Hob Skimmers? Are They Trust Worthy?

[woody88]

Yo!

As the title says, are they trustworthy in terms of leaks etc as I want to convert my new stock boyu skimmer into another reactor (I broke the original one! ) and I would like a larger (overkill) skimmer as I plan to add a couple more fish and at the same time REDUCE my wc from every week to every fortnight (still 20%).

But I'm worried about any spillages/possible leaks from them etc and I'm looking for any advice/experiences with them.

I'll be looking at a 2nd hand jobbie off eBay is there any particular ones I should stay well clear of?

Cheers

 

[HappyGeorge]

My Deltec MCE600 is built like a tank mate but I have to be honest and say that the thought of an HOB sounds scary. A more powerful skimmer will have to be carefully balanced as mine used to seriously overflow before it settled. I would definitely want some kind of safety net like a container under it.
But if that's what your after then the Deltec is a very good piece of kit with a nice chamber for your Rowaphos. I am chuffed with both my Deltecs although the MCE600 is much noisier than the TS1250 (which isn't HOB), but it's being cleaned at the mo so lets see what it sounds like when its clean, coz it was a bit mucky.

 

[woody88]

Cheers mate yeah I'll defo put some sort of water catch container below it or something to collect the waste. I would prefer a normal skimmer that would fit in my wier but there aren't any powerful enough that would fit in my wier and there's no way I'm having one dangle in the display!

 

[Donya]

Regarding the overflow risk, I have seen skimmer cups modded with a bit of airline tubing to drain into a bucket or jug, either from the side to stop overflow if it gets too high or from the bottom to collect in the bigger thing to begin with. Never had anything but a DIY pico skimmer myself though, so I haven't done either of these things, just seen examples of them.

 

[Uriel]

Not had any trouble with my mce600 so far. Although i may turn it around so that i can see the back and tune it in a bit better. Getting quite a wet skim at moment and a lot of waste inside the wrong side of the cup.

 

[woody88]

As much as I would like a deltec I don't want to spend silly money on a 2nd hand unit when there are far cheaper ones out there.
Plus a mce 600 would be serious overkill on my little nano.

There's overkill and then there's OVERKILL!

 

[woody88]

I've decided I'm going for a TMC v2 skim 400 as they appear to have a good right up, are reasonably prices new, can be mounted both internally or externally and rated well over size of my tank will provide the tank with plenty of over killing flow!

Anyone else use these skimmers as I would appreciate any input on them.

Che ars

 

[woody88]

Lol. There's me saying they get good reviews. Just been on a couple of websites and forums and they get totally slated to the ground.

Everyone saying that they're prone to overflowing and there HOB feature is awful.

Looks like it's back to the drawing board!

 

[Chris_C]

I have a red sea prizm skimmer i would probably sell if its any interest to you mate?


http/www.charterhouse-aquatics.co.uk/catalog/red-sea-prizm-protein-skimmer-p-29.html


Let me know if its any interest to you mate

 

[woody88]

Cheers for the offer mate but it looks huuuuggge!

Is it HOB type? And what lph?

Cheers

 

[Chris_C]

Cheers for the offer mate but it looks huuuuggge!

Is it HOB type? And what lph?

Cheers

Hangs on back yeah .. i think its rather small when comparing to my deltec got it with a 125 juwel i have as backup tank. Will give you all the spec and a pic shortly mate.. just need to nip out

 

[MrLiam]

If Woody isn't interested in it I might be if it does 180l

 

[seffieuk]

I would stay away from the v2's Woody, take a look at the mce 300 - there is one for sale on the Essex reef club at the moment, dont know if he would post though

Seffie x

 

[ben1987]

The pump on a v2 that would sit in the tank is huge!

Ive had a v2 and a deltec...only one winner!

 

[Chris_C]

The skimmer is 34cm from top to bottom and 23cm wide and does tanks upto 150 litres. Not sure on the LPH woody cant seem to find where it tells you and cant seem to find it on the net..

Here are some pics anyway. Took a few to give an idea of size