although not a HOB.

Bang for the buck the best is the Coralife prolly, although the pumps are the weakness with that skimmer.

If I had to have a HOB, I would be making my own in a heartbeat. The best option, IMO, would be to use a 5' tall 4-6" diameter skimmer that stands behind the tank, rather than hang on the back. The skimmer could be recirculating and fed from the top (like a HOB skimmer where the pump hangs in the tank), and then the overflow pipe could spill back into the tank.

MCE600 is a great skimmer. It may not be as good as a deltec in sump skimmer but out performs allot of other insump skimmers. Mine was on par with my euroreef in sump skimmer.

Not only that is has a section were you can put some polyfilters, carbon or phosphate remover etc.

I agree tunze is another great option but my deltec slightly out performed my tunze.

I believe adam has both my tunze and my deltec now though..

Dave

hahnmeister · #17 07/18/2007, 01:36 AM

My gripe is this... the collection cup is small and tends to get gunked up quickly if you put it high. If you set it too low, then it overflows easily. The collection cup isnt even designed right. The pump is the only good part of the skimmer, but it shoots straight up into the cup area and therefore is very turbulent. The media areas are a sham because you cant actually force the water to flow through the media without raising the water level in the skimmer and risking overflow. Those who use it tell me at least...

There is such potential for some mfg to actually make a killer HOB skimmer... as a regular recirc skimmer already has its inlet, and outlet up at the top, so all you have to do is put it behind the tank and make it compact enough to fit in there. Yet no mfg does this? Why? I think the mfg's figure that if a person is too cheap to have a sump then they are too cheap to bother with a good performing skimmer, and just slap something together that makes money. I would be up for a DIY HOB skimmer competition though. Whats out there isnt jack.

landragon · #18 09/12/2007, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hahnmeister
I would be up for a DIY HOB skimmer competition though. Whats out there isnt jack.

Game on!

koraltek · #19 09/12/2007, 09:21 AM

i've never tried it, but i'll bet that one of these mesh modded will probably be pretty good, i should get one for the store just to see...
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...150gallonwpump

RichConley · #20 09/12/2007, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shred5
MCE600 is a great skimmer. It may not be as good as a deltec in sump skimmer but out performs allot of other insump skimmers. Mine was on par with my euroreef in sump skimmer.

Not only that is has a section were you can put some polyfilters, carbon or phosphate remover etc.

I agree tunze is another great option but my deltec slightly out performed my tunze.

I believe adam has both my tunze and my deltec now though..

Dave

I agree with Hahn here, the MCE600 is a very poorly designed piece of junk with a decent pump on it. You'd have a much better skimmer throwing an Aquabee on a Turboflotor than you have with the MCE600. Honestly, I think the turboflotor is a better skimmer than the MCE600.

I dont understand why more people don't DIY hob skimmers. Theyre at a size where cheap sched40 PVC is still an option. You could build a recirc that would outskim pretty much everything on the market (hob-wise) for about $25.

shred5 · #21 09/12/2007, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RichConley
I agree with Hahn here, the MCE600 is a very poorly designed piece of junk with a decent pump on it. You'd have a much better skimmer throwing an Aquabee on a Turboflotor than you have with the MCE600. Honestly, I think the turboflotor is a better skimmer than the MCE600.

I dont understand why more people don't DIY hob skimmers. Theyre at a size where cheap sched40 PVC is still an option. You could build a recirc that would outskim pretty much everything on the market (hob-wise) for about $25.

How can people comment on something they have not used. I have used it and it is a damn good skimmer for a hob. It has some flaws that could be fixed.

As far as Turboflotor I have never used it so I can not comment on it other than I have heard it is a good skimmer.

Dave

RichConley · #22 09/12/2007, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shred5
How can people comment on something they have not used. I have used it and it is a damn good skimmer for a hob. It has some flaws that could be fixed.

As far as Turboflotor I have never used it so I can not comment on it other than I have heard it is a good skimmer.

Dave

I'm not commenting on something I haven't used. The MCE600 is an extremely poorly designed product.

shred5 · #23 09/12/2007, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RichConley
I'm not commenting on something I haven't used. The MCE600 is an extremely poorly designed product.

Maybe but it still performs well... Pump and needle wheel must make up for its design flaw.

Dave

RichConley · #24 09/12/2007, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shred5
Maybe but it still performs well... Pump and needle wheel must make up for its design flaw.

Dave

"performs well" is subjective.

IMO, the $200 turboflotor, which isnt even a good skimmer, outperforms it, for under half the price.

Maybe I just have higher standards for skimmer performance.

rutz81 · #25 09/12/2007, 02:04 PM

IMO, it does the job asked of it. I get a cupful of skimmate every 1.5-2 days. Which might be as much orless than what you guys are getting. But, I have zero nuisance algae, my SPS, LPS, and fish are extremely happy. My water is always crystal clear. Not saying it is only the skimmer that is doing this. But, if I was to get another skimmer, I don't know what else I could ask for my skimmer to do.