skimmer brands

[dial]

Hi all. im going into the fish shop on the weekend to get a skimmer.

but i want a external one (not hang on. its going to sit in a cuboard under the tank) anyone know of any good brands. (basicly i got no room for internal. the hood will get in the way, and im not removing it cause it housed my light and trickle filter).

i have a 350L 90G tank.

cheers aron.

 

[aresgod]

do you have a sump?

 

[dial]

no.

i have 1 canister filter. (for flow only - no media in it)
2 power heads
2 (housed in my hood - tricle filters)

i dont have a sump. been worried about a sump accually. as in whats the risk if a pump breaks down. im going to end up with a wet floor and expensive lesson.

unless there is a fail safe sump system.

cheers.

 

[dial]

ok looks like ill have to build a sump.

any have any good working examples.

cheers aron

 

[1979camaro]

sumps can be designed to prevent overflow however if your tank is not drilled it is more difficult

as far as a skimmer I would look for the Aqua-C EV series or a Precision Marine skimmer...unfortunately i do not know if either of those are availabel across the sea

 

[dial]

no my tank is not drilled. would have cost me $300 to drill it. but they could not gaurantee that it wouldnt crack. and if it did. tuff luck.

ok if i got a plastic container. what else would i need. 1 pump with a no return valave to pump the water out of the tank. and 1 pump to pump it back in...

 

[1979camaro]

you would probably want to buy a HOB overflow and then a return pump. If it were my tank, I would get a big pump and plumb it with a ball valve and a couple SCWDs (or at least four outlets) so that you don't have to run powerheads in your tank

but, both those skimmers can be plumbed in-line

 

[dial]

would this idea work

http://ozreef.org/content/view/81/29/

and can i run the powerhead into a pipe and then into the skimmer and then let the force push it back up through another pipe and back into the tank.

cheers
arin.

 

[wayne]

Not in the way you describe as the moment the water starts to exit the skimmer it is depowered.

Either you get an intank UGLY or a HOB (chop the hood a bit) or a sump. If you're scared todrill the tank then you have to get an overflow box but beware they have a bad rep for flooding the house. 2 pumps, out and and back in is pretty much impossible without going megatechnical and mounting it on a solenoid, which is pretty ridiculous.

I would advise chopping the hood, or just not using it, especially if you're going to be tooling around with lighting as well

 

[dial]

what about hang on.. then. or internal ones is ther an extender i can get so that the top part is out of the tank the hoot is about 15 cm high

cheers.

 

[wayne]

I don't want to seem an arse but I can't recommend brands to you as 1. They're likely not easy to get in Aus (i.e. Aqua C, Deltec), and if they are the miracles of the exchange rate will make them cost the same as a small car.
What can you get locally.

AVOID
Seaclones, skilters,Prizms, strage airblown things.

 

[dial]

here are some pics to give you an idea of my tank..

 

[dial]

and some more

here is a link to a shop i can get to

http://www.aquariumsrus.com.au/filtersp.htm

a common one i see these all over the place

http://www.equarium.com.au/store/category.asp?catid=27

and some more

http://www.aquaticlifeaquariums.com.au/default.html?lang=en-uk&target=d423.html

http://www.reefonline.com.au/shop/default.php?cPath=26_30

cheers aron.

 

[wayne]

Hmm, well I am familiar with some of those, but not many, so for particular reviews I'd ask around on an Aus site. Some of them look very nasty. The AquaMedic is obviously ok, but you know, not cheap either.

That tank is glass rather than acrylic... I've seen near identical glass and acrylics distributed by the same people , via aqua et al.

What's the stock lighting?

 

[dial]

its glass.

and its not stock lighting. 2 white marine light. cost me $80 ech. and 1 blue marine $25

what about these

http://www.redseafish.com/Category.asp?catID=93


cheers aron.

 

[wayne]

Less thna ideal. I have a prizm deluxe, and have it working quite well, but they're not easy skimmers towork with, plus the volumes they can deal with are totally overrated. If you divide their recommended aquarium size by 5 or 6 you're more accurate.

Maybe start here?
http://www.aquaria.com.au/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_62/products_id/4221

Tunzes are quite nice, but obviously pricey.

 

[dial]

thats the problem. im limited to a sump system or a hang on.

" have a prizm deluxe, and have it working quite well, but they're not easy skimmers towork with"

why are they not easy to work with.


i got no room for internal.

cheers aron.

 

[wayne]

Because they're fussy, and you have to spend a bunch of time fiddling withthem to get them to work. Plus the design is not so great so they never produce buckets. I'm lucky to get a totally full cup a week.

I really like the tunzes, but they're very fussy re water level, so won't work without an auto-top-up. Tunze will sell you an all in one filter pack called a reefpack that includes their (nice) auto topup as an integral part.

Can I ask some basic questions again - what do you want to keep, and how much cash do you have?

 

[dial]

im thinking ill go internal for a wile. i might be able to mod something in my tank to allow for a long skinny skimmer. then when i can afford it ill look at doing a sump.

 

[dial]

hi guys. got 5kg of LR today. thought id post some pics.

cheers aron