Protien Skimmers
 

Hey everyone

I just needed your opinion on skimmers. I have had a berlin for the past three years and have had nothing but problems with it. I was just wondering what skimmers you would suggest for a 175 gal, fish only tank with a sump.

Thanks

ASM G2 or G3. I've use one and will never go back.

Depends on how much you want to spend. I don't think you can go too far wrong with an ASM skimmer, probably a GX4 or larger for that size tank. Good price and good skimmer. If you want to go all out and spend the big bucks then look into Bubble King, H&S or Deltec - IMO the best on the market but also the most expensive.

A friend has the ASM-GX5 or something like that & loves it. I think the 4 is rated to handle your size system.

I'm suprised you lasted that long with the Berlin. I had one for about three months and it drove me nuts.
Bought a Precision Marine bullet skimmer from J & L Aquatics and have been a happy camper ever since.:biggrin:
I'm not sure of the others but this one comes completely apart for cleaning and only takes a couple of minutes to do.

The Berlin is a good skimmer, just not for over 100g.

For a 170 with a sump, depends on the size of a sump, the G4 plus is probably your best bang for your buck. But you might want to go bigger for if you want to upgrade down the road.

Love my ASM G3. It easily handles my 120 gal of water. I set mine up in a constant-level first stage of sump. Never have to adjust. Had for 1 1/2 years.

Is the water level in the sump really important for setting up a skimmer. I would imagine that it is due to pressure changes with water levels. The reason I ask is that I have a Red Sea Berlin that has needed constant maintenance since I set it up. I have downloaded the owners manual and it basically explains all of the "tweeking" necessary to effectively run one of these, but is seems like a real PITA. It skims lots but I always have to adjust water flow and air flow just to keep it going and keep it from flooding. Am I doing something wrong?

My remora is so nice in comparison. If I want wet skimmate I lower the cup, dry skimmate I raise it up. Simple.

Mike

I assume you got my old Berlin up and running. When I had it up and running the skimate stayed constant when I ran it in 8" of water (the manufactuers recommendation) and I had the "throttle" on the pump at about 3/4, and the airline barely pinched.

When a skimmer is added to a system it takes a couple weeks to break in and settle down. You also have to watch what you add to your reef in terms of additives, some will make any skimmer go nutz and overflow, so you have to shut down the skimmer for a while.

I want to thank you all for your opinions. Looks like i will be going with the G4. I still want to do a little more research first. I kinda got screwed with the berlin.

I was down in Calgary this weekend at Big Als and they were showing me this skimmer that sat outside of my sump. It was a fancy thing however it cost $1300 and it would require a little bit of plumbing. I do not remember the name though. I think it was the EST I am not sure. They said it was the top skimmer on the market right now. I still dont know if i want to put that kind of money into a skimmer. Especially after what happened with my berlin.

Thanks again.

ets is a downdraft skimmer i think, they are going out of fashion now but they do work well. snoop dog sold one here a few months ago for $150 bucks. for the money you can't do better that an asm.

Good to know!!

It was a down draft skimmer that he was talking about. I think i will be going with the ASM then

Thanks

Aqua Medic Turbo Floater 5000 shorty, (rated for 400 gal) I have one and am happy with it. The ocean runner pumps are nice and quiet too.

I think that even minor changes in the head pressure of your skimmer pump will affect the performance. I highly recommend a constant level first stage in the sump. So many people complain about having to constantly tweak their skimmers, and I think this helps a lot for any in-sump skimmer as most of us have fluctuating sump levels.

If you do decide to go with an ASM G4 I would highy recommend you go with the G4X and not just the G4. I have both and found the G4 to be underpowered and not nearly as efficient as the G4X. I would also recommend you go with the mods to make it recirculting and apparently the gate valve mod works well and although I have it I could not get it to work for me (I really should fiddle with it more though).

If stand heights is a consideration, the G4+ is 24" high compared to the G4X is 30" tall.