New Reef Octopus 150 vs modified/used Euro Reef CS8-2 vs ?

[L/B Block]

OK amazing community... Help us newbies make a wise decision!

We bought this amazing 90g system with 30g sump, and got the Euro Reef CS8-2 PS as part of the package. However, we didn't get the pump that came with it. It was once modified to be recirculating (guessing here), and has an easily repaired crack in the collection cup. @Coral reefer gave us some amazing guidance today (amazing guy!) and we were already to plug in the pump and get some water in this baby.

Though the "stock" pump for it is the Sedra KSP 5000, the impeller for the 9000 pump was in our basket of goodies when we bought the tank setup... The pump isn't easy to find, but we have an offer from fellow BAR @xcaret ! Right about the time this wonderful friend offered us the pump body, I got the following from one of the few outfits that still sells new Sedra pumps clarifying the 5000/9000 confusion:

Hello, the Sedra 5000 is the pump that came with this skimmer. However, after conferring with a co-worker we remembered that this skimmer never really worked that good. It seemed like the pump was undersized compared to the skimmer body. Perhaps that is why you have the Sedra 9000 impeller? I am not able to comfortably recommend a different skimmer pump that I know will work great. There would also be modification required in order for the pump to hook up to the skimmer. The Sedra 9000 may or may not work. I just have never tried it and I doubt the hole in the skimmer would work with the Sedra 9000 without modification. Also, this is actually a pretty big skimmer for a 90 gal tank.

We are brand new to this hobby, and don't want to throw money unwisely here, but is it smarter for us to go for the Sedra 5000 (and buy new impeller), the 9000 (we'd have to probably buy new at $120ish++), or jump into the Reef Octopus 150 at $229?

We have a few smaller ticket items, mostly plumbing related, in our setup - so this would be our only big ticket item to finish our setup.

Thoughts?

Thanks for helping a couple of newbies get a tank up and running!

 

[xcaret]

Hi
Why not try the stock pump first? The skimmer seems, by the diameter (8" body) to be a monster ER; I think overkill would be the CS 12-2
We (my brother and myself) had ER skimmers, he loved the CS 8-2, the drawback was the impeller, Sedra pumps are known for swollen impellers (reason why I have spare motor blocks). Swollen impellers from the KSP3500 make good replacements for the KSP5000.

 

[Vhuang168]

How close are you to putting water in the tank? You don't really need a skimmer while the tank is cycling.

Euro-reef is no longer in business. While you may be able to get a pump and the skimmer working for now, you will not be able to get any more parts for it. Not that a skimmer needs many parts to have it work besides the pump.

I would take the opportunity and get the Reef Octopus or some other current skimmer that will fit your needs and budget. A couple more to throw in the mix are Bubble Magus Curve 5 (Sea Side Aquatics has the same skimmer but uses a Sicce pump that is much better for a little more $$) and Skimz SN143 (DC pump which is nice),

If you are unsure about the Reef Octopus, I have the 150 SS that I recently picked up as part of a package. You are welcome to borrow it so you can see if it works for you.

 

[L/B Block]

FYI - here is the "monster"!

And yes, we plan to start cycling without the PS.

Going to hang out and listen & learn and glad folks are weighing in.

 

[Coral reefer]

Hi
Why not try the stock pump first? The skimmer seems, by the diameter (8" body) to be a monster ER; I think overkill would be the CS 12-2
We (my brother and myself) had ER skimmers, he loved the CS 8-2, the drawback was the impeller, Sedra pumps are known for swollen impellers (reason why I have spare motor blocks). Swollen impellers from the KSP3500 make good replacements for the KSP5000.

No shit! I never thought of that. Genius.

 

[Coral reefer]

The other option would be to go with a smaller euro reef, of which I have a few, and buy a new impeller for the 3500 pump they use. It would probably fit in your sump better and not have a cracked cup either!

 

[sjbro]

I had a cs8-2 skimmer on my 125G for a while. It was way overkill, and, yes, I feel that it would have worked better with a bigger pump. I switched to a reef octopus 150. I am happy with it, much better skimmate amount, less noise, smaller footprint.

 

[L/B Block]

No shit! I never thought of that. Genius.

This was @Coral reefer 's original suggestion! We just get confused easily and don't want to burden any one person!

 

[wpeterson]

I don't know the euro-reef skimmers or the pumps, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. It sounds like @xcaret and @Coral reefer have some great ideas to save money with some used gear. I'd trust those guys to work out a good option.

I've had a great experience with the Reef Octopus 150SSS skimmer in the same size tank (90g display, 30g sump). It was the biggest skimmer I could fit in the small (~ 7") skimmer chamber in our sump. It has been reliable and pulled great skimmate for the year and a half or so our tank has been up. We've been lucky that the skimmer, GFO in a reactor, and big chaeto population in our refugium have kept our nutrient export well in control even with a heavy amount of coral/fish.

It sounds like you have two good choices, so it's a matter of budget vs. risk. I am confident you won't regret buying a Reef Octopus 150 (more money, less risk), but I bet the clever folks in this thread have some good shortcuts that will save you money if you don't mind improvising on parts and applications.

The expert opinion doesn't seem to find a big difference between basic skimmers and premium ones - if you size the skimmer appropriate to your tank and stocking level, I doubt a used/basic skimmer vs. a fancy premium one will perform very differently.

 

[L/B Block]

The other option would be to go with a smaller euro reef, of which I have a few, and buy a new impeller for the 3500 pump they use. It would probably fit in your sump better and not have a cracked cup either!

How did I miss this - so many great replies! I like this option, too. You are all so generous with time and thinking and gear. Kind of overwhelming, actually.

So @xcaret has a 9000-ish(?) we could use with the existing ER and impeller(?), or we could get the smaller ER with a 3500... Is the smaller ER well matched with pumps?

Given the swell potential, if we went with a 3500 pump, would we want to get a 2500 impeller?

 

[L/B Block]

I switched to a reef octopus 150. I am happy with it, much better skimmate amount, less noise, smaller footprint.

And we keep thinking about this... But starting with the no $ investment for now it seems. We just need to get some water in there!


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