[blu23girl]

Ok, so i am looking at these two skimmers for my NEW (when it arrives) 120 gal. Acrylic tank!

I plan on thins being a reef set-up, so I'm guessing the bio-load will be pretty high...

Anyway, does anyone have an opinion on these? Is this enough of a skimmer, or should i go larger? Which is better?? Experiences?? Is there anything for comparable price that is better?

http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/index...rodID=551&HS=1
http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/index...PROD&ProdID=23

Thanks!

[sgarron]

I have had both. The Aqua-C EV180 and I now have an ASM G4X. The Aqua-C is easier to use but the ASM has given me better results. Although I did modify the ASM. (gate valve mod and recirc mod). Aquacave has a better price and free shipping. They are both very good skimmers.

ASM G Series P rotein Skimmers

[Jay03GT]

when I was contemplating skimmers for my 120 I was between the ASM G3 and the Euroreef RS135. IMO a G3 is a better fit for the 120 over the G2 you are looking at, and it isn't much more money. It should come with a bigger pump (my euroreef came with a sedra 5000) that will give you better results on a tank that big.

[Rainman69]

Where do they make asm I could not find out. I say spend the extra 40 bucs and get a Euroreef. Made in USA and other than pump should last a life time.

[cokipoint]

You can't go wrong with the ASM or Euro Reef. I am getting a G3 for my 150gallon. The ASM is just less exspensive compare to Euro reef. Never heard anything bad about eighther one.

[pogodzib]

I've never owned (or seen in person) an ASM skimmer, but I've owned a few different AquaC skimmers. The AquaC skimmers work good if you oversize the pump 1-2 sizes above the recommended amount. ASM skimmers were all the rage a few years ago as a cheap replacement to the Euroreef, but many people (myself included) are getting Octopus skimmers instead since they are supposed to be built better than the ASM and be cheaper. My Octopus skimmer isn't broken in yet so I can't compare how much gunk it pulls out to my AquaC.

[blu23girl]

So would the Euro-reef RC-135 be the correct size for my 120 gal tank? or do i need to go larger?

[Rainman69]

You will be very pleased with 135. IMO If anything there underrated.

[stephaniesquires]

Originally Posted by blu23girl

So would the Euro-reef RC-135 be the correct size for my 120 gal tank? or do i need to go larger?

Remember to take the water from sump and fuge (if you have either or if you plan on getting either) into account when determining your water volume. 120 gallon tank, 30 gallon sump = 150 gallons...

[Rainman69]

Well I don't know exactly how many gallons my system actually holds In the end. Depending on how your tank Is set up, With a dsb and 1.5 pounds of rock you lose many gallons in tank. Unless your sump/fuge Is huge I think this balances out.

[stephaniesquires]

Originally Posted by Rainman69

Well I don't know exactly how many gallons my system actually holds In the end. Depending on how your tank Is set up, With a dsb and 1.5 pounds of rock you lose many gallons in tank. Unless your sump/fuge Is huge I think this balances out.

Somewhere on my favorites list is a site where you can calculate your water volume taking into consideration your sand and rock, I will look for it, pretty handy site....Maybe someone else has it available??? Anybody got their favorites organized? (just another skill you need forthis hobby )

[pogodzib]

Since I feel that you can't overskim a tank, I ignore the rock and sand volume and base my skimmer size on the tank and sump size only. Most skimmers are way overrated for reef tank sizes anyway.

[Mattfish]

Part 1 - I'm in absolutely no way smart enough or experienced enough to contradict Pogodzib.

Part 2 - we just got a EuroReef RS-135 for our 125g acrylic new setup. Having come from a Coralife SuperSkimmer 220, I can tell you that the difference is night and day. The Coralife was totally inconsistent from minute to minute, so the EuroReef is like experiencing a whole new thing. The design, the bubble production, the consistency, the ability to clean/empty the cup without shutting evrything off, etc. I've found from our short experience with the EuroReef that it provides immeasurably better coverage on our tank compared to the old Coralife, and while I abolsutely agree that you can't overskim a tank, the RS-135 seems just fine for our size tank.

My suspicion is that the quality of the process and design is so much higher that the efficiency is therefore much higher. But going back to point 1, for the relatively small difference in price, why not get the larger unit and be prepared? (who nows if you're going to move up to a larger tank at some point?) In my relatively short experience, this seems to be the most important piece of equipment in the entire setup. The second decision of importance seems to be the choice of sump/fuge and even for newbies seems to be a better way to start. We made the mistake of going with a poor sump with no fuge and a poor skimmer and had nothing but trouble, lost coral, and lost fish. At the time, I though I was taking the right path, but if I could start all over again, which is in effect what we've now done, it's worth the investment in the best equipment and best planned setup you can reasonably afford. The time and money we spent on our intial setup was completely worthless, and the loss of life it caused was something that will weigh on us, even though it was due to ignorance, and not bad intentions.

[pogodzib]

FYI - Many people base their sizing on any brand of skimmer by using the Euro-Reef sizing recommendations (Euro-Reef). Euro-Reef says that the RC-135 is rated for an "Average Load = 135 gal or Heavy Load = 100 gal"

Originally Posted by Mattfish

Part 1 - I'm in absolutely no way smart enough or experienced enough to contradict Pogodzib.

EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinion and I love to hear them.

[Mattfish]

Originally Posted by pogodzib

EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinion and I love to hear them.

I always have an opinion, but you know what they say about them....

My system isn't bearing any load yet, and I was/am concerned about the loading - but the lfs said it would definitely be fine and would trade it out if not. I'll let you know how it goes once we get everything in the tank....