Need a skimmer recommendation aka My 125 gallon headache

FLGirl

I have found a really great LFS store. Creative Aquariums of Tampa | About Us#

These guys are really nice and they have been super patient with me..

BUT

I went in this weekend to see if they could order the Belize Sun 60" for me and to pick up the rio 17HF return pump. While I was
there I opened by big mouth and asked if they had any skimmers. All they carry is reef octopus and when I told him I was going
with the marineland he suggested the reef octopus would be much better. Since I left the store on Friday I have been second
guessing my choice of the marineland 300, so I went back to my original quote. The guy that is going to set up my system once
I have all my equip quoted me $205 for an esu 125. The item is a coralife super skimmer 125 and I can get one online for for
$150. I have blown my buget on my lights by 400 and now I am getting anxious about the skimmer and looking at blowing the buget
again. I have read awful things about the sea clones which scares me about the 300 and i just read something awful about the
coral life. I have been warned to stay away from eshopps and after blowing my buget on the lights I can't afford the $800 reef octopus.
so......

If I have 125g tank with 120+lbs live rock(marco + LR) and 4"- 6" sand with ^ that light and ^ that return pump

Is there a protein skimmer out there that is between $150-$230 that will be "adequate" for my tank with a heavy bio-load.

FLGirl

nevermind.....found a really nice reef octopus extreme 200 for $315. Not nearly as bad as $800. And I had yet another person
(who does not own a lfs) tell me that there are lots of problems with the marineland skimmer and I should stay away from them.

"The marineland skimmer you are talking about is terrible. The water level in the sump can not fluctuate at all or the skimmer
will be completely useless. Also it gets very noisy with time, is hard to take a part, and is a pain to clean. The only good
thing about it is it is small, but space is not an issue in your case."

I am adding this because I hope that someone who has more experience with different skimmers than marineland and reef
octopus can give pros AND CONS. And if I missed the thread on this I am sorry for bringing it back up.

stevenjohn21

Damn it ! you could have bought mine for half that price . . . i no longer need it.

lionfish

Hello,

I have tried a SWC 150 cone skimmer from Canada.
It has done everything it is suppose to do.
I have had it running on 146 gallons for about 9 months and would recommend it.
It is a cone skimmer and the pump comes with it and the pump is internal but everything
can be cleaned no problem, dismantled completely in 1 minute.
Not costly either, it is in your range from the post.
I have it in 6 in. of water and works great.

Lionfish
Good luck

Attached Images

IMG_6791.jpg (48.6 KB, 15 views)