My .o2
I will never own an external skimmer never never never(ha those look like edible words don't they
). The possibility of overflowing and draining the tank....not gonna take that risk myself. So, that right there is not a factor in my decision making. Now as far as fluctuating, my in sump skimmer only fluctuates when I shut down the system and the backwash fills it's compartment. A properly designed skimmer compartment will cure the fluctuating...That's not an issue for me either then. How effective a skimmer is would be about all we're left with then. So does a higher priced recirc skimmer perform better than a less expensive NW skimmer? First off, they both use NW's for chopping the air. Actually, the better ones these days use mesh, so maybe we should refer to these as mesh wheel skimmers ?
I have a mesh wheel octo 200. The funnel neck jobber. I cant imagine it skimming any more crud out of my 135. Definitely it seems to remove more than I'm putting into it. It is set up so the output of the skimmer is directed towards the intake of the sicce pump( replaced the octo pump with the sicce, which I feel is an overrated((but good)) pump). I have what I feel to be an equal flow through the sump as what the skimmer is moving, Probably 400 gph. The output faces into the current flowing through the sump, and so does the intake. You can see with this arrangement, I am surely recircing some water..... How much?who knows? Just how exactly do you know how many times a water molecule gets recirculated in a recirc skimmer before it's put back? I dunno, that's not my department.
My point is probably more lined with Stanlalee. A non recirc skimmer can EASILY be modded to be a recirc if you desire. Also, there are instances when a non recirc skimmer will do just as much as a recirc. If there's nothing to skim, what can it skim?
My point on the sicce pumps. I had the original octo 3000 that came with my skimmer. I broke one of the last three arms off the impeller when modding it. Because I had heard SOOOOO much about how these pumps are the shnizzle and the octo pump bite hard. I figured it would be best to just get the sicce pump and save some cash by using less power. Well, as far as performance goes. My old octo 3000 did just as well as the sicce does. Both pull around 30scfh each pretty reliably. The octo just consumes more power to do it, as well, the sicce is more compact, heats up the tank water less I presume. As a direct result of using less power. Overall though, I'm not too enthused with the sicce.
My .02
