big skimmer

[cwilson]

best skimmer for a 240gal reef?

any info would be great! thanks

[Reef Sponger]

Depends on your budget and type of skimmer. For needlewheel, the best would be BubbleKing, but expect to spend $2,500+.

Next in line for needlewheel skimmers is, H&S, Euro-Reef, ATi and Deltec for high performance/high end skimmers.

[hahnmeister]

BEST? Well, a Spazz Volcano (www.aquaticacrylics.com) would be the 'BEST'. But get ready to shell out $2600-3000 for it (depends on options).

[Nick A]

I was going to suggest the BK, but didnt read all the replies..lol

[cwilson]

you guys really think itll be THAT much??

i just looked at deltecs website, and their APF600 (200-270gal capacity) and the AP701 (250-380gal) are both under $1,200.00

arent deltec skimmers really nice?

well, i guess this is my fault. i shouldnt have said best. i do appologize.

lets put it this way: if he goes with the deltec, or at least stays around $700-$1000, can he get a good skimmer that will give good results?

[Nick A]

It can be done. I'm actually looking for a skimmer too for my 240g which is mainly SPS. I've also been looking at Deltec AP701 and AP851, or an H&S A200-2xF2001.

You could go with an DAS EX-3 @$630 like I might or get a custom one from Orca(www.protein-skimmer.com).

[cwilson]

thanks, ill tell him to check those out!

as of right now, i think he's leaning away from SPS, more like a few LPS and sofites and nice fish. we were thinking the deltec APF600

this is actually going to be his first system. ive never had anything over 100gal, so im not sure about the really big skimmers. ive just hear great things about needle wheel, euro-reef, and mainly deltec.

right nowim running an ASM G1-X on my 46gal and i love it

i know they make a G-4 that i think is good to 300gal. any thoughts?

thanks again for all the input/feedback!

[Waxxiemann]

Thought about any big becketts? Just another option.

http://www.marinetechnical.com/page8.html

[kodyboy]

What about this Orca?
http://www.protein-skimmer.com/shopp...itemdetail.asp
This should be far more than you need, for under $900

[klam114]

Originally posted by cwilson
you guys really think itll be THAT much??

i just looked at deltecs website, and their APF600 (200-270gal capacity) and the AP701 (250-380gal) are both under $1,200.00

arent deltec skimmers really nice?

well, i guess this is my fault. i shouldnt have said best. i do apologize.

lets put it this way: if he goes with the deltec, or at least stays around $700-$1000, can he get a good skimmer that will give good results?

The Deltec APF600 is too small for your setup. I wouldn't consider that skimmer on anything bigger than 150g setup. If you have the space, you should consider the Deltec AP851 if you want to stay with Deltec. Many have found H&S A200-1260 to be a better alternative than Deltec because of thicker acrylic construction, double the warranty coverage and replacement parts are 1/2 the cost. Performance is the same on Deltec or H&S. And yes, Bubbleking is better performance than Deltec.

If you want to save some money and still have great performance, you might want to consider the new ATi Bubblemaster 250, less than $800, but it is an in sump only skimmer (not recirculating like H&S or Deltec).

[skwirl]

i say das ex3, or a mrc mr3r.

[Plato]

I have a 275 sps tank that has a huge bio load from a massive amount of fish. I run a MR-3 running with a Blue Line 55 pump. It may use more energy but at $650.00 including pump, directly from .ww , well that leavs lots of monely left over compaired to the rest of the systems

[tgreene]

Here's mine... It's an 18" diameter Octopus FDNW-400 quad recirc.

[mavgi]

it's big boy but i don't like the way the pump mount to the skimmer IMO there is lose of a lot performance that way .

[tgreene]

Ummm, w/ 4 recirc pumps rated at 750gph each, it can afford to lose some... This baby foams freshwater!!!

[Nick A]

That's a pretty crazy skimmer. Whats the total watt usage for that monster? How big of a system is it going on? I was looking at that but don't know if I wanna deal with the freight shipping for it, and still gotta double check if that will fit...I think it may but it will be a squeeze.

[tgreene]

To be totally honest, I'm afraid to check the wattage... It's being fed by a 5th OTP-3000 pump, so I'm sure it's painful. We're guessing that our electric bill will easily be increased by $100 a month, due to the setup pictured below.

This is going in our aquaculture facility, and will eventually be connected to a pair of 4' x 8' x 12" shallow frag tanks. To begin with, we'll have 1 of these tanks online.

We're currently waiting on a couple specific parts to arrive, before we can finish the plumbing and add water, but if all goes well, we'll be running by the end of the week.

[mavgi]

it's not how much the pump rate and i saw some preview on the skimmer (it's work very well) , the pump connect together on one inlet and the outlet pipe to long this reduce performance if you take the same skimmer and the same pump and connect them separate with a shorter outlet and bigger air intake the skimmer will perform 50% better if not more but there is no doubt that this skimmer work well .

Nick A :

here some more picture for this skimmer at work :

[mavgi]

Originally posted by tgreene
To be totally honest, I'm afraid to check the wattage... It's being fed by a 5th OTP-3000 pump, so I'm sure it's painful. We're guessing that our electric bill will easily be increased by $100 a month, due to the setup pictured below.

this is true it will use a lot of watt to , for example if it was an option to put on this skimmer 3-4 Sicce pump with 24watt each pump it was better and the performance was better to but for sure this skimmer will do good job as is .

good luck with it .

[tgreene]

Originally posted by mavgi
it's not how much the pump rate

According to the CoralVue website, the pumps are rated at 750gph each...

Also, I agree with the rest of your comments, and I saw a huge difference when I ported the venturis. I went from 11-cfm to 17-cfm of air just from drilling them out.

[mavgi]

Originally posted by tgreene
According to the CoralVue website, the pumps are rated at 750gph each...

Also, I agree with the rest of your comments, and I saw a huge difference when I ported the venturis. I went from 11-cfm to 17-cfm of air just from drilling them out.

sorry for my bad language , i didn't mean that the pump don't pull 750GPH .

i mean that it's not about how much the pump pull it's how about the pump mount and build on the skimmer body.

[Nick A]

hmmm....the skimmer is 36" high right? The FDNW-400 that aquacave carries claims thats its 33" high, but its a 16" diameter instead of 18".

[cwilson]

wow! thanks for all the great feedback, we have a lot to consider!

[markandkristen]

i saw this on the protein skimmer australia and was drooling.
they had if for like 8 something and shipping was supposebly real cheap. i noticed that as well on the pump layout. i know i moded my euro reef doing it just like they do it on the dnw-400 and i feel it brought on more head pressure. i think the way way they mounted the pumps on the dnw-300 is great i dont understand why they changed it on the 400.

[tgreene]

Originally posted by markandkristen
i think the way way they mounted the pumps on the dnw-300 is great i dont understand why they changed it on the 400.

I have the TDNW-300 as well, and don't like it nearly as much as the FDNW-400. The 300 uses the OTP-2000 pumps, which are substantially smaller.

On the otherhand, the Octopus DDNW-250 (dual recirc) uses a pair of the more powerful OTP-3000 pumps, which are mounted like the FDNW-400.

FWIW: The triple is a nightmare to work on, because the pumps are too close together.

-Tim