Protein Skimmer

[want2findnemo]

I have a 75G tank and went to Big Als and they suggested I buy a Coral Life 125G one.

Has anyone bought this one and can give me a review?

 

[ccCapt]

I had one. They are OK at best. You can get a better skimmer for about the same price. Check out the Octopus NW 150.

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with cccapt look into the Octopus skimmers. They are affordable and work very well.

 

[want2findnemo]

Has anyone had experience with

BK

Royal Exclusiv Mini Bubble King 160 Protein Skimmer

AquaC

Aqua C EV-120 Protein Skimmer Package

Euro Reef 180

Euro-Reef RS180 Protein Skimmer w/pump* - AquaCave

Octopus NW 150

NW Octopus Protein Skimmers

Everyone is saying "you get what you pay for", and since cccapt and ziggy both recommend the Octopus I wanted to know if there is there a particular reason why the BK is like significantly different in price? I mean is it really worth that much?

And what is the difference between Needle wheel and recirculating

 

[Ziggy953]

Most recirculating skimmers are needle wheel. Needle wheel is just the type of impeller they use to break the air up as it is injected into the skimmer body. Recirculating means that the water is drawn into the pump from inside the skimmer body and then injected back into the skimmer. It allows for more contact time with the bubbles and skims better.

The bubble king is one of the better skimmers on the market. They are very expensive but work very very well. They are compact in size but do an amazing job.

 

[want2findnemo]

Most recirculating skimmers are needle wheel. Needle wheel is just the type of impeller they use to break the air up as it is injected into the skimmer body. Recirculating means that the water is drawn into the pump from inside the skimmer body and then injected back into the skimmer. It allows for more contact time with the bubbles and skims better.

So if Im just talking about the Octopus

Octopus DNW-150 is better than Octopus NW 150.


Hmm But wow the BK is like 500 more...



For my needs

(http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/new-into-hobby-103185.html)

Will a less costly model be fine? Or will I have to eventually replace it. (I dont want to do any upgrading later on)

I'm still not sure why protien skimmers need replacing, is it cuz they break, noise or ?

 

[MsBeanCtr]

I have a 75G tank and went to Big Als and they suggested I buy a Coral Life 125G one.

Has anyone bought this one and can give me a review?

I had this skimmer for my 72 bowfront and I absolutely hated it. It didn't work very well at all so I opted for an asm g-2.

 

[ccCapt]

The BK's are top of the line equipment. I dunno if I could justify their price, but the design is close to perfect and pumps (Red Dragon) are high quality.

You will be happy with an Octo NW 150 for about $170 or DNW 150 for about $280. Before I would spend $280 on the recirc, I would get the Octo MSX 160 for $310.

I guess the question to you is how much do you want to spend?

 

[want2findnemo]

Out of the four I mentioned, i think i'm leaning towards the ER.

Any objections?

 

[ccCapt]

That is basically the same as an Octo NW 200...for over double the price. $200 vs $450

I would never spend that for the ER. I would get an Octo MSX 200 for $360. It will blow away the ER and costs $90 less.

 

[want2findnemo]

Nice... I will read up more on it

Do you know of any more websites that sell it?

 

[ccCapt]

Unfortunately Marine Solutions is the only place that sells the MSX models...which is why they sell out so fast. You can email Rob there and he will let you know when the next shipment is expected.

If you look good at that skimmer, it is very, very similar to the BK with the bubble diffuser plate, pump orientation and wide neck.

 

[want2findnemo]

For my needs would I get the MSX 200 or the 160?

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/new-into-hobby-103185.html

Also found someone selling used ES 180 (has a gate valve mod for better water control) for 300


So basically brand new MSX 200 for 400$ after shipping
brand new MSX 160 for 380$ after shipping

or used ES 180 (has a gate valve mod for better water control) 300$ after shipping

 

[want2findnemo]

why would one mod their skimmer anyway how does that work?

 

[ccCapt]

If you need the skimmer now, get the Octo NW 200 ($200). If you can wait, get the MSX160 ($310). The MSX200 is $360 and while it would work fine, it may be overkill for your tank.

As I mentioned before, the ER RS180 is basically the same as the NW200. They have almost the exact same dimensions and same pump volume. Personally, I would buy a new skimmer that costs less before getting a used one that costs more.

Mods are done to improve skimmer performance. I did quite a few mods to my Octo. The easiest and cheapest mod is putting mesh on the impeller. I bought the parts to do the gate valve mod, but haven't done it yet. All that does is lets you adjust the water height in the skimmer without getting your hands wet. It does nothing to improve performance.

 

[want2findnemo]

ok I will wait for the MSX160.

You said it is similiar to the BK? Will I have to mod it? If so can you help me with that too



Thanks!

 

[ccCapt]

It is eeriely similar to the BK....hmmmm lol
No mods at all need to be done to it. Marine Solutions does the mesh mod when they get them in and they also do some machining on the volute.
You just plug it in and adjust the water level.

 

[want2findnemo]

sweet, so its settled i guess

Going for the MSX160


Thanks!

 

[want2findnemo]

Emailed the marine solutions admin 2 times already and no reply...

 

[Ziggy953]

Rob will get back to you trust me. I was just doing some generic research and he got back to me so someone buying from him he will surely get back to you.