New to the forums, but not to the hobby. I had a 62g tank I ran for about 4 years. Had excellent growth with a wide range of corals (both soft and hard). A few different Acropora, etc. I traded fragments with many locals as well. A lot of fun.
I moved a little over 2 years ago and didn't want to start up a tank until I had gone through and done painting in the house. I'm am just about complete, so I'm getting ready to set up a new tank. This time, with a few changes.
The skimmer I used in my previous tank was a self-designed knockoff of the HSA skimmers that came out a few years back. They were the first to use the Beckett foam injection device for ponds. I designed one pretty much to spec from an original and used that. It worked great with a few drawbacks. All of those drawbacks are enough for me to want to go with a different skimmer this time around. I'm looking at an ETSS800 (or maybe a 600), but I see that there are a LOT of choices out there now that there didn't used to be. What are the current thoughts and trends in skimming? Are there any links to reviews of the different skimmers? Which models are the current "top dogs"?
The things I didn't like about the HSA design were that it was difficult to clean and the venturi was always getting clogged, so a lot of adjustment and maintenance. The downdrafts are much easier to take care of with low maintenance and easy cleaning. That's my main reason for going that route. Any better suggestions?
I moved a little over 2 years ago and didn't want to start up a tank until I had gone through and done painting in the house. I'm am just about complete, so I'm getting ready to set up a new tank. This time, with a few changes.
The skimmer I used in my previous tank was a self-designed knockoff of the HSA skimmers that came out a few years back. They were the first to use the Beckett foam injection device for ponds. I designed one pretty much to spec from an original and used that. It worked great with a few drawbacks. All of those drawbacks are enough for me to want to go with a different skimmer this time around. I'm looking at an ETSS800 (or maybe a 600), but I see that there are a LOT of choices out there now that there didn't used to be. What are the current thoughts and trends in skimming? Are there any links to reviews of the different skimmers? Which models are the current "top dogs"?
The things I didn't like about the HSA design were that it was difficult to clean and the venturi was always getting clogged, so a lot of adjustment and maintenance. The downdrafts are much easier to take care of with low maintenance and easy cleaning. That's my main reason for going that route. Any better suggestions?
