whats a good skimmer?.. return pump?

[Mommy2Julianna]

OK so I am getting my taxes back in like a week and want to pick up the last things for my tank. So my question for you is what is a good skimmer for what im going to be doing, and what would be a good QUIET return pump.

I have a 75gal tank that is going to house pretty much a little bit of everything. I have matt's old light that he had on his 90. I plan on having a 30 gal sump, or using a 55 and splitting it with some acrylic sheets and make it a refugium also. Im gonna grab some koralias also to set up for flow. ( i love how they look)

So this is where you come in.. what do you think would be the best bang for my buck. thanks everyone!

Cassie

[condiman]

Well for an insump skimmer I personally like ASM series skimmers or even the Red Sea Skimm 1200 is another good one as well. As for reliable quiet return pumps there is the mag drive pumps along with Quiet One Series as well that have been very reliable for me.

[schneijt]

I think a Mag 5 or a Mag 7 would do well. They're not the most energy efficient and they put off a little heat, but they'll last forever with minimal care. As far as a skimmer, there are too many good skimmers out there... ASM, Euro-Reef, Octopus, AquaC... Give us a few models you're looking at and we can chime in with some pro's and con's for each and our personal experiences.

-Joe

[hansmatt]

I really like the eheim pumps...I have a 1260, at around 5-600gph or so. It is quiet, and energy efficient. New they are around 120, but you can find them used for 90ish. Skimmers for this sized tank...I love my EuroReef, though I'm outgrowing it's size with my stocking. You should be able to find a used one for less than $200. Many people have been having success with the coralife ones, but I've not had any experience with them.

[carym]

I have been running the Red Sea Prizm Pro and had real good luck with it and I am running it on probably 200 gallons of water total volume. I like my Mag 18 for mysize tank, even though I would like to jump up one size at somepoint. As far as quiet though it isn't really isn't that noisy as at least I don't notice it, since it is back in the fishroom, there are 3 fans running so that is more what I hear.

Just my 2cent worth

[Jrmass]

I posted this in your other post... But, I see most everyone is posting here so this is what I said:



Well, I've had really good luck with buying used stuff off of Reef Central. I'm not sure what kind of price range you are looking at... But, we have a discussion on going here on the site.

Here is one that we were discussing possible skimmers for Brians tank but there is some smaller scaled skimmers on there as well that are good viable options for a tank of your size Aqua C 120, 150, 180 *either of these would be potential options*

The Euro Reef Line (5-3, 80 and a few others in that range)

Some of these are discussed in this post.

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f2...ad-123794.html

Jason

[ZMattie]

I just bought a QueitOne 4000 for my 90s return pump. I also just bought a CoraLife220 Skimmer for about 120ish gallons total volume. I havent used either yet but I havent heard anything bad about either. I havent modded the CL220 yet either, but i will be doing so before its put to use. (Matt-otp- your still gunna have to show me what to do with it as far as mods go)

[Mommy2Julianna]

Ok i looked up some of the skimmers mentioned and i think these 4 are the best options for me.. So now can you help with with pro/cons, advice, experiences, etc. Remember im a new reefer so any suggestions please dont be shy.

here they are

RED SEA C-SKIM 100
ASM G-2 or G-3
REEF OCTOPUS EXTREME 200
AQUAC 120

i think i like the octopus and the asm the best. pump i was thinking either a mag 5 or 7.. or a Quiet One. any input on these?

thanks

[firsthesitation]

On a 75 gallon RR tank the 1" bulkhead should handle around 600gph, at your standard 4 ft of head a mag 5 is only going to get you 310gph, a mag 7 will put you closer with 450 gph. I run a 9.5 on my 75.

Dono much about the red sea line, but a friend of mine said he had the aqua c you're looking at and said it was finicky, lots of adjustments all the time. He did get the collection container for his though so that was kind of a nice feature. Heard lots of great things about the octopus and the ASM lines though I dont think you'd be disapointed with that either. I run a modified Coralife super skimmer.

[Kyuss]

As far as pumps go I would recommend the Eheim pumps, they are efficient and quiet. Hansmatt and I both use them.

[Mommy2Julianna]

Thanks i will look into the 9.5..

has anyone ever seen this, it looks kinda useful

http://www.petsolutions.com/Info.aspx?id=30

expecially for a newbie like me.

[Mommy2Julianna]

oh yea.. i must have missed looking at the eheim.. i'll check them out.

[Mommy2Julianna]

which model ehiem would be a good for what i am planning on running.. the 1260? or 1262?

[hansmatt]

Cassie,
I have a 1260, which gives about 600gph or so, maybe a bit less, at 65 W. It's quiet. I'd rather have a little slower return, otherwise the overflow can get pretty loud, plus having too much flow through the sump does not help your skimming at all.
Matt

[Mommy2Julianna]

thanks matt.. I will keep that in mind!