which of these 6 skimmers?

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

This is for my medium bio-load 120G with 50g. sump(about 150g. actual gallon system).
LPS and Monti Digi's & Cap's only.

1. ALS Predator
2. ASM G3
3. ASM G2
4. ETSS Reef Devil
5. ETSS Reef Devil Deluxe
6. CSS 220

Thanks for help!
-Matt

[elephen]

No becketts?

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

this list isn't all defining, but what my most trusted LFS has.
Other skimmers are possible, BUT
1. I want to keep cost under $300 with pump.
2. I want In-Sump
Any thoughts?

[moonpod]

Of that list the G3.

[Sparkysreef]

I second the G3

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

remember it doesn't have to be on the list, those are just the easiest for me to get (no shipping)......so if you can think of anything along the lines, please feel free to recommend.
Thanks

[chadfarmer]

2. ASM G3

[Sparkysreef]

figure out what you skimmer budget is. Get plenty of rest and start searching under skimmer threads.

That's what I did for numerous hours and then made a decision.

Moonpod and Zoom will offer great help in this department as they both not only have knowledge of skimmers but have tried out almost every type of skimmer out there. Not to mention trial and error experience too.

First decision $$$ available

Second decision: beckett, needle wheel, etc. Then narrow down from there

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

in my second post i stated - $300 or less with pump.
Type doen't matter to me, as long as someone with knowledge recommends it.:)

[sirreal63]

I happen to love my G3, massive overkill for a 58 but it does the job. :-)

[spazz]

get one of the biggest asm skimmers you can afford and do the mods to it. get the gate valve mod. and the recirculating mod for it. then you will have a good entry level skimmer. later on when you upgrade to a bigger tank, get into a top of the line skimmer thats recirculating. make sure you buy the skimmer before you buy the tank. that way you have it when you get the tank running. not after the tank is running and you figure out the current skimmer you have is too small, and your animals are suffering for it.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

none of my fish are suffering....but thanks for advice.
trate-0
amm.-0
salinity-1.025(refrac.)
temp. 78.2-79.0(temp. controller)
calc.-420
DKH-9
Mag. 1300

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

what do you think of this skimmer???

-used Euro Reef CS6-3 for $280 shipped?

[spazz]

just to give you an idea of what im talking about. i have a 120 sps tank. i have a custom built skimmer thats 30" tall and has an 8" diam reaction chamber. and i have to empty the cup every week or it will overflow. but i never have to clean my glass and i have no algae problems. i have an ozoner and it never turns on because the skimmer is 3 times bigger than the tank needs. i still do my monthly water changes. but the skimmer helps keep maintaince to a minimum. i have heard that the asm skimmers are a little over rated for the tank size they recomend. but the mods really help improve the performance of those skimmers.

[my2girls]

I would go G3. Stock- no recirc mod. I had a G2 with recirc. It was a joke. A gate valve mod would be good.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

so a modded G3 would perform as well or better than the
ER CS6-3?

[Bill and Elaine]

I got rid of my ReefDevil to get a G3....( WAY BETTER ).....get the G3 and do the mods.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

my2girls.....why no recirc. mod?

[tjay]

G3 with the gate, I didnt do recirc but I do run ozone with it
Love it Love it Love it

[spazz]

if you can afford the euro reef get that. is alt better built skimmer and wont disapoint you.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

the G3 stock is $285 at my LFS

[tjay]

Until someone shows me how they are better they are not worth the extra money in my opinion. I just toured 9 reefers homes some were running the er and they did not leave me wishing I had spent the extra money

Just my opinion now, I am sure there are others

[my2girls]

Eagles- I'd like it if you changed your name to Giants. :D

The recirc mod on my G2 was a total disaster. It was done for me professionally. First, the uniseals did not fit into the skimmer body very well. The pump did not stay attached well either. My G2 was gravity fed from the overflow. Bad idea. Even though I added a ball valve it was hard to keep the proper amount of GPH (150-200 for a G2) going through the skimmer. Large air bubbles from the overflow would cause the water/foam line to fluctuate. Many of the guys in the ASM club have had good results with a stock skimmer.

[Sparkysreef]

do you have a skimmer now? If so be patient and wait for a good used skimmer for that price. No offense but IMHO I think you will be unhappy with a skimmer new at that price for 120gal

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

ahhhh.....patience is no virtue i have

[my2girls]

Try this.

http://asmskimmer.com/

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

yeah, there in lies my new problem. One of the local LFS is run by a local club sponsor, RC Sponsor, and him & his wife & brother are great people.
After shipping it would be $260-ish......from LFS $305(but i could get it running tomorrow intead of a week from now).

[my2girls]

Forty-five bucks is a decent amount of money. However, I'm a big fan of supporting local business. It's your call.

[causeofhim]

If you want a EuroReef, I love mine, check out the EuroReef outlet store. Their blems are great skimmers and ER honors any warranty on them. I have two from them and cant beat the deal.
http://www.h2otropicals.com/

[causeofhim]

If you decide on one of the above skimmers, go G3. ASM and EuroReef are proven performers with many happy owners.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

what do you think of a CS6-3(used) for $280 shipped?
Will that be a good sized ER for my 150 total gallons?-IYO

[causeofhim]

I wouldn't get anything smaller than a 8-2 for a 150 gals. I would also go larger than all of the skimmers you listed above. The skimmer is very important to having a successful system with as few problems possible.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

so any chance of a skimmer for ~ $300 to do the job?
Remember i'm not keeping any light hungry SPS or Max./Croceas.

[causeofhim]

I picked up a brand new RS8-24 blem 2 weeks ago for under $300.

[TwistedTiger]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6548511#post6548511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by my2girls
The recirc mod on my G2 was a total disaster. It was done for me professionally. Large air bubbles from the overflow would cause the water/foam line to fluctuate.

I had the same collapsing bubble problem until I put a 90 on my recirc pump return. Pointing the return down or to the side creates less turbulance at the top of the skimmer. If you still have the skimmer and haven't tried the 90 you should.

[sjm817]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6548511#post6548511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by my2girls
Eagles- I'd like it if you changed your name to Giants. :D

The recirc mod on my G2 was a total disaster. It was done for me professionally. First, the uniseals did not fit into the skimmer body very well. The pump did not stay attached well either. My G2 was gravity fed from the overflow. Bad idea. Even though I added a ball valve it was hard to keep the proper amount of GPH (150-200 for a G2) going through the skimmer. Large air bubbles from the overflow would cause the water/foam line to fluctuate. Many of the guys in the ASM club have had good results with a stock skimmer.
I used to run a bone stock G2 no mods and it worked great.

I now run a Deltec AP600 which is recirc by design. Of course, because of this no issues with things fitting properly. I did have issues with large bubbles from the overflow. I spent some time trying different drain setups till I found one that works well. Now the Deltec is really working nicely.

BTW, of that list, the G3.

[causeofhim]

According to these guys, they think the G3 would be fine.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=756315

[Reefdaddy1]

Run the Css 220, I got one and love mine. No problems at all and save a ton of money, I mean how much micro bubbles do you need? They all do the same thing. But MIne is extreemly quiet and dependable. Tons crap always in the collection cup. I have G# on some my tanks and bought that CSS recently for my new tank. Love it and will buy them again over anyother Skimmer, just because of cost and the great job they do.

[Ironsheikh]

I'm happy w/ my css and if you need to go harder --just add ozone.........

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

this is for 150 gallons though.....the CSS are nice for their price, but not enough for me.

**I bought a 24.5"x6" downdraft(ALS Model 1) on a Mag 9.5.....this skimmer is super nice! custom cast acrylic job with huge valved air intake and gate valve already on return:)

[HappyReefer2]

I have a friend that just installed a ASM G3 with both Recirculating & Gate Valve Mods... it is kicking butt on his 175g tank with heavy fish bioload. He had an AquaC EV-180 before and this new skimmer out performs his old one by triple the amount of skim.

He bought his unit from asmskimmer.com for a little over $300 shipped. His only comment was that he could have saved money by reuilding the gate valve mod himself from Home Depot.

[mope54]

Now I'm still on the fence as to what to do with my predator 2 skimmer. I was contemplating slapping a sedra 5000 on it. Would I put it on the bottom chamber or the top one? Do you guys have pictures of how yours are setup?

I currently have it fed from my overflow, but I just can't get enough flow. A recirc setup would fix that, I think, but if I experience any problems then I have to deal with two holes in the side of my skimmer's chamber!


If i can't get it working, I'll sell my Predator 2. It's a predator 1 with an extra chamber you can add or remove to make it into the 2. I have no idea how to set it up and the website has been in development for months now (if not longer).

http://aquaticlifesystems.com/

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6551144#post6551144 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
I used to run a bone stock G2 no mods and it worked great.

I now run a Deltec AP600 which is recirc by design. Of course, because of this no issues with things fitting properly. I did have issues with large bubbles from the overflow. I spent some time trying different drain setups till I found one that works well. Now the Deltec is really working nicely.

BTW, of that list, the G3.

[toothman]

Just another opinion: Asm are inexpensive and work great, low electric to run and dead quiet and make a plethora of fine bubbles. What else could you want.