Protein skimmers which one?

[edwardclaxton]

Bubble magus 7
Bubble magus nac 7
Reef octopus 8 pinwheel

they all cost the same. there size differ but im going to build my sump around my skimmer after I get it. I have a 125 with 40 sump. Mixed reef, prolly do the one inch of fish for every 10 gals. How much ever that bio load will be. Im running my skimmer rated just a little more than my aquarium size. But do to my low budget my gf gave me I cant get the one I would like to have. All these have pretty good reviews. What do you all think? Pump? Best results? Those type of questions for these three skimmers. Thanks

[mr_X]

The inches of fish per gallon rule doesn't work for salt water. You are going to have to go to live aquaria or similar and research each fish you are interested in.
I have the first generation nwb200, which is your octo 8" skimmer, and it's not a bad skimmer. The footprint is somewhat large though, and I can't find any information about how much air it draws. I would prefer an Octo extreme with the Sicce psk1000 pump.

I also have a Bubble Magus cone. While the acrylic is a little thinner than the Octo, it seems to pull more crud for it's size. Both are about the same in terms of noise. The BM's footprint is MUCH smaller though. Mine is the BM180EX with the Atman ph4000, which pulls 1050 liters of air per hour. As for longevity....I'm not sure. I have used this skimmer since Oct of 2011.
I would recommend BM products.

[mr_X]

Btw...in my search I noticed this one.....
RLSS R6-I 6 Internal Skimmer with Speed Controlled DC3000 Pump"

[edwardclaxton]

How much did u pay for the bm 180

[mr_X]

$284.99 off of Ebay. I believe they discontinued this model though, and replaced it with the NAC9.

[edwardclaxton]

Ok thanks what do u think of this one. I asked marine depot and the gave me some choices of good better and best pump. Bm nac 6 and 7 the best was aquamaxx ecomaxx em 200. What do u think. He said the pump was better. He said the reef octopus is a good skimmer but its backorderd for 4 weeks.

[mr_X]

Well, all I can go by is the pumps they use. the Sicce pumps are pretty good skimmer pumps. They pull a lot of air and water for the amount of energy they use.
The Aquamaxx skimmers didn't adopt the conical design though, which many are saying is a better design. I don't see any data anywhere proving this however. I asked a rep for Eshoppes about the cone skimmers and he just shrugged his shoulders and said "eh...they have the cone skimmers, so we have the cone skimmers"...lol.

[edwardclaxton]

http://www.google.com/shopping/produ...hsec:-overview


What do I think about this one. Its rated for a 125 but it has ths bubble blaster

[edwardclaxton]

Or the reef octopus diablo xs 160

[mr_X]

I'm not sure about the Bubble Blaster pumps. I haven't had the opportunity to run one yet, but the Diablo seems like a decent choice.

[edwardclaxton]

I actually spent 100 more than I wanted and went with reef dynamics ins 135.

[mr_X]

You didn't upgrade. You basically just went with a different name for 100 dollars more.

[edwardclaxton]

Well what ive read, and seen on the reviews I liked it. I can actually find videos, and info that alot of people own them. I seen really good reviews and hardly any bad, unlike some of the other skimmers I was looking at. Everything I read on them people say you cant go wrong. Made in the usa and its been around for many years. I did watch like 7 videos on it from reef dynamics and they tell you what why and how for everything on the skimmer from the shape size and physics behind it. It may be some sort of advertisement and it may not also, they have more info I can find on it more than other skimmera. In which I liked. If it is just a different name I guess o'well. I liked it and many people use it, trust it, and love it.

[mr_X]

What makes up 99% of a skimmers efficiency is the pump. the amount of air and water it pulls, along with how small it chops the bubbles.
You have a 6" reaction chamber, no bubble plate, and a pump that pulls 600-720lph air with 300 gph of water.
Check out the other skimmers in that price range. You can return it you know.

[edwardclaxton]

Naw. I think I will keep it. He explains the bubble plate ideas and why its not needed in the videos. I think I will like my purchase. Thanks tho for your concern.

[Saratj1]

Check out sca 302 cone skimmer, it's a copy of the skimmers you listed and has the same pump (atman 2500). People are going to dog it because its a knock off, but I own one and it's a good skimmer. I have it on a setup about the same as yours, 135g+ 70g sump.

[edwardclaxton]

Thanks but i have alrdy placed the order.