skim that protien

[aidos]

i am lookin at which type of protien skimmer i should get for my 76 gallon tank.
my LFS has a internal skimmer which i believe to be air driven and looks pretty cheap and is at $88AUS but they also have a SeaClone(brand name) which is a hang on water driven skimmer that cost $366AUS and they also have a prism hang on skimmer for $340AUS which is the Prizm Deluxe Skimmer on the site.
the prism and seaclone are rated higher than the capacity on my tank which is what im after, but which one is more effecient at skimming.
they also have the Via Aqua multi-skimmer that is on this site.
so from ur expirence and knowledge which is gonna provide me with the best product.
cheers

 

[niger12]

To be honest all the ones listed would be a little under powered for your tank. Do you have to use HOT skimmer? If so the Remora Pro would be one of your better choices. Cost mnore but will out work the ones you mentioned

 

[aidos]

there ones that i have mentioned are all with in my budget and the next size up at the LFS cost around $600AUS, i am not prepared to pay that much for a piece of plastic.
i know one block on this site made his own, so i'll look in to that.
but still could u please post ur opions on which one of these will be the best for my needs, i.e. is a prizm the best way to go, or will the seaclone be better.
cheers

 

[aidos]

please need info on these skimmers, there is a 20% off sale on the Via Aqua Multi-skimmer HANG-ON PROTEIN SKIMMERS so if this is the best or very good at skimming then i will purchase this model.
anyway "bump" for me.

 

[zap800]

i have the red sea regular prizm and its rated for anything up and including a 100 gal tank. there are only small differeces in the regular and the pro. especially if you add the upgrade kit to the regular. i got my prizm for 69 dollars (dont know the exchange rate to ausdollars). and im getting the upgrade kit today for 20 dollars.

 

[niger12]

I am sorry to recomend something more expensive. You may want to look into making your own. I have seen DIY skimmers that work alot better than the Prism. We have one on a 25g reef at the store and it works OK. The Prism would be the best out of the ones you mentioned. I have experience with one of ViaAquas larger skimmers but not the one listed on this site.

 

[niger12]

The Seaclone can be modded to make it work better. I don't know how to do these modds. We had a Seaclone on a tank at work for over a week and never pulled any gunk from the tank. Just my 2 cents.

 

[aidos]

so a Red Sea prizm or the Via Aqua prizm are the best of the bunch.
i have found some red sea berlin skimmers on an Aussie web site for $400AUS do you think that this would be better than the prizms and if so worth the extra money
cheers
by the way niger12 i didnt mean to be rude when talking about my budget and i grealty appreciate ur advice.
in all the LFS in Adeleide the Protien skimmer info is all over the place and really hard to understand from on store to the next.
i know its important just wanna make sure im not buying junk.

 

[niger12]

If the Berlin model can fit into your budget Go for it. They are very nice skimmers. Due to space limitations on some tanks at work we wnet with the Berlin Turbo skimmers and they work very well. I am not sure what the exchange rate is now but some of the U.S. websites will ship overseas. There are a few I know of that sell the Berlin for $185 and the Prizm for $69.
It cost a lot of coin to get a good skimmer. One thing I have learned in this hobby is price actually means something.
On the other hand, skimmer's are not a must have item. You could save a little longer and get a skimmer that will perform well.

 

[aidos]

true i may wait a little longer and see if i get any tax back in a few weeks time and see wat i come up with after the tank cycles
i think exchange is at around 70 cents so it may end up being cheaper to ship it in my self then buy from LFS and with shipping included that would be fantastic.
do u know any of the address of the websites that sell the Berlin for $185, you can email me at
aidan_galpin@hotmail.com
cheers for all ur info u have been a great help

 

[saltymist]

I've never used a prizm so cant comment on that, but I do use a modded seaclone now that Im quite happy with, but my tank is only 20 gallons, so there may be a big happiness difference between my using it in my 20 and you in your 76.
I have used the Via Aqua, in fact I just threw it in the trashcan yesterday so the trash truck could take it away today. I used it for about 2 weeks and it was just too noisey for my liking and I dont recall ever seeing any skimmate come into the cup in that 2 week period. It was also a royal pain in the butt to get the syphon going on it with that lame little bellow pump that they give you, they couldnt even mark the cap correctly to let you know which position the cap was in, running or starting. Avoid Via Aqua Multiskimmer in my opinion.
If I had to pick for my own tank, I'd pick either an aqua c remora if available locally and afordable, or a seaclone.