I currently have an Euro-Reef CS 8-1 skimmer running on my 180 gallon tank. It came with the tank when I purchased it. I'm pretty sure my pump is on its last leg because over the last month, I've had to consistently raise the output pipe to bring up the level within the skimmer to produce skimmate. I had also cleaned it in between thinking it was overdue for a scrubbing, but I'm still having to raise it on a recurring basis.

The sump has a steady level of water also.

I contacted Euro-Reef to determine what replacement pump I would need (currently has a SEDRA 5000) and also provided a potential Ehiem upgrade.

Sedra 5000 replacement cost: $145 ish
Ehiem 1262 upgrade cost (requires drilling?): $285ish

Overall I'm not a big fan of the Sedra 5000 because it does create a lot of unwanted noise and I've seen other complaints on different forums, so if I went with keeping the skimmer and replacing the pump, I would most likely go for the upgrade.

Now I've also been looking around and found a few skimmers. Is it just worth taking the hit and purchasing a new skimmer? Would I get better performance then trying to mod / upgrade my current one?

Here is what I was looking at:

Octopus Extreme 200 or 250
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...ath=34_398_455

Does anyone have this skimmer? How does it perform? Any other options?