AquaC Remora Pro question

[cecho]

Hi guys, I'm leaning towards the AquaC Remora Pro skimmer and have a few questions, hopefully their are some people here that might have it and be able to clarify some things.
1. which pump would you suggest the Rio 1400, or the Mag-drive 3?
2. If i were to order it with the drain fitting can it be capped off? (since at the moment i would not use it but might if i upgrade in the future to a bigger tank and use it then)
3. What are the dimensions for the pre-skimmer box for the Rio 1400 and the mag-drive 3?(I was looking online and saw that the dimensions for the mag3 pre skimmer box is 10.34" x 8" x 4.25", and the rio is 10" x 8.34" x 3" all these are (LxWxH). The W is whats throwing me off here, is the width the measurement from the back glass to the front or is it from the top of the skimmer box down, the pictures I see seem to show that it looks slimmer than ~8inches) hopefully someone has the pre skimmer boxes and can clarify the measurements. If it is those then im either going to have to get the non-pro or use the pro without the skimmer box, which is what sold me.

Well, hope someone can help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated
thanks
-chris

[Miss my puffer]

I have the one with the rio pump and the drain fitting. The drain fitting works great, it keeps me from getting the skimmer adjusted correctly so now it either skims tank water or nothing at all :mad2:. Not sure why it is in the middle of the cup. The thing has overflowed a couple of times (once while I was trying to set it and once when the o-ring broke and cup ended up falling into the skimmer). I wish I would have just went with the Octopus skimmer, but I wonder how much better the aqua-c would work if I didn't have the drain fitting stopping me from adjusting it correctly. I wouldn't see why you shouldn't be able to cap off the the drain fitting if you decide you want it.

[fsn77]

I have one with the Rio 1400 -- picked up the skimmer used. The pump's a little bulky, but probably not physically that much larger than a Mag 3. The Rio doesn't seem all that noisy, but it's not particularly quiet either.

I have one with the drain fitting, but I don't have it set up to drain into anything. I keep the drain fitting pointed upward, which only means it's best for me to check the level in the collection cup every day or two to make sure it's not going to overflow. However, it could just as easily be capped off if you'd want to do that.

I don't have the preskimmer box...

I don't have any problems with the skimmer. If I were looking to buy a brand new skimmer, it may or may not be my short list, but having bought it used and considering the price was right, I'm happy with it.

[jayghmi]

I have one with the RIO pump. At the time I believe the RIO had more pumping power (gph), but I believe most people think the Maxi-Jet is a better power head. I just cleaned my RIO this weekend for the first time in a year and it looked great and works great after a year of everyday use.

I have the drain plug, but don't use it. I will run it into an empty milk jug if I go on vacation and don't want to have to worry about it ( I have only done this twice - but it worked). I never let it get that full anyway. I have a pretty light bio load in my tank and do frequent water changes, so it is rare for it to get up to the drain hole. I skim as wet as I can. The skimmer will work better if you clean the glass tube at least once a week.

The pre skimmer box works great keeping the water surface very clean and free of dust. If you feed flake you may want to turn it off, so it does not suck down the food. I also think the the black box is much more attractive than a big power head. The box almost gets lost behind my rock, and is not nearly as intrusive as my Koralla power head.

It also is pretty quiet as far as HOB skimmers go.

The skimmer box is just wide enough to fit the pump, so it is the 4.24 that is from the back of the glass.

[cecho]

Thanks a lot jayghmi, i think marine depot might have had their measurement messed up they had the height as 3" and the width as 8.34" which just confused men when i was picturing it in my head. fsn 77, you said that you might not get this skimmer again, why? Don't mean to be nosy but i am trying to see what skimmer would work best based on experience, which skimmer would you or anyone who wants to chime in recommend. It would have to be a HOB since i cant fit a sump under my tank, so if anyone has an opinion please let me know any help that i can get would be greatly appreciated.

[fsn77]

Oh, what I really meant was that if I was looking to buy a HOB skimmer new, I'd research some of the other brands as well, that's all. Since the price I got it for used was right and I had heard good things about it, I didn't bother to look into any other brands. Most everyone I talked had good things to say and I trusted their opinions. I'm just not sure how it compares in terms of performance to other brands in that price range. Sorry for any confusion... I wasn't trying to imply anything bad about it.