Hi all,

I am in the final stages of planning my sump upgrade one of the last things I need to decide on is what skimmer. I was looking at the two Euroreef skimmers that are offered but I don't understand the difference between the two.

The first one is the Euroreef RS Euro-Reef RS-80 Protein Skimmer (Saltwater Aquarium Supplies > Protein Skimmers > In-Sump > Venturi With Needle Wheel ) (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~ER1413~tab~0.html)

It looks like your stanard Venturi Style Skimmer. It got good Customer reviews and is priced right.

The othe Euro Skimmer is the CS Euro-Reef CS “RC” Re-Circulating Series Protein Skimmer (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~protein_skimmers_Euro-Reef_cs_rc_sedra.html)

The description says that the foam pump works on a loop, pulling water from the body, airating it and then pumping back into the body. It says yopu can control the flow and it looks like yuo can either use a pump to feed the skimmer or drain directly into the feed from the overflow. Is this correct?

Has anyone uesed either product. there is a pretty big price difference between the two.

Thanks

John

One thing to be aware of is the size and aaccess to that gate valve. I have the previous version nonrecirculating 100 model. (It is supposed to be identical to the new model but different type of acryllic.) Anyway I added the gate valve kit and it takes up a lot of space in my sump and ends up being hard to access anyway. I think I am going to ditch the gate valve.

I think it does a fine job without recirculating, though I would be very interested in hearing if someone ahs a comparrison.

Some folks have mode the recirculating mods to their skimmers themselves and save a lot of money, though not sure I would try putting holes in my expensive skimmer.

The second one is a recirulating style skimmer. the needle wheel pump pulls water from inside the skimmer and pumps it back in with more bubbles. This increases the dwell time and greatly improves the efficiency of the skimmer. These skimmers will either need to be fed directly from the overflow of the tank, or have a separate pump to feed water from the sump.

The first skimmer, is indeed your everyday run-of-the-mill NW skimmer.

I have the RS-80 for my 65 gallon tank. I am satisfied with it, although I am fairly new to the hobby and haven't used any other brand.

I find that I do have to adjust the output valve quite often but that may be standard operating procedure for a skimmer.