Need help choosing skimmer.

[mrpope]

Ok, so the last piece of my puzzle before I go shopping is to pick a protein skimmer. I will have a 55 gal, FOWLR sumpless (may add refugium on back later to grow algaes, etc. later) setup, so I will need a hang on type. I was thinking of getting either a AquaC Remora skimmer w/ Maxi-jet 1200 pump or a Precision Marine HOT-1 skimmer.

Any input would be great.

Oh, and my price range is limited to $175 (online prices of course, or I wouldn't even be able to afford the two I mentioned!)

thanx a bunch - B.

[reefrunner69]

AquaC Remora skimmer w/ Maxi-jet 1200 pump

I would get that one or the Remora Pro with the surface skimmer box.

[captivereefs]

Go with the Aqua C. The PM will put micro bubbles back into the tank.I stopped selling them because of this problem. It will eventually go away but it takes about 1-2 months. We have the Remoras with maxi 1200's on special right now at the lowest price on the web!

[BTA]

I am faced with making exactly the same decision right now... deciding b/w a new PM hot1 and Remora for my 55g. A while back I made a mistake of buy a used remora, and it didn't work well... it kinda makes me think twice about remoras but there are so many good reviews about it...makes me think there is a "remora cult"! LOL. Did you make your decision yet mrpope? what did you go with?

I still can't decide..grrrr

[frazin]

I am going with the Remora C with surface skimmer... I am getting as an x-mas gift so I can't wait....

Jc

[utahcutter]

Thanks for the post mrpope. I was just about to post the same question. Sounds like the AquaC will be one of my future purchases.

[Smonkey15]

yea, i asked the same question about a protein skimmer and everyone told me to get the remora. i read up a lot on it and have never heard anything bad about it!
steve

[mrpope]

thanks everybody, I guess I will get the Remora.
the truth is, this was the hardest thing to decide on. Everywhere you look on the internet the is a good reiview that gets you really excited about a skimmer, then 5 minutes later a horror story of inefficiency about the exact same one! I finally settled on the one model that was recommended to me the most.

-B.
(Its a good thing I didnt listen to the guys at the LFS, they tried to get me to buy a Seaclone!)

[BTA]

Actually, I am gonna go with a PM hot 1 for two reasons and thought I post here for all of you who may be deciding about this.

First let me say that despite what others may say, the owner of PM is a jerk! sorry but it's true...he wants to sell each and every skimmer himself to get the max profits. Even if you notice the ones you can order from Marine depot and others for example ship directly from the PM factory. The PM owner doesn't know the first thing about marketing or his FINE product woulda taken off much better than it has. I guess he doesn't want to expand and get the manpower to produce a lot more skimmers but that's his decision.... I am still going with his product anyway!

One reason is the PM needs only a 2" clearance above (not behind) the tank whereas the Remora needs at least 4 inches of above tank clearance. I have a canopy that sits pretty close hence the PM choice...

Second reason is that I am worried about the Remora's injection nozzle clogging, I have searched and searched and asked a ton of people about what to do about the injection nozzle clogging...remember I had bought an old Remora and it didn't skim because the injection nozzle was clogged. Unless you have the Remora in your hands and see what I mean, you can't really get what I am saying...there is no way to manually clean it like you can do with PM's venturi. I tried fresh water & vinegar to no avail. The Remora might be fine for months or even a couple of years but once the injection nozzle clogs up, you gotta get rid of it...

Anyway, this might sound...ummm bad but I feel like there are a lot more people out there with Remoras (partly because of better marketing by AquaC's owner) and altho this a fine product at the beginning, once these things clog up, people want to get rid of them and they boast about the quality of them just to dump them. Of course they are heavily backed by those who haven't had it clogged yet and so there are those who genuinely like them, hence you get the very high recommendation rating by many for the Remoras.

So basically my number 2 reason is that I can at least clean the PM venturi manually if it clogs up.

I am not trying to start any heated debate here. I just posted with my "TRUE" feelings about these skimmers, in hopes that it may help someone chosing between the same 2 models.

I am ordering mine tomorrow. I will let you know if I have any issues with that as well.

peace out.

[loganj]

Originally Posted by BTA

One reason is the PM needs only a 2" clearance above (not behind) the tank whereas the Remora needs at least 4 inches of above tank clearance. I have a canopy that sits pretty close hence the PM choice...

This is true...the Remora does sit up kinda high and canopy clearance can be a problem.

Second reason is that I am worried about the Remora's injection nozzle clogging, I have searched and searched and asked a ton of people about what to do about the injection nozzle clogging...remember I had bought an old Remora and it didn't skim because the injection nozzle was clogged. Unless you have the Remora in your hands and see what I mean, you can't really get what I am saying...there is no way to manually clean it like you can do with PM's venturi. I tried fresh water & vinegar to no avail. The Remora might be fine for months or even a couple of years but once the injection nozzle clogs up, you gotta get rid of it...

Sorry, totally off base here. There is a white plug directly above the injector nozzle that, when removed, allows a brush to be inserted into the nozzle. Every piece of equipment has certain maintenance requirements and the Remora is no exception. Failure to perform this maintenance will result in, at best, a loss in efficiency and, at worst, total failure of the equipment. My recommendation to customers who purchase Remora skimmers from me, and this is based on using them myself, is to remove the plug once a month, clean the threads on the plug, and brush out the injector nozzle. This will ensure that your Remora functions as it should for many years. While it's possible that the earliest versions of the skimmer didn't have the cleaning plug, it would be an easy modification.

[BTA]

The Remora I'd bought didn't have the white plug. Does the plug eject the injection nozzle so it comes off or does it widen the tip of the nozzle so a brush can go in? I still think it's harder to clean those than the PM but I guess if you can effectively clean it, the point I was making is moot. Thanks for posting loganj. This whole thing was bothering me about the Remoras.

[captivereefs]

They have been redesigned for about the last year and a half. To many people had the same problem you had. Aqua-c has awesome customer service and when they hear a complaint about the products they fix it. The plug is screwed right above the injection nozzle so you can have good acess to clean the nozzle if need be.

[loganj]

I think it would be an easy mod to one of the older models if you were careful. I'd probably glue a small piece of PVC to the top of the elbow directly above the injector. This will give you something thicker to work with. Then drill it and tap it with a 1/4" pipe tap. Screw in a plastic/nylon pipe plug and you're ready to go.

[gsanders]

Just wait until your PM HOT-1 overflows. I have this skimmer, and I am not impressed. I have it now with the Maxi-Jet conversion which is much better than the Rio but it still requires constant fiddling. I just ordered the Remora Pro. Granted, the PM is very well made but IMO not a good skimmer at all. I get better skimmate from my Bak-Pak 2r and it won't overflow.