OMG! Thinking of Getting Remora Skimmers, Need Advice Please

[OCDP]

I can only help with the noise factor.

If you take the collection cup out, and on the left side where the injector is, you place some paper towel in there and it muffles it right up. Sure, there is some noise... but it's not that bad at all.

[marie]

The mag 350 pump that comes with the pro, comes with a foam covering that would keep anemones safe. The noise isn't too bad, a lot less then a back pack skimmer anyway.

If you don't want flooding DON'T get the prism pro. Mine was constantly dropping water on the floor the instant my back was turned

[Osiris]

Never had my Remora overlow. I had a Prizm and there is no comparison. When My tank was too close to the wall for my CS-90 overflow, I took a 4 ft. Maple dowl I have, sat down on the floor, put said dowl between baseboard and bottom of stand and pulled towards me. This was done to a 65 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump/fuge. Moved aquarium out 3 inches.
It worked for me. *shrug*

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Didn't I read about this in Revelations ????

1 And I saw in the right hand of Bev, a protein skimmer that fitteth within a confined space and on the backside, sealed with O-rings or other;
2 And I saw a strong thread proclaiming with a load voice, Who is worthy to skim my tank, and to fractionate the foam thereof?
3 And no sump in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the tank, was able to hide other tank equipment, neither to look thereon,
4 And no leaks were to happen in the condo,
5 And the count shall be Three, not Two, nor Four,

... Oh never mind.

Now we just have to turn Bob

Seriously Bev, the noise from these is minor, One Devided ran a remora for the longest time, might even still be running it, never any leaks, floods, or what ever that he has mentioned.. I saw it several times and it is a very quiet unit, about as loud as a power head.

Steve

[G1GY]

Originally Posted by Beverly

Okay, I checked my pulse and it's still within normal range. Just so you all know

Anyway, got reading about skimmers thanks to the $40 skimmer thread posted today. One link led to another link that led to another link that led to a Google search on Aqua C skimmers.

Holy cow!! Aqua C has HOB skimmers that will fit the back clearance of our tanks. Well, except for one tank, but, heck we can move it forward from the wall a bit if you folks can tell me more about your experiences with the Remora and Remora Pro skimmers.

Our three reefs are a 37g, a 67g and a 120g, each with low bioloads, no sumps, macroalgae in each for nutrient uptake - information you might need to help me decide if these skimmers are useful for us.

Things I need to know before buying ....

- have yours EVER over flowed? (We CANNOT have ANYTHING over flowing in our 2nd storey condo!)
- how common are over flows, in your experience?
- if yours has overflowed, what caused the over flow and what did you do to prevent it from happening again?
- are they easy to remove from tight spaces?
- how easy is it to get into the bottom box for cleaning?
- how do Aqua C skimmers compare to Prism skimmers? (Aqua C's website is far more detailed than the Prism site, so I'm leaning more toward the Aqua C Remoras based on info at their respective sites.)

I just want the facts, so please keep your I-told-you-so's to a minimum, please

All comments about, and experiences with, these skimmers are very, very welcome!

TIA

Hi Beverly.

I tried the pre filter box for the Remora and found that it was a huge space waster in my tank. Also, if you're water levell drops a little much..... You leave the powerhead sucking air when using this ugly little box.

For the pickup I just use the stocker screen that comes with the pump.(I still have all 3 BTA's alive and well.)

If the molding is a little too wide(As it was in my case), just use a little Xacto fine toothed saw to trim part of the inside rim off.

Once again, This skimmer can not overflow. It would not be possible.

Maybe put some heavy duty clamps onto the hose that connects the powerhead to the skimmer if you have any worries. The worst thing that could happen is: The powerhead could disconnect from the skimmer and cause the water to shoot upwards if the power cord was not long enough for it to fall to the bottom of the tank. Not likely, but plausable.

Hope this helps.

[Samw]

What they said. I like my Remora. Remora can't overflow unlike the Precision Marine HOT which I've had overflow due to siphoning action. The only way to overflow the Remora is to block the water outlet I think. The only other HOT skimmer that I might like better but I can't afford to try is the Deltec.

[Ruth]

OMG and we heard it here first!
Bev I ran my Remora Pro on a 44g cube with a 33g sump. I changed it out for a Deltec HOB skimmer and the only reason for doing this was that the Deltec pump is contained in the body of the skimmer and not in the tank and I had no way of actually making the skimmer "hang on the back" it had to be the side because of space issues. I still use the Remora as a back up - I had a little bit of cyno starting and so I just hung the Remora on to overskim and worked like a charm. I can't say one bad thing about the Remora other than the pump for austetics. No real noise, no micro bubbles for me, and no overflows.

[seashells]

Sorry to tell ya this...The skimmer may leak from time to time. I have had a remora pro with the preskimmer. Most of the time it works great. Where the hose attaches to the body of the skimmer, I have had it slip off 3 times shooting water out of the tank. Each time emptying 4 to 5 gallons on the floor. Luckily we were home at the times it happened. It may not shoot water out if the pump can drop to the bottom. I tried using a stainless steel hose clamp but the screw begins to rust in a couple of days. I found air conditioner hose clamps similar to that which comes with the skimmer. Much heavier and stronger. I sent an email to Aqua C regarding the problem and they did ship me replacement clamps at no charge.

I was also told by Aqua C that the pump can be upgraded to a Mag 5 for better perfromance.

As for the cleaning it is fairly easy and straightforward. When we do a water change I usually siphon out the skimmer picking up any accumulated sediment .

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Doug

[Beverly]

Originally Posted by seashells

Sorry to tell ya this...The skimmer may leak from time to time.

I was also told by Aqua C that the pump can be upgraded to a Mag 5 for better perfromance.

Doug,

Don't like the sound of anything leaking. From where has yours leaked? What causes the leaking and how can the leaking be prevented, in your opinion?

I'm guessing that by using a bigger pump you also get more water moving through the tank? A bigger pump may not work for us, if this is the case.

[G1GY]

Originally Posted by Beverly

Doug,

Don't like the sound of anything leaking. From where has yours leaked? What causes the leaking and how can the leaking be prevented, in your opinion?

.

Same thing I pointed out in a previous post. Use heavy duty clamps, or you can double wrap with 304 or 316 stainless steel wire and twist with pliers to tighten.(Maybe use the stock clamps and back them up with stainless wire?)

Very minor issue and nothing to prevent you from buying this skimmer.

304 and 316 stainless wire isn't the easiest stuff to find, but if you need some just PM me and I'll send as much as you could ever need for what the shipping will cost.