680 G (2700L) Salt water skimmer suggestions/help!!

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Squirtle919

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
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Hey Guys

I have just finished with my FW display tanks and moving onto my SW setup. It consist of 4 tanks and a sump, 8x18x18 (coral tank can get away with cheaper lighting :) ) 8x20x20 (tangs mainly) 5x3x2.x (angel tank) and a 6x2x2 which I am unsure of right now. My sump is 7x18x18 which makes me believe I may have to have a sump just for a skimmer or run it externally.

Anyways, I am unsure which skimmer to go with, I want something that will last and do a good job but my limit is sitting around 1 grand lower is better but I understand with such a large system I will have to spend a bit on the skimmer.

I have seen a few I like but finding reviews on larger skimmers is proving quite hard...

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/catalogue_products.php?prodID=6139&catID=46

Hydor Performer Skimmer 3300, Looks nice and bulky, lower wattage, I use a few hydor pumps for my freshwater systems and they have never let me down so a trusted brand in other words, but seems NO ONE is using these skimmers?

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/catalogue_products.php?prodID=5698&catID=46

Skimz Monzter SM252. Skimz seem to have great feed back and a good quality system for a mid range price using low power once again. I must say it does look nice but the reviews on it are not in much depth...

Theres also the other skimz I cant tell the difference? just seems like a different shape?

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/catalogue_products.php?prodID=5705&catID=46

http://thereefshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=557

I have seen 2 nice tanks on here which use this skimmer and seeing as it does 4000L once we take the fact they base this off light stocked systems its sitting at 2000L which is very close to my system. the down sides are, it costs a lot more then the others, it would cost 500$ to run per a year vs 200 Max for all the other skimmers, I must admit it looks like a beast!

So which way would you guys go? or any other skimmers to recommend? Like i said power consumption is important but so is performance, I have a few too many tanks so even 20W can make a big difference but I dont mind paying the extra for something that will perform at a higher rate.

Also rather then starting another thread. Is there any down side with gravity feeding the skimmer? a few people have told me its not good/risky etc, I was hoping to run the bh from one tank right into the skimmer with a T and a valve so I can tweak it to the right amount of water vs buying a pump or teeing off my pump to the skimmer saving power is always nice!

Thanks in advance!
 
If I'm reading this right - your linking 4 tanks to 1 sump and one of those tanks will house corals? - coral tank inline is probably not a good idea. And your worried about overall power consumption? - SW use alot more power than FW if your gonna do it right. I have 2x 40 amp dedicated breakers just for my 210 reef - each of my FW's (x4 - smallest 6'x 18x 22 ) has one 20 amp breaker.
 
mmmm have to disagree with power. apart for the coral tank due to the lights.

Skimmer is the same as my added mech on fw sump.

wave makers I still use on fw to get a current

and thats about the only difference!

A few reefing friends said theres no down side having a coral tank with nano fish in there. in fact they said it would be much better? more stable and pods etc that grow can be spread into the other tanks. the only down side i go is to buff the water correctly I will need to dose more or do my water changes more often but thats no biggie.
 
If money's no issue than great - I wouldn't link a coral tank inline with a fush display tank for umpteen reasons but you'll find out why on your own.

I'd check into sand filters if your gonna do this - sand filters are the best for nitrate control in multiple large volume tanks.
 
oh dont get me wrong money is an issue but I have learned the hard way that sometimes its better to spend the 1000$ once rather then 5 lots of 3-500$ on the same crap that lasts a few months.

I also believe the skimmer is a core item. I will look into done a bit of googles on the topic

So no ideas on the skimmer? =( its doing my head in all the aussie reefers say something different.
 
Anyone of the ones you found seem good enuff just you gotta choose your budget. Not alot of ppl on here are gonna be able to help you with in-line tanks and skimmrs for 600+ gal. But just because you employ a skimmer doesn't mean you can't employ a DSB filter - they do 2 completely different things. The Skimmer will gewt alot of the dissolved protiens out but fish still pee, organic carbon still decomp's hence- DSB filter for Nitrate + Reef bugs. The micro organisms breakdown trapped solid waste and can be a food source.
 
Thanks otherone, After talking to a few people about your coral idea it seems it is the better option but they didnt think I would want to have 2 sumps.

seeing as I was going to throw my 6FT sump out as its not used anymore decided to go like this.

Coral setup

8x18x18 - Mainly corals with a few nano fish etc

8x22x22 - light corals with a few tangs to grow out for the bigger tank.

7x18x18 sump to run this setup.


Pred setup

5x3x2.5 - Angel- large tanks - maybe a tusk with live rock.

6x2x2 - same type of stocking.

6x20x20 sump

Which means i can change it up a little. less dosing etc and like u mentioned easier to keep the coral tanks healthier without having a bunch of preds eating all day lol only hard part now is back to square one with skimmers :(
 
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