[jamesbooth66]

so right now my tank has a red sea max delux protein skimmer rated up to 100 gallons..its a POS pretty much

my tank is 30 gallons what would be a good skimmer to upgrade to?
due due budget reasons the max i can spend is $150 My LFS told me they run eshopps skimmers on some of their smaller display tanks and thats what they sell they said they work very well for a HOB

anyone have inputs on eshopps skimmers?
or anyone suggest anything else under $150?

 

[FutureDoc]

Eshopps are not bad, but I would consider the Tunze. The Eshopps might be slightly more effective but the Tunze pump will last longer. The Eshopps 75H pulls 180lph of air while the Tunze pulls 150lph.

Your pick.

 

[jamesbooth66]

ugghh i wish i woulda just got one of these 2 i wasted about $70 on that POS red sea max skimmer

 

[Cleverbs]

Take docs word on skimmes. He set me up with an amazing skimmer I couldn't be happier with. The man knows his skimmers

 

[FutureDoc]

ehhh, it happens. No worries. Either skimmer will work well enough. If you do not want to spend the money, water changes should keep up

 

[best3175]

Doc is the man. I would stay away from esshops as well. There are many fine skimmers out there. Search eBay and Craigslist. The good skimmers seem to sell ata premium, but you can still save a little money going used.

 

[FutureDoc]

Eshopps ain't bad... they are more "average" if anything. You will not be blown away by performance or quality but you will not likely be burned either.

Going used is not a bad idea at all. I picked up a few skimmers that way. Because Tunze will last indefinitely almost, you could find a 9002 for about $100-120. That is how I found my Tunze before I loaned it to a friend (who has yet to return it... and that was in 2008... shesh. It is still running strong so I can't complain).

 

[Reeferz412]

Octupus has a nice HOB skimmer. Might be too powerful though for a 30. I never really like Aqua C remoras, I hear people rave about em and I used it for a bit, didnt see what the fuss was about. FutureDoc is right, tunze, eshopps, or octupus are your best bet.