OMG! Thinking of Getting Remora Skimmers, Need Advice Please

[Beverly]

Wow! Very glowing testimonials Except for Tony's soooooo funny quasi-quote from Revelations

And, no, I'm not having a stroke because I can still type

Moving along.... A few I have questions brought up some of the discussion....

Microbubbles:
- am thinking of getting Maxi Jet and Mag Drive pump Surface Prefilter Boxes (http://www.proteinskimmer.com/surfaceprefilter.pdf ) to combat microbubbles and to help remove the surface scum we have in all three tanks. Any pros or cons to these pre-filters? Will they help remove the surface scum?

Noise:
- we are really used to very little noise coming from our tanks. The only noise we currently have is a wee bit of vibration from the powerheads in the tanks, which is still very quiet. How can I reduce noise from the skimmers, if there is any after the break in period?

Intake Protection for BTAs in 37g and 67g tanks (using Remoras and Maxi-jets)?:
- Gotta protect my BTAs in the event they decide to move after introducing the skimmers. Will the pre-filter box do the trick or do I have to cover the pre-filter box with something? Describe the something, if you know. (Not a trick question!)
- if we don't get the pre-filter boxes, what can we use to cover the pump intakes?

Tank Molding Size:
- the molding of these three tanks is 1 3/4" from front to back. Will these skimmers fit this non-standard molding size? If not, is there a modification we can make to the skimmers so they will hang onto the tanks?


Those are all my questions for now. Glad to hear that these skimmers will not leak or overflow water (unless broken), and that the skimmate will not overflow either.

Thank you all very much for responding

[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*

[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.

[Beverly]

Thanks for the further explanation, Gary. Will probably look for the air conditioner clamps to be on the safe side. Gads, you wouldn't want to see how fast my hair would light on fire if a pump started shooting water out of a tank

We're going to see a couple of Remora Pros in action next week at a local reefer's house. That should give us a pretty good idea of how they work and what they look like. (Thanks, Josh!) Then, we'll look at our finances to see how we can fit them into our budget.

Thank you, everybody, for your great input

[Chaloupa]

Hey Bev...I gotta jump in a bit...I have 2 Remora Pro's one on my 50g FOWLR and another on my 65g hex reef that is well stocked...I love this skimmer, have to agree with Anthony about the micro-bubbles....they suck but they do go away with the pre-filter as I have one on my 50....BUT that having been said...I have had an overflow....I had the collection cup WAY down...as I had been getting thicker skimmate and then we accidently used a chlorine remover that caused a huge over skim and some "thick" (for lack of a better word) water....and I had water on the floor....I have never had an overflow on the reef one and I have had it in place for over a year...very happy with performance especially comparing it to the Prism. So it CAN happen it just most likely won't....and MAN does it fit into a tight spot!!!! Easy to use, adjust etc etc...i wouldn't let my little overflow stop you as they are great skimmers! Just my experience and .02...I'd recommend them in a heartbeat!

[OCDP]

Heh, I think you're worrying far too much about using the skimmer. Surely if so many people use it, and recommend it.. it must be good to use. By no means am I trying to sound rude at all... but I think you need to put your worried mind to rest. The chances of the pump coming off and having water shoot out everywhere is very slim. Use extra clamps or zip ties (like I do) to give yourself more peace of mind.

I think you'll be very happy in the end... (if you choose to use them of course)

Good luck,