Birfday Fuge!

[ErinCahir]

So I didn't know where to post this... but here we go.

So my birthday present this year is a 45 gallon fuge/sump and a new skimmer (the hubs, he treats me good :)).
I picked up a 45 tall tank (12"W x 24"T x 36"L approx.) at my LFS yesterday (as well as five peppermint shrimp, one of which was nommed by the trigger within five minutes :grumble:).
This tank will barely (height-wise) fit under the stand. We'll have about an inch of play between the top of the tank and the bottom of the display. We were thinking about this skimmer Reef Octopus Extreme In Sump Protein Skimmer.
The husband is concerned about removing the cup (validly, I might add) because while it only needs 1/2" to remove it, we'll still need to get it over the lip of the tank to empty it and that's just not happening. He was thinking we could put the skimmer next to the fuge and plumb it in. Is this possible? Is there another skimmer that would work better being plumbed in than this one?

 

[dcantucson]

You could attach a drain line onto the cup that drains into a milk jug for easy emptying. That way you would only have to remove the cup for cleaning once every couple of weeks.

 

[ErinCahir]

I think the thing he's worried about most is that we wouldn't be able to remove the cup at all. Which we wouldn't because we could pop it off the top with that 1/2", but there's no way the cup would fit between the top of the fuge and the bottom of the display.
Thanks, though. I'll pass the idea along.

 

[d2mini]

Ya, sounds like you need an external skimmer... or a shorter sump. ;)

 

[Bifferwine]

Octopus has recirculating skimmers. They are external and sit outside of the sump. A pump draws water to the skimmer from the sump, and water returns to the sump via tubing. I have a recirculating skimmer. You can put it anywhere as long as you have tubing to reach it from the sump. For my 240, it was sitting on the floor next to my tank, and my sump was in my stand. Now, it's sitting in a closet, plumbed through the wall and the tank is on the other side of the wall. You may want to look at that option.

 

[ErinCahir]

I saw the recirculating ones... I just didn't know what that meant.
Thanks guys!

 

[Rufio808]

I want a skimmer for Christmas : /

Grats on yours!