need a skimmer that sits outside the sump!
- Thread starter jetchris
- Start date
I can answer this for you. As long as you buy a Recirc. skimmer and install pvc on the output to run into your sump then you can run the skimmer external.If you click on the Recirc. skimmers on their site,look down at the bottom of the page and it tells you that they can be run external.For a 240 I would buy the Recirc. dual 150/250 or maybe the Recirc.200 if you want only one pump.
I would not suggest getting a T1000 for a 240g tank. A 120-150g is pushing it for that skimmer. The T1000 is a great skimmer for tanks under 100g though. The T5000 should certainly be on your short list.
I probably should shut up about the AquaClear skimmer, but I can tell you the max rating on that skimmer by the manufactorer is around 250g and I personally believe that is very optomistic.
My suggestion is to stick with a needlewheel recirc design. It is quite, effecient, more upgradable (such as mesh wheel mod) and you know what you are getting. There are places to go with less expensive equipment in a reef tank, the skimmer is not an area I suggest going cheap. A lot of problems in tanks are poor nutrient export and the skimmer is one of the best front lines of defense in this regard.
I probably should shut up about the AquaClear skimmer, but I can tell you the max rating on that skimmer by the manufactorer is around 250g and I personally believe that is very optomistic.
My suggestion is to stick with a needlewheel recirc design. It is quite, effecient, more upgradable (such as mesh wheel mod) and you know what you are getting. There are places to go with less expensive equipment in a reef tank, the skimmer is not an area I suggest going cheap. A lot of problems in tanks are poor nutrient export and the skimmer is one of the best front lines of defense in this regard.
ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE!!!
Sorry for yelling, but this is exactly the opposite of what I experienced. I took a system where I couldn't get my needlewheel to act consistently, changed to a beckett and I only check it once every week, or once every couple weeks. No tinkering required. I would think that the MR2 would be a good option, in that you could add a second injector and beef up the pump later on during the upgrade and you would have a great setup for that system.
Rob
thanks, cmaneron, 46bfin and rhomer. So as long as it says recirc I should be ok to set it outsude of the sump. In order to sit it outside of my sump i have to get rid of my fuge. "future interest and ouling got me thinking I should keep my fuge and get a better skimmer for the sump. The only thing I could fit in there is a tunze 9010. So i am torn between the tunze skimmer or a recirc skimmer?? Rhomer how loud is your skimmer and does it sit under the tank?
Well if your fuge is under 50 gallons,then I would recomend a good skimmer.I mean honestly if your fuge is not large enough to really export nitrates then its not much good in the first place.You will probably fair much better with a better skimmer.Have you noticed a difference since adding the fuge? Everyone Agree?
To some degree, but you can get a good block of chaeto in a small space. You aren't going to have a great DSB with mangroves in a small place but it is still going to help. Course a big skimmer is going to suck far more crap from a system than a small fuge, but that small fuge has more risdual benefits.
Best case is to do what he is doing IMO. Run a fuge as big as you can get and then load up an external skimmer. External skimmers are generally easy to setup if you go with a feed pump and you can get as big as you like.
I like MRC skimmers and people who own them generally have a good opinion of them. However, I believe the needlewheel has finally caught and passed beckett technology. With simple mods to these skimmers, they can pull as much air and require a far smaller pump. Good recirc designs with good pumps are just bubble making machines that produce some the finest bubbles pulling in massive amounts of air. In the end a properly sized MRC will do the job well as will a properly sized needlewheel so to some degree better is arguable, but a good needlewheels will cost you less over the long haul and will run quieter.
Unfortunatly, I can't answer this. I have the skimmer in the basement, and I know if it isn't tuned properly when I open the door to the basement just by the sound, but I don't have it in an eclosure. I didn't mean to push a beckett, just for argument's sake, I think a recirc needlewheel is right choice here.
For me the beckett was a perfect choice, I have the sump in my basement, I have an oversized pump that drives my return and my skimmer (so I actually cut power consumption by changing to a beckett instead of a needlewheel by removing a pump), and I have a utility sink that sits right next to the sump to drain the skimmer crud into.
When I hooked up the PM, I ran both the needlewheel and beckett both for about 2 weeks. I never got anthing out of the needlehweel after hooking up the PM. Not one drop, and I had the bubbles as high as I could possible run them. The PM was immediatly pulling the stuff out.
Rob
Actually, I disagree. I think an MR-2 with a PCX-55 and dual becketts is about the most bang you can get for a skimmer. I ran this on my 360g system with no problem (med bioload), and would guess it could handle a full bioload at it's limit. I've used different combinations of pumps and becketts with the MR skimmers (including my current Sequence pump driving it), but this one seems to be optimal.
The beckett skimmers' performance really comes down to what pump you have to push them, IME.
A 360g system is even more than the manufactorer rating. A 6" water column that is 24.5" tall is a relatively small water column for that much tank volume. I am not saying you can't run it on the system, but you would probably pull noticeably more crap out of the system if you ran an MR3. This assumes a medium-heavy bioload in that configuration.
Compare an MRC2 to a say an Orca which would cost slightly less initially once you factor in the pump you need on an MRC2. You get a 28" by 8.5" recirc that will likely pull as much air with a mesh mod. After a couple years, you will be ahead in cost as even with a feed pump the wattage is less than 100w on the Orca compared to a minimum PCX40 at 110w or a better performing blue line at 180w.
Again not saying the MRC skimmers are poor performers or anything, but these days with all the advancements in the needlewheel design coupled with some really good inexpensive quality skimmers it is hard to not go that route. Beyond the fact that NWs generally use less juice and are quieter.
I don't think Andy (at MRC) is a fluid dynamics engineer, or any other engineer that qualifies him to say that it's rated to exactly this amount....
Andy does what the rest of us do and just makes an educated guess. My 360 system takes in account 120g of empty sump, so figure my estimates on a 240g tank with medium bioload. I forgot to mention that I also had a 6" riser on it, which effectively made it an MR3 with dual becketts.Agree on the energy efficiency and quietness - no arguing there. But "advancements" does not mean that the "old" technology fails to operate well; the MR skimmers work as well now as they did 5 years ago.
