coralife skimmer

[bv_reefer]

I've narrowed it down to getting a coralife hang-on skimmer in a few days and want to know the pros and cons. i know it's a very popular skimmer and widely used. few questions though. Which one should I get for my 33-gallon mixed reef, the 65-Gallon rated skimmer should be enough right?
Also I've heard something about how they can clog or flood over, why and how can i avoid this? Also how much gunk would they pull out, enough for my tank?

[Chowder]

There definetly cheap and they are very finicky. If you adjust them for water level they will run fine then they will start over flowing . The best way to run them is as a in sump model so if they over flow it just ends up going back into the sump. The 65 version has a small air intake and gets clogged quit easily with calcium. The 125 is a little bit better but has the same overflow problems. If you are going to buy one I would go for the biggest one you can afford. But in that case you might as well get a good skimmer. Allso if you are going to get a bigger tank later it's probably better to get a larger skimmer that you can use on that system. it will save you money in the long run.

[vazgor]

mine has been running for about 6 munths now and i have had no problems but the air intakes do get cloged fairly easyly and if they clog compleatly you will get a flood but i clean mine weekly
you know clean out the cup and check the air intakes but to get a dryer skim i had to adjust the pump so its like only half inch below water line instead of the 3 inchs it says in the manual and i f i new how to post a pic i could snap a few and post them for you

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I used one for about a year. When it was skimming well, it did a great job. It did overflow on me a few times, but I never seemed to get a handle on why, etc. Here's a picture of some of the junk it was able to pull out!



BTW....it was the CSS65.

[bv_reefer]

ya i had a feeling that it was the air intake. So in general they'd be ok for a soft coral reef, but definitely some drawbacks such as flooding risk. so for an extra $50 i might as well go for the aqua-c nano. i just can't imagine that little skimmer being better than the coralife. the main reason I'm getting a skimmer is i'm dealing with a diatom problem at the moment and think it's about time to throw in an ok skimmer to help me out a bit-

thanks again drew, looks like if you manage to play with it and prime it right it pulls out a fair share of gunk; I was looking for a pic like that to see how well it skims

[tang daddy]

go with a 220 actually my freind has one f/s for cheap works fine but as you know they do act up that is the nature of a cheap skimmer!
I had one when first starting out cause I didn't wanna spend too much but after it flodded my room twice on carpet too, I almost threw it out the window hahhah JJ I got rid of it.
If you dont mind mopping or smelling carpet soaked with skimmate I say go for it but otherwise get an in sump!

[bv_reefer]

ok well a soaked carpet all over the place is the last thing i need, ok so how about the Aqua-C's then? pros...cons...I've always had these recommended by alot of people, and it looks like a reasonable skimmer, question is; can I get away with an aqua-c nano or must i get the bigger one, the aqua-c regular?

by the way the thing that really caught my eye is how the aqua-c nano is rated for 5-25 gallons and the coralife is 2/3 the price and rated up to 65 gallon(if that's even really the appropriate rating..!)

[tang daddy]

I don't have any knowledge with aqua c but what I can say is bigger pump more bubbles=mo skimmate what size is your tank, sump?

[kwirky]

i have an aqua-c remora. it's not as "amazing" as my euroreef was but it's pretty good. well built. I wish it wasn't as finicky about oils and such though. when my hands go in the water skimming stops for the rest of the day.

[Chowder]

Do you have a sump?