Choosing a new skimmer

[Jon]

My Tunze 9010 finally bit the dust today and it is time for me to upgrade to a new skimmer. My tank is an Oceanic Tech 120 with a 30 gallon sump. The skimmer that I am going to choose needs to be able to skim in a sump where the water level will dip about 4 inches before I add RO water to the sump. My current set up does not allow me to have an automatic top off system and I do not mind ading 5 gallons of water to my sump every three days.

Therefore with that being said the skimmer that I am looking for can not have the adjustable stand pipe. The Tunze 9010 worked well under these conditions, did not need any tweeking but was not constructed durable enough. Over time the plastic joints came apart and it sort of felt like a tinker toy.

Does anyone know of a good plug and play skimmer that does not need a whole lot of tweeking and is durable.

Thanks for your thoughts - Jon

 

[Hawkeye]

did you ask roger at tunze usa to see if they can fix it for you? if you haven't thrown it away - they may be able to fix it.

 

[Jon]

Hawkeye how do I get in touch with Roger? Do you have his number?
JOn

 

[Hawkeye]

i'll send you a pm with how to contact them. You may have to ship the skimmer to their warehouse in austin,tx.

here's their address:

Tunze USA
305 Victor St
Austin, TX 78753

but best to contact them before sending your skimmer in.

 

[KillaGoby]

I've got a 70 gallon Tech Tank with a 30 gallon fuge. I had a Tunze 9010 and then the pump went on me. I switched over to an Aqua C Urchin Pro using the MagDrive 3 pump. My issue was the depth of the water in my fuge. It's around 10"-12". I love the Urchin. It is leagues above the Tunze.

 

[ClimberChris]

I am a huge fan of the Aqua C remora with Mag 12 pump. It is a solid low maintenance solution and it works a ton better than the redsea priszm I had *cringe*. I have mine with a drain tube that dumps into a bucket under my tank too.

 

[panmanmatt]

I am a huge fan of the Aqua C remora with Mag 12 pump. It is a solid low maintenance solution and it works a ton better than the redsea priszm I had *cringe*. I have mine with a drain tube that dumps into a bucket under my tank too.

An Aqua C Remora with a Mag 12? I'd love to see that. My Remora runs on a Maxijet 1200 and my Remora Pro on a Mag 3. I can't imagine how much water blows out that skimmer set up.

 

[KillaGoby]

I am a huge fan of the Aqua C remora with Mag 12 pump. It is a solid low maintenance solution and it works a ton better than the redsea priszm I had *cringe*. I have mine with a drain tube that dumps into a bucket under my tank too.

An Aqua C Remora with a Mag 12? I'd love to see that. My Remora runs on a Maxijet 1200 and my Remora Pro on a Mag 3. I can't imagine how much water blows out that skimmer set up.

I've heard of guys using a larger MagDrive on the Pros but that does sound like overkill. Heck, my return pump is only a 9.5 and I have that turned down 1/2 way with a ball valve.

 

[justchad]

I just had this conversation 2 days ago. I run a maxi jet 1200 and i thought maybe i was doin somethin wrong..

 

[mr_X]

i am on the other side of the fence. i think the aqua-c remora, urchin, and urchin pro are garbage. i would look elsewhere for a quality skimmer.

 

[Baxreefs]

Look at the smaller in sump cone skimmers they are sweet! ABT, I-Tech and others are building amazing skimmers in this style. And, there are some budget versions out there too.

Cones are the future of high end skimming especially in small packages.

If the water is low any skimmer will still "skim", it just may not collect until you top off, and you may have to clean the body more frequently.

I ran a dual beckett MRC MR 4R on my 120 ... overkill? Yup : ... But I had it lay'n around. ;D

 

[asonitez]

if you have the space i like the msx 250 or msx 200

 

[rafal07013]

here is the deal on a good skimmer:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1710085