Best skimmer for 120 gal.
 

I'm thinking of the Vertex 180 or SWC 180 cone...anymore skimmers I should consider...

Yuppers I ran a SWC 160 Cone it comes withthe Atman pump super quiet and a super small foot print
I had it on my on my 150 gal which was super stocked and man that thing skimmed it really good.

andonther one is a vertex 170 on that IME stay away rom the Vertex 180
get the newer vertex modelm like the 170, 200, the cone series with the Red Dragon pump.


What are you going to keep in the tank is the big thing. and Fish load are you looking at .

I will be having sps, Lps leaning towards more sps...

So would the 180 SWC cone be the better choice??how about the mini???

Reef octopus
 

How about reef octopus 2000 cone???

I hear great things about the Octo XP cones. Bubble blaster pump is supposed to really pull the air and I think comes with a 3 year warranty. Atman pumps used to be really un-reliable...have they changed something?

yes Mark the Atman pumps are very strong this year. pulls super strong air too

Bubble king
 

I have a Bubble king mini 200 and am very happy with it. The red dragon pump is very strong and the skimmer takes about 10 second to dial in and it stays bang on.

SWC 180 cone vs Reef Octopus XP SSS 2000
 

O K so now Vertex is out now it is narrowed down to these two been researching n need some input...from users pros cons

I don't have the SWC cone design but I am very happy with my SWC EXT 200 skimmer. I have been using it for over a year on my 120G (+30 G sump) and it pulls a lot of skimmate out of the tank. I think the SWC skimmers provide great products at a reasonable price.

I don't like the Sicce pumps because withthe mesh mod if you dont get the right mesh one it take a assistance of starting it up. and the impeller one too since that pump draws so much air it calf's out until it get s going.
that Sicce is on the 180 and the 200 unless you have the askoll pump runnign it .

When first getting the skimmer I did find it took some time to break in. And I agree the Siccee is a little finicky. Sometimes takes 60 seconds to kick in after plugging it in (but pretty reliable after that.) I used the mesh wheel that came with it until one of the little zip ties that held the mesh on snapped off after about 8 months of use. I use the stock pinwheel now and to be honest I find they both pull alot of skimate out of the tank. The Siccee pump I think is a pretty inexpensive pump and so I am sure there are higher quality pumps on other models/brands. This is my first skimmer so I am no expert but for what I think a skimmer is supposed to do my 200 has been living up to my expectations.

The Octopus 2000 Super Reef, cone or not cone would probably fit the bill.

If you go over to RC and look under the vendor forums you can find threads dedicated to users of the Octo skimmers under Reef Specialty. They are one of the big retailers in the US of Coralvue products.