Euro-Reef Skimmer reviews needed
 

I'm considering a euro reef skimmer for my 80 gallon tank - does anyone have any experience with these?

Do they work well
Easy to use and set

Should I be considering something different in the same price range?

thanks for your thoughts.

Josh

I have a Euro-reef 180 on one of my tanks, and on one of the others I have an H&S.....I prefer the Euro-reef hands down over the H&S. It's easier to clean, use etc etc....one of my favorites that's for sure! I'd love to have the space to put one on my 65g too but I just don't.

I bought mine 8 months ago it works great. The Breakin period took like 3 weeks but after that was finished, I have to empty the thick sludge once a week. It is easy to clean and easy to adjust. Hope this helps.
I think mine is the RS80 I have it one my 32gal.

I also have the RS80 and I'm very happy with it.

I got mine on Ebay for $189.00 US.....which right now is even better.

Took about a week to get here...roughly

I had an RS135. My only skimmer experience otherwise is my new aqua-c remora HOB skimmer which is very different. I liked the euro-reef skimmer a lot. It pulled a lot of junk out of the water consistently.

Agreed, mine was great.

I have had a CS-6-2+ for years and I will not buy a Euro-Reef again.

The good points are: it does a fairly decent job of skimming. The collection cup is easy to detach for skimming.

The bad points are:

1. The pump is noisy. Euro-Reef could have spent a bit more money and used Eheim pumps, they didn't.

2. The riser pipe becomes impossible to adjust after a while. You need to make a gate valve mod or the skimmer will not be adjustable. It is a hassle and expense to get the parts and build a gate valve mod. Euro-Reef could have included the gate valve on the output for about $10.00 more but they chose not to.

3. The customer service attitude is the worst. My skimmer shipped without an O-ring between the collection cup and the neck of the skimmer. I didn't notice this for the first couple of months because the union fit snug if I tightened it enough, and their instructions did not mention any O-ring. Later when I found out I was missing the O-ring I asked Euro-Reef to send me one and thre treated me as if I were a criminal trying to scam them. Fortunately J & L came through and sent me a free O-ring.

For the above reasons, but mostly reason #3, I won't buy any more Euro-Reef products.

From all the skimmer reviews I have read, I would chose ASM if cost was a factor, Barr Aquatics/Austin Oceans if quality was the main factor.

I have owned an
- Aqua-medic
- prism
- Asm
- Deltec

I own a ER CR 6-3 and a ER 5-3 and when I purchase a new skimmer it will be a Euro-Reef. I agree that my 6 year old ER 5-3's pump makes a small noise, but it works perfect. When I want to upgrade that skimmer that is on my 33g reef I will buy a eheim pump as nothing else is needed. They are super easy to clean and setup and since I don't have much height in my sump area it is nice not to need space above the cup to take out and clean.
Kevin

I have a ER RS250 on my heavily stocked 210g mixed reef & it does a great job. Fills up my collection cup with super thick foam and smelly sludge (1/4 of the cup in one day). Couldn't be happier.

Have an ASM G4+ on my 120g fowlr with 90g seahorse/frag/sump tank and it does a decent job.

i just bought 2 rs250's and im impressed with quality but a little annoyed with the air valve plugging almost all the time, i havnt really tryed to do anything about the problem except clean the stupid things out all the time

I have a Euroreef RS-180. Although this is the first high end skimmer I have owned I am very happy with it. Some people describe these skimmers as plug and play however I do not agree with this observation as it took me a couple of weeks to get mine working properly. Also I find you need to clean the air valve at least once a week or it gets plugged up with salt and causes the skimmer to go crazy.

On my rs 100, I took out my air valve and it skims like a champ.

I have nothing but rave reviews for the insump Euroreef skimmers. The external becomes less plug and play.

I called euroreef for help with my skimmer when I first got it. They gave a lot of info but had a bit of an attitude as if it was a nuissance for me to call. The pump was the noisiest piece of equipment I owned besides the 120cfm 50db AC fan I was using for the lights but I got used to it eventually.

I liked it's consistency in pulling skimmate and the fact that it didn't care much if my hands were in the water compared to my venturi style skimmer I have now.

thanks everyone.

How do you know if the skimmer is in sump or external.
Is the product code different?

External Euroreef skimmers will be prefixed with the letters RC (recirculating). Insump skimmers will be prefixed with the letters RS. Atleast with their newer line of skimmers! :)

I have the RC500 and I am very pleased with it. I know a few other reef buddies that have the same unit and they are happy as well.

I would go with the RS80 or the RS100, which ever you budget best allows for. The RS135 is not a good one at this time, the pump is way too big for the size of the skimmer and you cannot keep the bubbles inside the skimmer. The other two are great though, I install them all the time and they are probably the best bang for the buck at this time, also a really easy skimmer to operate.

sphelps I am just in the market for a rs135. I am glad I saw your reply. Is there any way to compensate for the pump being too large or if so what pump would work best for it.
Thanks
Kevin

install bubble traps in your sump

Noise
 

Zylum, thanks for posting this question.

Dont mean to hijack but a few people have complained about noise with the euro reefs.

I was going get one of the smaller in sump euros but noise is a big concern of mine. Any other option for tried and true and quiet skimmers.

Thanks,

Jon

Trust me, I've installed a few of these, you'll need a large sump with slow flow to keep the bubbles out your tank. I've installed these in 40" sumps with plenty baffles but still get bubbles in the tank running the skimmer stock. The best solution I've found to solve this problem is to install a 1" ball valve on the input of the pump (ball valve -> venturi -> pump -> skimmer) this allow you to cut back the flow without any major mods, ideally it would be better to place the valve on the output of the pump but that results in more in sump space required. With the ball valve in place you can tune the flow rate to a point where the bubbles remain in the skimmer. The best pump for this skimmer would be the 3500 (same as RS80 and 100) this pump is still large enough.

It's hard to say if you'll experience the same problems, Euro Reef seems to be changing their pumps all the time (from sedra to gen-x, and now both), so depending where you get it and when it was ordered from wholesale you may or may not have these problems. I just now the latest ones coming out of wholesale have these pumps.

Honestly the difference between the RS100 and 135 is very small, just a few inches taller, I would use the 100 over the 135 and expect just as effective skimming. Either that or go to the 180.

Don't get me wrong Euro Reef skimmers are excellent, it's only the RS135 that could use a different pump selection.

The majority of noise from these skimmers comes from the air line, you just need to make a silencer. The best way to do this is install a PVC cap on the output riser pipe, drill a small hole (~3/16) in the top of the cap, then drill a 3/8" hole in the side of the pipe right below the new cap and run the air line through the hole and into the riser pipe.

Had one the old ER CS6-2's. Really did well after mesh-modding it. Doing the gate valve mod also helps as well.

is an RS 100 going to be ok with a 80 gallon tank and 30 gallon sump - I was thinking about the 135 as a possibility but not im concerned and the 180 is a lot more money. What do you think.

Thanks for the info sphelps.

RS100 will be fine

I would really think twice about getting this skimmer.

They were all the rage about 4 or 5 years ago when I was researching my system.

The pump (not the air intake) is noisy.

There are other better choices depending on what factor you want to optimize. If you want to optimize value there are better values including ASM. If you want to optimize quietness there are quieter skimmers. If you want to optimize performance there are several better choices.

All in all I think this was a good skimmer for several year old technology but for 2007 it is not up to par.

You feel like naming some better skimmers, that are up to par?

You know ASM uses the same pumps right?

I have two RS250s. I don't notice any pump noise at all. There is some noticeable air intake noise, but what I find to be the noisiest of these skimmers is the actual foaming action. However, this is not to say that it annoys me. Heck, one of them is in my bedroom and I sleep with it on. Occaisionally I will unplug it as sometimes after cleaning it really ramps up and takes a day or two to "break in" again, but 95% of the time I'm satisfied. Long story short, I got used to it. It's the only "real" skimmer I've owned (compared to a Prizm Pro. Ha!) so I'm not one to compare EuroReefs to other "real" skimmers.

HTH and cheers,

Ya, I gotta say, my ER is almost silent. I had it in my living room and never heard it. The only time I heard it all was whenI had my head inside the cabinet. Compared to my old beckett skimmer, this thing is a dream. I would buy another.

I ran a CS100 for a few years. Long enough to wear out the impeller. I found it worked very well, and was built for long term use.

I think you can get a wide variety of sound levels, depending on how the skimmer is sitting in your sump. It will cause the sump to vibrate, so if that vibration is amplified in any way, it could be very loud. If you can control vibration noise, the sound of one pump and the venturi is very reasonable.

I did not have any problems with microbubbles, provided I had the foam properly positioned on the output of the skimmer.

I just want to make sure I'm making the right decision - so many times in this hobby you purchase something only to find you need to upgrade a couple months later or the product wasn't what you thought it was.

I'm not conerned about noise as I have insulated the stand which I hope will reduce any water sounds but I would like to hear what other skimmers you'd recommend in the price range. ASM has been mentioned - other suggestions?

thanks everyone.

Josh, there may be better skimmers, maybe not. If you buy one of these, you will be happy with it. I think if I decide to upgrade, I'd just buy a bigger ER. Which I might have to do, since my new setup has a lot more water.

Well, you could always splurge for a Deltec or an H&S skimmer. The H&S's are considerably cheaper though. I think the Canadian H&S reseller is Aquarium Obsessed.

Question:
The airline valve on the RS250 I run on my Trigger Tank frequently gets plugged quickly. I'm not sure exactly what it is. I don't dose Ca in this tank, but the substance's texture seems calcareous (sp?) and is a dark grey. Maybe it's a mix of Ca from the LR and nutrient sludge.
Anyhoo, I'm wondering if anyone out there runs their EuroReef without that stupid valve at the end of the airline. I have the valve on mine wide open all the time so I'm thinking why not just take it off and then maybe it won't plug up as often.

Thanx much,

I removed mine. No problems.

Cheers. Thanx.