[tomc1980]

All i can say is a Seaclone is the biggest piece of crap ive ever seen. Pain in the butt to clean and noisy. Also doesnt pull much. Glad it was free or id be super ticked about paying for it. My question is is a Tunze a good skimmer? If not any suggestions would be appreciated.

[pogodzib]

Looks like you have found out what virtually every experience reef keeper knows - Seaclones are junk. There are many good brands of skimmers out there, and even more poor brands. Tunzes are good skimmers, but there are other brands that may work just as good for less cost or better for the same cost. Do you need another HOT skimmer or will an in-sump skimmer work. Also, do you know what budget you can afford? Good skimmers aren't cheap, although looking at Tunze's, you've probably already figured that out. In general, in-sump skimmers are a better value since they pull out the waste better for a cheaper cost.

[tomc1980]

Dont have a sump yet so yes it will need to be a hang on tank skimmer. I eventually intend to add a refugium but it may be some time till i can afford it just got a house and all and a new salt tank so money isnt exactly easy to come by

[R-e-D]

i hate to be the guy who defends seaclones but i have been using the same one for almost 11 years now with minimal problems .. it does need adjusting the air feed every day or 2 but other than that its fine .. i am now looking into getting a in sump skimmer so i would like to know the answer to his question as well ..

[tomc1980]

Yeah i guess it does work ok if i play with it every other day or so but why should i have to im just gonna spend a little more and get me a good one.

[pogodzib]

My recommendations for HOB/HOT skimmers are:

Cheap beginner brands:
Octopus
Coralife Super Skimmer (Needle Wheel versions only)

Mid Range:
AquaC (with oversized pump)
Bermuda Aquatics
Turbofloater 1000 Multi, T3000 from Aqua Medic

High End:
Deltec
Tunze

[dori9941]

Originally Posted by R-e-D

i hate to be the guy who defends seaclones but i have been using the same one for almost 11 years now with minimal problems .. it does need adjusting the air feed every day or 2 but other than that its fine .. i am now looking into getting a in sump skimmer so i would like to know the answer to his question as well ..

maybe instead of getting the only bad one of the bunch, you got the only good one.

I haven't used the brand. ty for letting us know that seaclones aren't the best choice. I'm hopfully getting a skimer this month. I'll know what not to get now

[plecosword]

Yeah, most are bad, some people have gotten away with seaclones though but i would not risk it.
I would like to add a few more skimmers to Biran's list:
Berlin hang-on
Back-pak2
I think the berlin may take less space than the turboflutor.

[reefnoob1991]

Guess it is true you get what you pay for! (even if its free!) Make sure you get opinions and do research before making any big investment on your tank, I took weeks to assess different skimmers for my tank and price ranges that I could afford then went on a forum and got their opinions too from a skimmer expert

[clown shrimp]

you can never go wrong with a deltec

[holiday]

I have 2 Seaclone skimmers. One I use as a hang on and the other is in the sump of my larger tank. I have no issues with them what so ever. In a weeks time they both pull out over an inch of scum. I am happy with that.

Is that to little of scum? Do other brands take out more?

Noel

[reefnoob1991]

My Octopus skims about 1/4" a day

[pogodzib]

I used to skim out about 8 oz of dark skimmate per DAY on my 125 gal tank and get a decent amount more on my 220 gal.

[holiday]

Well my seaclone will stay with me for awhile. Business is slow and I can't spend any more money than I have too right now. Tank is healthy and corals are growing just fine.

[plecosword]

Originally Posted by holiday

Well my seaclone will stay with me for awhile. Business is slow and I can't spend any more money than I have too right now. Tank is healthy and corals are growing just fine.

at least until it fails hope that doesnt happen though

[tomc1980]

lol since i emptied the collection cup day before yesterday i still have no skimmate in my cup lol. Heavy duty cleaner i got

[reefnoob1991]

After 2 days...and yes that is all liquid coffee looking stuff on the bottom lol

[bri74]

I have been using a seaclone for a year and once I got rid of the old air valve and got a much better one it works good I guess. Im not having any problems with it and it skims about a inch a week out of my 55 gal Ill stick with it till I get a larger tank

[plecosword]

or till it brakes down hahaha ok., I did not notice the coffy stuff on the botton, its really dark.

[FINDING_NEMO]

why do you want to pull out so much skimmate, doesnt that mean you have too much nutrients in your tank? i have an rs-135 euroreef in my tank and it would take two weeks to fill up but i clean it every 3-4 days

[reefnoob1991]

Pulling out skimmate means its doing its job

[pogodzib]

Originally Posted by holiday

Tank is healthy and corals are growing just fine.

Isn't that all that we are really trying to achieve.

Originally Posted by FINDING_NEMO

why do you want to pull out so much skimmate, doesnt that mean you have too much nutrients in your tank? i have an rs-135 euroreef in my tank and it would take two weeks to fill up but i clean it every 3-4 days

No, it means that your tank has less nutrients because you are pulling them out quickly. The tank is producing the same amount of nutrients no matter what skimmer you have on it. A better (or larger) skimmer (although, a Euroreef is a great skimmer) will pull out more nutrients, thus it will also pull out more skimmate. I only feed a small pinch of food once a day in a 220 gal tank, and I inject ozone and have a fuge, so nobody ever says that my tank has too much nutrients, and yet I can still pull out a bunch of crap. Even if you feed lightly, your tank is creating waste from your fish and inverts eating not only the food that you feed, but also algaes.