I'm looking at the Aquamaxx EM200 or EM300 for a 130 gallon (72x20x21). Is this a good skimmer? Anyone have another recommendation for this size tank?
Never used them either but this might help, personally my favorite skimmer out of the everyone I've ever used is reef-dnamics/euro-reef and are about in the same price range. But to each his own in my opinion. Pretty good review with both specs listed and a review: http://reefbuilders.com/2012/09/13/aquamaxx-ecomaxx-em-series/
Thanks Wylon. I just looked at that one because of some pretty good reviews and because it fit my sump space easily. I really think this is one of my more important equipment purchases and I want to get it right. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check that one out. What are the most important considerations in choosing a skimmer? My newb thoughts were in order of importance 1) removes the most dissolved organic material possible 2) easy to adjust....it sounds like some of the cheaper units are really tricky to adjust i.e. the sweet spot between efficient skimming and cup overflow is very small 3) quiet operation....I've sold my wife on about 160 gallons of salt water in our den. A noisy piece of equipment will not help the status quo!
i bought a nice cone skimmer rated for 180G for 150 from http://znnea.rmuvx.servertrust.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1817 its really quiet and pulls really good skim
Thanks sin, (never thought I'd say that). It's on sale now for $130!? What size tank do you have and how long have you been running this skimmer?
i run it on a 100G tank for about a year then went to 125G with megaflows about 2 months a go im running it in about 8'' of water highth and keep it set on #3 and i pull nice black/green skim the only thing i dont like about it if u let your sump run low for a while then refill it the skimmer will start over flowing and fill my drane jug up so when i refill my sump up most of the time ill drop my setting down to 2 for a min r so then set it back up to 3 after the fresh water mixs in good
just found this on reef central thay have a nice wright up on the sca-302 and sca-150 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2032645
The first things I personally look at: Skimmer Pump, needs an impeller wheel and in my opinion needs to have a higher GPH or equal GPH to your return pump. (My personal preference most likely) Size of the collection cup since I work a lot I can't change it out every other day Fits in your sump, I got lucky with the last large skimmer I bought and was able to "make it fit" Quiet while running, which most of them are Easy to adjust, but if your sump has baffles most of them can be set once and never touched again. Then the fancy technical jargon of size of the bubbles being produced etc... Still don't quite understand all the numbers but I can compare those numbers to skimmers I've used before and have good luck with .
Yep, several of them won't fit my sump (9 1/2" X 11") first chamber. So far I think the Skimz, Aquamaxx fit my space.
I knew I was forgetting one. The Gx-1 would fit easily. I went back and measured and I might be able to get the G2 in with a little modification of the bracket that holds the filter socks. My first chamber is 12"X13.5" but the eurobracing reduces the 12" to 11.5" and the filter sock bracket reduces the other measurment to 9.25". My sump is a Trigger Ruby 36. Is the GX-1 enough skimmer if I eventually try to keep some SPS?
Tank is 72X20x21, 130 gallons, Sump volume is 35.5 gallons but with the baffles actual water volume will be about 24 gallons.
G1x would barely be able to keep up if I remember correctly. It's only rated for 150 but you want to keep acropora or other sps you would be better off with over skimming with a skimmer rated for more. You may end up getting two skimmers.
