Smaller Footprint skimmer

What skimmer would you put in a smaller footprint? I would like to stay under 7"x13".
I can go bigger, but that would require me to loose my refugium.
Its going to be on my 50Gal cube. It will have about 50 total gallons and will be a Mostly LPS tank.

A few I have been thinking about:
SWC120(225$)- Quiet skimmer
Reef Octopus-NWB110(189$)- Good name behind it
SRO int1000(I would loose my fuge)(400)Expensive but supposed to be good skimmers
Mini G (ASM)(120$) Cheap, does the job, just no frills or new technology

Any other thoughts?

Bubble magus nac 3.5 ftw!

Any other suggestions?

I can only comment on the SWC skimmer. They are touchy to break in and creates a volcano effect but has a small footprint like the Bubble King skimmers.

I did a lot of research as I was looking into a small footprint skimmer as well. Here is what I found:

SWC 120: this is the one I ended up going with. It has the mesh wheel in the pump and seems to get the best reviews. It also has a gate valve to help make fine adjustments.

Reef Octopus NWB 110: Needle wheel impeller which is nice, but does have a little bit larger of a footprint than the SWC. I needed something smaller than this, so I did not look at too much info, but like you said it does have a good name behind it.

Bubble Magus NAC 3.5: I liked the look of it, but I also wanted the capability of the fine adjustments with the gate valve. To me, it is the exact same as the SWC just without that valve.

those were the 3 I was looking for. I personally liked the SWC 120, almost went with a 160 even because I do plan on eventually getting a larger tank. From what I have researched, they are great skimmers, the hard part is figuring out where they like to be in the water but after that, it is pretty smooth sailing. Hope this helps a bit!

First off, Welcome to the forum!
So did you actually buy the 120? I have been leaning towards that skimmer the most. It seems to be the best bang for the buck. The only downside is their pumps are a 50/50. I've heard a lot of people having good luck with the pumps, I've also heard people going through 3 pumps in a year and a half. Its my only reserve to getting the SWC.

Thanks! Yeah I did end up buying the 120. I was with you in it seeming like a very good skimmer and it was still only $225. The thing I got (mostly) from the pumps was that the 120 didn't have too many problems, but the 160 did. I believe the main issue with the pumps is actually the mesh wheel impeller, but I'm hopeful that my 120 does not have any issues!

So how long have you had the skimmer? Are you still liking it?

i just installed it within the past week and so far i am loving it. My sump originally had 8 inches deep for my skimmer so I put some egg crate in there and it runs at about 7 1/4 and its great. This was my first experience with a good skimmer so I am seeing the gunk for the first time, but I feel like it has worked very well so far for me.

You should post some Pics of your setup

MxReEfEr92 wrote:You should post some Pics of your setup

Once I get it back going I will definitely post some. i will post some later of my 8 gallon build because that one looks perfect. The 28 gallon has been going through some nitrate troubles over the past year and I am hoping this sump and skimmer help me to nullify that.

Well I ended up picking up a BM NAC6. Found it for 80$ figure it was worth the go. If all else fails, I will mod it with a bubble blaster pump(I think I read you could do that with this one...)

for $80 you cannot go wrong with that so I do not blame you. They are good skimmers. Like I said the only thing I found different between those and the SWC was the valve. Other than that, you should be golden with that thing.