Skimmers under $100

monsterpuffer · Post by **monsterpuffer** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:27 pm

Can anyone recommend a skimmer under $100 for a 55g. The two I'm looking at the most are the Coralife needle wheel-65 and the Red Sea Prizm rated up to 90g. I did search the archives but it seemed to be that everyone was hee-hawing around about which ones were the most effective and basically saying that the best is Aqua-C and not to use the Sea-Clones.

BTW, we are just starting up a saltwater tank (this is day 2 of the saltwater tank). The tank is cycled, the salinity is perfect, and there are a few damsels in it right now and my wife want to aim for a reef tank.

Do the counter current type skimmers work well? They seem highly dependent on water level consistency, good upkeep, and the constant replacement of the limewood airstones. The start-up price looks lower but I'm wondering what the long term costs are.

Thanks
MP

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:15 pm

I have the Coralife Super Skimmer 125 on my 55g & wish I had bought the 220. Don't skimp on your skimmer--you'll be sorry. I started out w/a Backpack & now it's in the basement doing nothing... For a little more, at http://www.bigalsonline.com , you can get the 125.

Red Sea Prizm is garbage.

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 11:01 pm

I use seaclone 100 for my 55... (I know laugh it up all you want.)

YBeNormal · Post by **YBeNormal** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 11:45 pm

I use seaclone 100 for my 55... (I know laugh it up all you want.)

:28: Someone actually admits that they use a seaclown?

(Just kidding... :40: )

PP's right. Don't skimp on the skimmer. I have a CSS-220 and I am overall happy with it. Still, I would spend a little more and get an even better one if I had a do-over.

tekknoschtev · Post by **tekknoschtev** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:08 pm

As pufferpunk said, skimping on the skimmer is a mistake, because in the future you'll likely want to upgrade. This means the money you put into the skimmer the first time will be wasted (ie. you wont be able to sell it back for much). I think a CS220 would do wonders for a 55, and have seen it working ok on tanks up to around 90-100gallons.

The prisms SAY they are rated for around 90gals, most say 40-50 is their max. I've never owned one, or known someone with them so I cant offer personal experience, just what I've read.

TAN · Post by **TAN** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 3:15 am

it is Really good you will invest in one good skimmer for your 55g tank..
The red sea prizm its one from the ineffectively skimmer on the market.
I propose him maximum for 30g tank.
The aqua-c remora its good choice for you.

Mek0ng · Post by **Mek0ng** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:35 pm

Srry but any skimmer under 100$ is most likely gonna be trash, unless u get a good deal on a used remora or somthing.

The ratings on all small skimmers are completely arbitrary.

The CSS 220 is really more of a 90g skimmer... Prizims are trash, so are seaclones. A dual bakpak or remora pro or CSS220, or the deltec HOB is what you should be looking at, for a new skimmer you should be looking around $200

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:38 pm

my seaclone actually does a pretty dang good job of skimming, despite what people say.

tekknoschtev · Post by **tekknoschtev** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:02 pm

my seaclone actually does a pretty dang good job of skimming, despite what people say.

Have you compared it to other skimmers? We thought out Skiler 250 and 400 were doing good (and for the record, we did notice a difference in the tank) but when we upgraded to the Nautilus EX24 skimmer, it really put the skilters in their place; I'm confident other skimmers, such as the ASM would put out Nautilus in its place as well, but it does the trick. For the record, the only reason we use(d) the skilters was because they were free.

I'm not trying to start an arguemtn, just curious really. There are some mods you can do to the seaclone to make it more efficient so that might be something to look into. If you can find one of the lesser skimmers for dirt cheap, it might be worth it, but I'd never pay full price for a skilter, prism, or sea clone.

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:00 pm

Have you compared it to other skimmers?

well, no.... the seaclone was a chritmas present, i would buy a better one but i cant afford...

I guess a seaclown is better then no skimmer at all.

where can i find these mods? that sounds very intresting.

tekknoschtev · Post by **tekknoschtev** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:45 pm

Sorry, I didnt mean to come off as condecending. We LOVED our Skilter - until we knew better, and even then, we can still tell the difference when we use it on the one tank.

As for the mods, I see threads come up on Reef Central from time to time, but searching there is impossible unless you spend money for a membership. Try searching google for "Seaclone Mod". There are some that are as drastic as rebuilding the entire thing, others are simple and involve a pump upgrade, or trimming something to get better reaction time with the bubbles.

Christmas presents fall into a different category. The same category as "free stuff", and with free stuff, its worthwhile to do some work to get it to work optimally. Good luck!

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:38 am

I use a prizm the smaller one on my 20g long that houses my two ceylons while i trying to figure placement for a new 75 gallon puffer house in a coming months. I bought this *yeah i paid for* from my friend for his cost from our old supplier so it wasn't too horrible. It was intended to go on my 18 gallon reef in the making but due to moving the reef went away but the filter stayed.

Now its been running on my BW water tank for about a week now and its filling up slowly and surely with horrible brownish green goo. The puffers are happy as can be the water is clear and i did away with the imprived air stone that sounded like rolling thunder in the tank (which is inches from my face when i'm sleeping).

I wouldn't use it on anything bigger than a 29 gallon but for a small tank its doing a pretty good job.

When they move to the 75 i'm hoping to get a remora but i'll be shopping around for other ideas at that time.

anyone check out ebay for skimmers, i dont normally go there for fear of buying someone elses problems but i was just wondering.

jason

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 6:11 pm

tekknoschtev wrote:Sorry, I didnt mean to come off as condecending. We LOVED our Skilter - until we knew better, and even then, we can still tell the difference when we use it on the one tank.

sorry, i dont think you sounded condecending at all. thanks for the advice, ill try looking into modding my seaclone.

English George · Post by **English George** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:09 pm

Dunno if it's UK only but TMC have new skimmers out, V2 skimmer or something. Been testing one a few days on a live rock curing butt and it seems pretty darn good!

BubblePUffer · Post by **BubblePUffer** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:36 am

What is the best or recommended Skimmer for a 20G Fish and Live Rock only tank...not reef tank. Going to setup one up soon for my first salt water tank for Fish..

The Puffer Forum

The Puffer Store

Skimmers under $100

Skimmers under $100