The Puffer Forum

I have a 55G at 1.015 (GSP's) and I'm about to start raising it up to go full marine. I'm also going to put an 18G sump/fuge on it. I need to know a good in sump skimmer for this (not overly expensive, but one that works good) as well as how powerful of a pump I need to pump the water from sump back to tank.

Any tips/suggestions are greatly appreciated. I also put in about 15 lbs of base rock in it and will be putting live rock in it at some point.

more flow = more better
(not the best grammar)

i say go for the largest and highest flow pump you are willing to spend your money on. i prefer rio and mag-drive pumps.

same goes for the skimmer, especially with puffers. those messy eaters are going to need a skimmer to handle all their waste. go for the most powerful skimmer you're willing to spend on.

i personally use an AquaC urchin PS. I can't vouch for any others simply because i haven't used them and i don't know the brand of the other skimmer we have. I hate the nameless one. I love the AquaC. it's quick to install and easy to clean with no assembly. or, if you are feeling handy, you can build your own. there are links for that somewheres...

I've just bought a Deltec MCE300 Skimmer which I was recommened by a lot of people on UltimateReef.com. It's rated for 75gallons. It cost £155 new but you can get them for about £75 off ebay (which is where I got mine)

anybody else have any input?

So, I'm about to order these: good idea or no?



Reef Octopus 4 (100 Gallon) In Sump Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer w/ Bubble Plate

Aqua Clear Power Head 50, 270 GPH: this will be in the 18G sump to pump the water back in the 55G display..

what are your thoughts on this?

Go with 2 Hydor Korilia Evolutions, instead of the AC powerhead.

would that be 2 Hydors that are rated the same? would 1 hydor rated 1400gph be good enough?

You want the flow coming from 2 directions. I actually have them in 4 corners of my larger tanks & a few lower, too.

ahhh..so I want the return flow to enter my display from both sides of the tank, correct?..thanks for the fast input as I'm about to order it now!

also, the octo is a good choice i take it?

I've never had one but I have heard so.

Ok, so i just ordered:
Reef Octopus 4 (100 Gallon) In Sump Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer w/ Bubble Plate
Mag-Float 125 Magnet Cleaner (Glass)
Hydor Koralia Evolution Circulation Pump/Powerhead 1400 gph ( will buy another pump next payday)

Thank you everybody for your input as I take everybody's input into consideration.

I.Puff.Too wrote:as well as how powerful of a pump I need to pump the water from sump back to tank.

To figure out how powerfull of a return pump to get, you need to know how much flow your overflow can handle. Then measure how far the pump will have to push the water up to the return level at the tank. Pumps will have a rated flow at a rated height, get a pump just slightly over your overflow capacity and use a gate or ball valve to fine tune the pumps flow. I use a mag drive 12 pump for my 90g, mag pumps are decent but there are better ones out there.

That octo is supposed to be a great skimmer. Koralia pumps a great too, I have 3. Make sure the Koralia is agitating the surface of the water a good amount, and no dead spots of debris are forming on the bottom.