Finally have the money to buy a protein skimmer, I have a 55g tank I'm looking at purchasing the Reef Octopus nwb 150. Just wanted to know if you guys have had any experience with reef octopus products and whether or not this would be a worth the money. I am also open to any other recommendations around the same price point
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Protein Skimmer
- Thread starter SlingingBuddha
- Start date
I run a reef octopus dnwb-110 on my 46 bowfront with 20g sump and an nwb-110 on my 30g frag tank with 20g sump. They both work awesome and pull out a ton of skimmate. I really like the reef octopus products and would recommend them to anyone. They are very well built and reasonably priced. I think you will be happy with that skimmer.
I never used the reef octopus skimmers but have never heard a bad word about them only positives. I have the reef octopus hang on fuge and love it...
I have a Reef Octopus NWB-110 and XS-160, both are great skimmers.
That was gonna be the next question, if they're fairly quiet or loud. Do you have an overflow or are you drilled?
Mine are both very quiet. The nwb-110 in my frag system is the in sump model and the tank is "reef ready". My display had the dnwb-110 which is the recirculating or external skimmer which is plumbed into my return pump. That tank was not "reef ready" so I drilled it and used PVC for my overflow. Not positive what you meant by your question so I hope this helps. Any other questions feel free to ask.
Let me try again lol, I'm building a sump but my tank isn't drilled so I was told I need an overflow. I'm. It to sure about plumbing so I'm still a bit hazy, I'm looking to get a nwb150 skimmer but I'm not sure what else I need to build a sump since I haven't done to much research as far as plumbing. What products would you recommend as a return. (The only part of my sump I have picked out is the skimmer, nothing else)
If you haven't set up your tank yet, I'd recomend drilling. Check out www.glass-holes.com. I have one of their kits on my 30 gallon, and it was a snap to do, and works like a charm!
It is set up, it's reaching the end of the cycling so I want to make my sump and let it run for another week or two after completing the sump to add fish so unfortunately I can't drill it with the rock and water already in
If drilling is out if the question you're going to need an external (hang on) overflow box. This will be plumbed so it goes to a filter sock in your sump. Check out this site for some sump layout ideas. He makes them out of acrylic but you can get some ideas. http://www.melevsreef.com/
When choosing a return pump make sure it is not stronger than what your overflow can handle. For example if you get an overflow box that is rated for 500 gph you will need to get a pump that does not exceed 500 gph. It's always safe to have your return pump a bit less than the rating of the overflow box. As far as pumps go you can look at the mag drive pumps. I run them on both of my setups. If you want something a little better look into the ehiem pumps.
When choosing a return pump make sure it is not stronger than what your overflow can handle. For example if you get an overflow box that is rated for 500 gph you will need to get a pump that does not exceed 500 gph. It's always safe to have your return pump a bit less than the rating of the overflow box. As far as pumps go you can look at the mag drive pumps. I run them on both of my setups. If you want something a little better look into the ehiem pumps.
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Ok so I've looked into some overflows/returns and I came up with the following equipment. For an overflow I'll get a Eheim CPR CS150 (1600gph), for a return a eheim 1048 (158gph), and a the skimmer a reef octopus nwb150 (500gph). Will this be sufficient?
If that is the style box you want I would recommend going with the CS-90. This would fit your tank better in my opinion. Also your choice of return pump would be way too small. You would need something like the eheim 1260 with a ball valve to adjust the flow. Your protein skimmer does not apply to the gph returned to your tank. The skimmer will take water from the sump and return to the sump
Does the style overflow have any bearing on the performance or is it aesthetics, I'm looking for the best possible product within reason
Some overflows rely on a continuous syphon to operate and others use a small pump like an aqua lifter. I would go with one that relys on a continuous syphon. I think with all hang on overflow boxes the issue is not really performance as much as it is reliability. If the syphon stops than your overflow stops
I've used the CPR overflow boxes before on my old 40 Gallon and they are great products. I still have it somewhere I believe. My only gripe with overflow boxes are the debris that can collect and algae that grow in the unreachable places. Overtime this will effect the performance of the overflow box. make sure to minimize light penetration to the overflow box and make sure you plumb it in a way that you can remove it easily to clean it once in awhile. Also, look into making a durso pipe to minimize the water noise.
Ok so here's what Im about to order if you guys agree on it as you're more experienced than I, for an overflow I'm gonna go with the CPR CS90 as recommended by kschweer and for a return I'm going with the eheim 1260 skimmer still nwb 150. What do you guys think? I'm picking up a 20g long tank tomorrow and I'm gonna configure some specs on the sections
Just FYI. I'm selling a reef octopus sro 1000. Look in the steals and deals area. I'll let it go pretty cheap...
i cant seem to find it, i tried searching your threads too. would you mind sending me the link to your thread