Skimmer Recommendations

Hi Everybody, I have a 90 Gal Fowlr tank and i have an light-medium bioload right now. I am in the market for a skimmer that would be able to handle a future reef tank (mixed Softies & LPS with only a few SPS). I have looked around and found a few options and am considering these:

For these two, i would like to know the differences between them as far as performance.
Reef Octopus NWB 200 Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer* - AquaCave

Reef Octopus Extreme Series EXT-200

and these are the others,
Bubble-Magus BM200P Skimmer (115V 60Hz) - Protein Skimmers - Nuocean

IN-180 Internal Pinwheel Protein Skimmer 100-180 Gallons


I Wanted to know if anyone had experiences with any of these or would be willing to recommend any others that they think will be better.

As far as price, Looking to stay around $250-300.
Thanks for the help in advance

 

Those all look pretty comparable to each other. I would like to point out the first one doesn't have a bubble plate which I think is a very nice feature.

I'll add a couple to the list also:

Xtreme 160 Protein Skimmer

Xtreme 200 protein Skimmer

These both come with an italian sicce pump which I hear tons of good about. The Bubble Magus you listed also comes with a sicce.

 

Thanks mike. Quick question though, whats the difference between air intake units Lph and scfh? The BM has Lph and all the others have scfh and i would like to compare. Also, how important is air draw? How heavily should it affect my decision? and what are some other factors to look at/for when comparing and choosing the skimmer? It's my first skimmer and i'm still a newbie wen it comes to tanks this big cause its my first over 40 gal.
thanks for the help.

 

SCFH... hundred cubit feet per hour, and liters per hour are just units of air flow.

The conversion factor is .47, but that is for liters per minuit. Times or divide to get where you want.

So 50 scfh X .47 = 23.5 LPM. of course times 60 gets you 1410 LPH.

Air flow isn't EVERYTHING, but it's a lot. That is the whole point, to make a bubble machine. Generally speaking 600lph on a 90g is a good starting point. My old skimmer did well at that, but it was a very balanced skimmer. Now I'm doing 900 lph on my 90g with my new one. For a 90g, you really don't need anymore. So between 23 and 31 scfh.

the other factors involve how wel lthe skimmer is balanced between pump, body, neck size air draw.... That does not really matter to you as far as research at this point.... the point is most popular skimmers are popular for those reasons. They work well because they are well balanced.

Most money goes to pumps. You want a good quality, reliable, QUIET, and energy efficient pump. Again.... you might get a little intimidated looking at all this, but most popular skimmers are popular because of this too.

Then of course you have build quality, features, ease of use.... and the same applies for most popular skimmers.

Last I will say.... you might have a light or medium bio load now, but most folks always end up heavy. So just go with heavy and look at that.

So for a 90g... you have a lot of popular choices.

Vertex IN series is about the best bang for the buck. Very good skimmer at very good prices. Vertex in 180. A 100 would do if you stayed light to medium. $284 for the 180, $190 for the 100

SWC 160. Very good skimers, build quality and pump but cost a little more. $269 for a 160, $290 for a 200, but that is a bit big.

SWC cone Mini S at $380. Same SWC quality witha space saver cone.

Octo XP 2000 for a good cone at a good price. All the skimmer you will ever need on a 90g. $430

Then all the way up to a ATB 840 at $650. Best there is. There is more exspensive, but there is no better.

Octo and SWC are prety similar in product line, but I am admittedly biased towards SWC. It is a very good quality and price point to start at.

 

Thanks for the info Powerman

Is there such a thing as too big when it comes to skimming?

I've always heard the bigger the better...
Would a vertex IN 250 be "too big"?

 

Yes, a 250 would be way too big. Bigger does not pull more. Most times you can get away with 2x your system. Your skimmer will basically only be working half the time. 1.5x leaves room for extra. Getting a skimmer rated for what you have is not bad, but like I say use heavy ratings. Biggest is not best.

 

OK so as of right now, It's between the SWC 200 and the Octo 200. I know that they are very similar but is there ANY small detail that would make one better than the other? anything at all... lol

 

SWC looks cooler and they are a 3Reef sponsor.

 

Thats the decision-maker... lol ;D

 

I would also suggest a SWC, don't have one myself but that's what I'll be using on an upcoming predator tank.