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Advice? Skimmer Advice for 400g FOWLR

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Actuary, Apr 26, 2016.

  1. Actuary Well-Known ReefKeeper

    705
    Adel, IA
    Ratings:
    +145 / 1 / -0
    Well I finally pulled the trigger and got my new tank ordered. We moved across the state and I'm going to use the move as an opportunity to get a new tank and change things up. I had a 180g SPS reef which was fun... but it had gotten to the point where it was overgrown and I wasn't keeping up with fragging and selling. Before moving I got the bulk of my corals removed and sold but I kept all of my rock.

    The new build will be a FOWLR build with some larger and more aggressive fish. I will probably continue to run my Zeovit system to help keep nutrients down but I'm sure my existing skimmer won't be able to keep up. So I'm looking for advice on a skimmer for a 400g FOWLR system with a heavy bio-load. I will have a fish room so space isn't limited and I'm open to internal or external skimmers. Would a Reef Octopus SRO-5000INT be adequate?
    Super Reef Octopus SRO-5000INT 10” In Sump Protein Skimmer - Internal Skimmers - Skimmers, Reactors & Filtration - Bulk Reef Supply

    I see they have some interesting options in their "Regal" line as well, but would this possibly be too much skimmer? It seems hard to imagine getting too much skimmer for a 400g tank for $675..
    Reef Octopus 12" Regal 300INT Internal Protein Skimmer - Internal Skimmers - Skimmers, Reactors & Filtration - Bulk Reef Supply

    Or should I try to find a higher end used skimmer such as the one that popped up on RC today?
    Reef Central Online Community

    It's been quite a while since I have been in the market for a skimmer so any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks!
     
  2. Roman Experienced Reefkeeper

    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Ratings:
    +321 / 3 / -0
    I just recently bought the same skimmer as on reef central. Haven't got it hooked up yet as I am currently gathering equipment for my 220 build. Looking forward to trying it. 900 shipped is an awesome price[​IMG][​IMG]


    Sent from my iPhone via App
     
  3. blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Ratings:
    +738 / 5 / -0
    I don't know if the sro5000 would quite cut it with a heavy bioload on 400g. I wouldn't get anything smaller that's for sure.
    I run one on my system. Probably 300g total volume. Before carbon dosing I thought it may be a touch oversize, but since I have been carbon dosing it pulls a ton of nasty crap and does it consistently. I'd say it's probably sized about right for my system.
     
  4. jeremy Acro Addict

    Davenport, IA
    Ratings:
    +836 / 4 / -0
    I run the 5000 internal skimmer on my 200 gallon sps system and medium bio load. Works great.
    For 400 gallons and a bunch of fish I would do the reef octopus 6000. Or biggest one you can afford.
     
  5. Actuary Well-Known ReefKeeper

    705
    Adel, IA
    Ratings:
    +145 / 1 / -0
  6. jeremy Acro Addict

    Davenport, IA
    Ratings:
    +836 / 4 / -0
    Or you could do the skimmer rated for your system and another form of filtration. Like algae scrubber, carbon dosing, gfo, or refugium or whatever. I run skimmer and algae scrubber on one tank and skimmer refugium on another.
     
  7. Actuary Well-Known ReefKeeper

    705
    Adel, IA
    Ratings:
    +145 / 1 / -0
    Yep I'll be doing carbon dosing as part of my Zeovit system.
     
  8. Actuary Well-Known ReefKeeper

    705
    Adel, IA
    Ratings:
    +145 / 1 / -0
    Does anyone have any experience with Reef Life Support Systems? I think I'm going to try to pick among the following:
    Reef Life Support Systems R12-i
    Reef Octopus SRO XP-8000INT
    Reef Octopus SRO XP-6000SSS

    The Reef Octopus 8000 seems like a lot of skimmer for the buck but I'm wondering if it's possibly too much skimmer for this build (they rate at 1000g light load and 800g heavy load). If the 6000 is enough skimmer for the build I'd be pretty happy to get away with only spending $730.. but I'd hate to have to buy a larger one down the road because I skimped just a little today. The RLSS skimmer seems like a good option between the two RO skimmers but I just don't hear as much about them and I'm not sure how they really perform.. they rate the R12-i as 528-792g.

    I had an MRC-4 on the list but dropped it after seeing the insane power consumption pulled by the Reeflo Barracuda it uses. I'm not super picky about that generally but 250w on a skimmer seems excessive (especially compared to the others I'm looking at).
     

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