Best Skimmer

[thhardin]

Hi All,

Well I am fed up with my current Skimmer / Top-off system.

For the second time in three months, my home made skimmer went nuts and began to drain my sump. I have a 100 gallon sump and skimmer is hooked up to a PM collection container. As it drains saltwater onto the floor of my basement (into basement sump pump), the top-off continues to fill sump to float level, thereby lowering salinity. I last checked the system two days ago, and had a significant drop in salinity.

My system is a 180 galon main tank (reef) with few fish. I have a 100 gallon refugium with 8" sand bed growing macro (nutrient export). I also have a 100 gallon sump (rock only). Total water volume minus sand & rock should be around 325 gallons.

I am willing to spend around $500 to $700 for a decent skimmer for my system. I am looking for something that will not go nuts and fill the main cup & overflow with clear skimmate in a day or two. Looking for nice dry foam if possible. I currently run the sump return through a sequence 3500PRO21 pump. I am guessing I have about 1,200 GPH available for the skimmer from this pump (remainder runs to tank for circulation & through Fireplug heater).

Any suggestions? I am currently considering a PM Bullit-3, PM Bullit XL Model 2, and AquaC EV400 or EV1000. Which one is best for my application?

I know I am going to hear it about the top-off, as it is currently a risky set-up. For FW top-off I am currently running my RODI system through a solenoid (vaccum activated switch) and directly into my sump (I know....). There is a float valve at the water entry point as a back-up if the solenoid fails. I am looking for a top off system that does not require me to fill any reservoirs (I admit I am lazy). Any suggestions?

 

[Anonymous]

For auto top-off the rules say that it is not a matter of IF your float switch fails but WHEN. My current top consists of two float switches connected in series so that if one sticks the pump does NOT get turned on. My float switches turns a receptacle on/off. I have a maxi-jet pump that is plugged into the receptacle and it feeds water from a 7G bucket that I fill manually every 4 - 5 days. I want to connect my system directly to my RO and when I eventually make that upgrade I will put two selonoids in line with each other so that WHEN one of them fails the system will protected from the freshwater flush. I don't think you can make it much more bullet-proof than that. You could check with NASA... :wink:

As for the skimmer you should definately look at the Euroreefs skimmers and the Lifereef skimmers. Both are very high quality.

Louey

 

[jbpig]

ETSS....

http://www.superskimmer.com/etss_800.htm

 

[Ben1]

I have used allot of the skimmers on the market and IME the PM Bullet 3 would be the best one for you. I have used the EV skimmers and did not like them at all. I also would suggest the myreefcreations.com skimmers. They are basically bullet knock offs but are very well made and include a great becket. I am actually plaining on changing out my old bullet 3's beckett with a MRC beckett soon. Euroreef are decent also and I used to used a CS8-3 but the bullet works much better.

JMO

 

[johns120]

My ETSS 600 sometimes runs very wet also. If no chemicals are being added, what causes this?

 

[Anonymous]

Everyone seems to have an opinion on this topic. All those mentioned above are quality skimmers...some of them just require a little tweaking.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm wondering if your skimmer is an in-sump unit, or is it plumbed externally.
If it is plumbed externally, could the back pressure on the outlet be causing the overflow?
I had this situation happen to me.
If I had it in the sump, the overflow would not have lowered my water level.
My skimmer was an ETSS unit. They say one can use it externally, but IME if one attaches a hose to that outlet then the back-pressure will cause it to overflow repeatedly. I lost a lot of water that way and flooded the basement a bit.
Is your experience similar?

 

[thhardin]

My skimmer is externally plumbed. If it was in-sump, I am afrad I might poison the tank when it goes nuts. I have had a good quart of skimmate in the overflow container right before it went nuts. Dumping that back into the system would be bad.

I have a secondary collection container from PM. It is supposed to shut off a properly designed skimmer. It has a ping pong ball that is supposed to seat and stop the flow of air & water. My skimmer was not designed to work this way, so it does not stop the flow. I believe I am going to purchase a PM Bullet XL2 and run the matching overflow container with it. Hopefully this will solve my problems.

 

[hillbilly]

Asking which skimmer is best is like asking which make of car is best. As for me, I have grown to love Euro-Reef best, after using various brands over the years. As for auto top offs, I don't use them anymore after having a bad experience last year. Good luck with your system.

 

[Rotary]

I have used ETS reefdevils and aqua c's on my previous tanks. but with my new 180 I was given a kent natulius EX to try and i Love it has been the skimmer that has produced the most out of all the skimmers I have used. Im running it with and Iwaki 40 rlt.

 

[Mikef1]

Reef concepts Aerofoamer!!

 

[Anonymous]

The problem with connecting your RODI straight to your tank, whether you do it with a drip, dosing pump, float switch, valve, etc., is that you're compromising water quality. At least from what I've heard, letting your membranes pump just a tiny bit of water every few minutes will give you pretty poor results. I've always let a gallon go to waste, then fill up a reservoir all at once.

 

[1937 Waco]

Going to trade in my ETSS for a Bullet 2

Bob

 

[Quigonsean]

I love my ETSS superdevil. I mounteed it externaly on a riser to prevent back pressure. I makes black skimmate dry foam. The skimmat looks like used deisil oil.

Sean