Skimmer for 400g

[caferacermike]

In about 5 months (never to early to get started) I'll be needing a skimmer capable of a 400g tank. I've seen a few of these monster skimmers that stand 6 feet tall. Is that really necessary? I'm already concerned about the electricity costs of running all the lighting and wattage of external pumps so I don't want a skimmer that needs a giant pump to run it. Would I really benefit from spending huge gobs of cash money to Deltec or Euroreef for one of their recirc skimmers or would I fare better begging Ace or another member to help me craft a skimmer myself? At this point I think the price of my skimmer is going to decide whether I go reef or FOWLR with this tank.

[seamonkey2]

go to Ace, you'll be happy and your wallet stilll have some in it

Jose

[auSS/Tin]

Keep your eye on the boards. I picked up a Euro Reef CS12-2RC rated for a 500 gallon tank here on Maast for 750.00, normally they are priced in the $1500 range. Plus it is only 36" tall, but it does make a fair amount of noise, but I have all of my filtration remote in the fish room so it doesn't bother me. I have been happy with it's performance, but I like you didn't want to spend gobs of cash on one. 90 watts of consumption too, it is very easy on the electric bill.

Bill

[ackelley]

Ace makes great stuff, I saw the last skimmer he build. It was beautiful and fit in his sump. He is a great craftsman. He had just put it in his sump about an hour before I got there, it was already frothing protein when I saw it.

[ReefOne]

I think if you can have a big tank(380+) You should just go Bubble King. After seeing this beauty working at MACNA, I believe ALL the hype. This thing is AWESOME. Really quiet and the foam that it produces looks like the foam from a beer after coming out of a Keg(Frat Guy). Uses little electricity, what more can you ask more. It's pricey, but you are paying for the quality.

[cpreefguy]

Yeah, the bubble king was awesome, plus youd be the only one on MAAST with one :)

[caferacermike]

Links?

[cpreefguy]

http://www.captiveoceans.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=CO&Category_Co de=Bubble_King

[z28pwr]

Mike, I don't think you want to spend $2K on a skimmer and since you don't want to waste much in electricity I would stay away from Becket type skimmers and look more into the needlewheel type skimmers. ASM skimmers are well priced and perform pretty good and consume very little electricity. Checkout this post on RC regarding skimmers on Large Reefs http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=764452 you will see alot of guys running on the expensive Deltec, Bubble King, etc but you will see some guys happy with their ASM skimmers on their large tanks.


That is what I got an ASM G4X which I will eventually sell to upgrade to a G5. The G4X only consumes 90 watts of electricity.

[don-n-sa]

lol...you guys are funny,a guy asks for advice for an economical skimmer for a 400g tank and you give the most expensive one on the market.... :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :P

try ASM...they are euro-reef knockoffs and I have heard nothing but great things about them.

here is a link...its about $3000 less, but not as pretty

http://www.asmskimmer.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=33

[LoneStar]

Bubble King

DO IT :)

[ReefOne]

I just figure why skimp out on a important part of filtration. If you are going with a full blown 400g reef then do it right the first time and get a BK. If you are going softies mainly fish then go with a ASM or Euroreef. I recommended the BEST, just so happened to be pricey. Not only that, it's not 8 feet tall like the rest, you can actually put this baby in sump or external in your stand.

[thedude]

We're setting up a 400 gallon reef for a customer here in the near future and decided to go with the Deltec AP902. http://www.deltecusa.us/proteinskimmers/ap902.php

We got the bigger one for this tank as it is going to have a good amount of SPS and heavy feeding but for a FOWLR tank, you should be just fine with an AP702. Smaller version of the 902 (uses the same pumps) but the decreased height means the pumps can pull more air, the bubbles just have less contact time.

[caferacermike]

Uhm yeah some of these replies are hilarious. $3,000? Uh no not for me. LOL.

John you kill me. I looked up Deltec earlier today and almost fell over looking at the 702. Hahaha, I should get the optional neck cleaner to.

Ok for those of you that don't understand, I make $30,000 a year not $300,000 like a lot around here. My goal was if the skimmer was going to cost more than $500 to try and have something built locally. I'm cooking up a 32 bean dry soup mix for dinner tonight. I'm broke after buying this tank. $3,000 for a skimmer is not an option period. Personally I think most are way over priced for what you get. I can by a moped for $2,000 that was built using over 10,000 parts and will get me from here to there or I can spend $3,000 for a skimmer made with abotu 100 parts and plastic at that.

So it looks like I'm leaning towards home built. Any of our local craftsmen make skimmer this large?

[cpreefguy]

Matt can

[TexasTodd]

A beckett is going to give you the most cleaning for the dollars spent. You'll spend more on electricity, but....

ASM would be good. I personally don't like the pumps the Euro Reef and ASM use.

For what you need and dollars you're pretty much going to have to go with a Beckett style.

MATT, Ace, or check out AustinOceans.com. Killer designs from Brent Barr and less money than he use to charge. You'll still save money with Matt or Ace though with a very nice skimmer. Of course you still have to buy a pump for arount $200 generally to run a nice dual beckett.

To echo greenmako, reefs are expensive!

Todd

[TexasTodd]

One other option would be Donny's skimmer. They are a sleeper and I believe rated up to 1000 gallons. Premium aquatics has the best price for the dual at about $750. It's a sweet skimmer.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AM-71004&Category_Code=Aquamedic

This would probably be MY top pick to fit your needs.

Todd

[thedude]

I just found a great deal on RC. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=959347

[NaCl_H2O]

Can't beat the TurboFlotor (Like Donny's and mine) for the price! And it is basically adjustment free, just keep the collecton cup cleaned weekly and it keeps on skimming!

[caferacermike]

If you are going reef, what about lighting, cooling, etc...thats all going to be pretty heavy on the wallet for a 400Gallon tank.
I would give Ace or Matt a call and see if they would be up to building you one.

That's exactly why I'm trying to find the most economical, both in price and in usage, to help offset the costs of my lighting. My 75g runs 800w of lighting as it is. I spent a fortune on it and it looks great. So I understand everything that is involved with setting up the 400. That's why I'm asking now so I have plenty of time to sort through all my options over the next year before it's set up. That's right, I'm buying it now and saving it for over a year collecting pieces before actually trying to set it up. First things first, I need a house with a foundation. I barely trust my 125g tank sitting 6 feet off the ground. I have a sweet hookup on new lighting, rock, substrate, and everything else. It's just that my supplier does not sell anything as far as skimmers. The Turboflotors are sounding like they are suited better for me. Any other options or builders wish to tell me what they can try to build?

[BIGBIRD123]

Mike, PM sent.

[brewercm]

Dan was using (may still be) the monster turbo floater on his also with great results. I'm using the ASM G3 and love it. Both of these along with ER use the same concept just different looks and the Turbo Floater uses the ocean runner pump instead of the sedra.

[caferacermike]

I'm really liking the price and quality of the turbo flotor but I'm leery about the heigth. I was hoping to find somethign about half that heigth but that is a serious consideration. Anyone running one willing to invite me over soemtime?

[caferacermike]

I have a great deal on the ASM rated for 1,200g. What do you guys think? Will it be as good as the turboflotor from the above posts? I've never used ASM before but have heard good things. I was trying to do a search on them but failed to materalize a website for ASM. Found one called ASMskimmer.com but it was a site selling Octopus brand.

[z28pwr]

You are probably talking about the G6, there are a few members on RC running those on systems ranging from 450 -1200 gallons with good results, from what I've been told they do really well in systems under 800 gallons. Probably be better then the turboflotor with a single pump and almost as good as the TB with dual Ocean Runner Pumps.

[AquaDen]

Mike, If you want I can send you some DIY plans for a skimmer that would work with a 400 Gal. It would cost you under 100.00 to build! If you are mechanically inclined in anyway then you wont have a problem building it!
Gary

[caferacermike]

I'm very interested in those plans. Please let me know what the best way is to recieve them, IE email, reg mail, pigeon.

Right now I'm leaning heavily towards

2 Euroreef RS250's

1 ER RC500

1 deltec 702

1 H&S 250

or 1, maybe even 2 bubble master 250's They look to be bubbleking clones using Eheim pumps.

All the Eheim pump skimmers seem to have the biggest pull with the least amount of wattage. Thankfully I've been workign 80 hour weeks and was able to find a second job that works around that schedule so I could save some cash for the skimmer/s.

[AquaDen]

Pigeon works best for me... at 5:00 tomorrow afternoon you have to be in your front yard jumping up and down screeming pigeons! pigeons! TRUST ME they will come with your delivery!! If for some reason you think your neighbors may call the cops on you then email will do as well.
Gary

[thedude]

Mike,

Just FYI on the Deltec option, you'll want to go for the AP902 if at all possible. The added height adds a ton of dwell time and will really help to handle your bioload. The AP702 is a great skimmer, but designed specifically to work under cabinet so if height is an issue, stick with your original plan.

John

[ratboy]

Have you considered skimmerless? I ran my 400 softies/LPS reef with great results and no skimmer. I also setup my tank with energy savings in mind - Tunze pumps, ampmaster main return, only 2 400W MH's with 110 w T5. When I broke my tank down recently I found white, yellow, and pink sponges the size of softballs that I attribute to not running a skimmer.

--Erik

[caferacermike]

Height is an issue. But I may do a remote sump next to the stand as most skimmers won't fit. The added $$ of a 902 are my main limiting factors. After yesterdays accident money is extremely tight. I need wheels in a bad way.

[stephencraig]

Mike, have you thought about modding your Euro reef so that it would be a re-circulation one? Would that give you the extra punch you need for the bigger system?

Stephen

[caferacermike]

Not my cute little ER. It'd look like a recirc nano skimmer on the big tank, lol. Buut............ I've been thinking of getting Mako's, just won't fit under the tank.....

[LoneStar]

You know sometimes those nice expensive skimmers look very nice sitting on a pedistal next to the tank :angel