Hi All,
I've been using the Dalua Great White GW-5 Skimmer for a few months now on my newly set up Deep Blue 80. I thought I would post some comments about the skimmer as I have been very pleased with its performance.
I purchased the GW-5 earlier this summer from Unique Corals - I'd been hoping to win a Great White during their live sale, but instead won the grand prize of signature SPS frags (!!!). Since I still needed a good skimmer - even more now that I had these fantastic new frags coming, I purchased the GW-5 from UC. I considered buying the GW-10 since it was just $70 more, in order to future-proof for upgrades, but since the GW-10 is taller than the GW-5 and I was concerned about clearance in the tank cabinet, I went with its smaller sibling. As it turns out, the cup for removing the skimmate comes off easily without needing much additional clearance, so I could have gone with the GW-10.
The GW-5 was very simple to put together and set up - there was a handy video on Youtube, which was good since there were no setup instructions in the box. One of the things I really like about this skimmer is that it can be adjusted to work with whatever the water level is in the sump chamber in which it is placed. Having used older skimmers for years (I got into the hobby in the late 90s) I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to build a shelf to put the skimmer on; all I had to do was adjust a knob until the water/bubble level inside the skimmer was exactly where it needed to be.
The GW-5 produces a large amount of skimmate - nasty dirty stuff, and has a large cup for holding the stuff so I don't have to empty the cup every day (I can go up to a week between emptying the cup if I'm feeling lazy). The cup lifts off easily without having to yank or twist to remove it for cleaning. Of course with the knob mentioned above, I can control the type of skimmate I get - getting dry or really wet skimmate.
The GW-5 is also quiet. I'm not sure how quiet, but even with the cabinet doors open I cannot hear it over the normal sound of the overflows.
The stocking levels in my 80 are moderate - a single tang (somebody call the tang police!), a couple of bangai cardinals, a couple of wrasses, a clown, a blenny and a goby. I reckon I'm near where I want to be on final stocking levels and feel confident that I've got a skimmer that will keep up with the load. The skimmer is rated to 100 gallon tanks with heavy loading and 125 gallon tanks with light loading
Based on my experiences with the Great White GW-5 skimmer I highly recommend it to someone with a similar sized tank and stock list. It rocks.
I've been using the Dalua Great White GW-5 Skimmer for a few months now on my newly set up Deep Blue 80. I thought I would post some comments about the skimmer as I have been very pleased with its performance.
I purchased the GW-5 earlier this summer from Unique Corals - I'd been hoping to win a Great White during their live sale, but instead won the grand prize of signature SPS frags (!!!). Since I still needed a good skimmer - even more now that I had these fantastic new frags coming, I purchased the GW-5 from UC. I considered buying the GW-10 since it was just $70 more, in order to future-proof for upgrades, but since the GW-10 is taller than the GW-5 and I was concerned about clearance in the tank cabinet, I went with its smaller sibling. As it turns out, the cup for removing the skimmate comes off easily without needing much additional clearance, so I could have gone with the GW-10.
The GW-5 was very simple to put together and set up - there was a handy video on Youtube, which was good since there were no setup instructions in the box. One of the things I really like about this skimmer is that it can be adjusted to work with whatever the water level is in the sump chamber in which it is placed. Having used older skimmers for years (I got into the hobby in the late 90s) I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to build a shelf to put the skimmer on; all I had to do was adjust a knob until the water/bubble level inside the skimmer was exactly where it needed to be.
The GW-5 produces a large amount of skimmate - nasty dirty stuff, and has a large cup for holding the stuff so I don't have to empty the cup every day (I can go up to a week between emptying the cup if I'm feeling lazy). The cup lifts off easily without having to yank or twist to remove it for cleaning. Of course with the knob mentioned above, I can control the type of skimmate I get - getting dry or really wet skimmate.
The GW-5 is also quiet. I'm not sure how quiet, but even with the cabinet doors open I cannot hear it over the normal sound of the overflows.
The stocking levels in my 80 are moderate - a single tang (somebody call the tang police!), a couple of bangai cardinals, a couple of wrasses, a clown, a blenny and a goby. I reckon I'm near where I want to be on final stocking levels and feel confident that I've got a skimmer that will keep up with the load. The skimmer is rated to 100 gallon tanks with heavy loading and 125 gallon tanks with light loading
Based on my experiences with the Great White GW-5 skimmer I highly recommend it to someone with a similar sized tank and stock list. It rocks.
