read about the Warner Marine HX2 skimmer

[jphendren]

I am looking for a good protein skimmer for my 55 gallon reef tank, and read about the Warner Marine HX2 skimmer. However, I am unable to even find one for sale; have they been discontinued?

Anybody have one? What is your opinion?

Jared

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Discontinued, from what I understand.

I had one in my hands for a couple days before I sent it back because the pump intake was broken right out of the box. I wasn't overly impressed. For as long as I waited (nearly a year), and for the constant stream of excuses I received from Warner Marine for the delay, "not overly impressed" is somewhat of an understatement. I am soooo glad I got a refund instead of just getting one that wasn't broken.

 

[jphendren]

Aside from Warner Marine, any other really good HOT/HOB protein skimmers? I am considering the AquaC Remora Pro, a LOT of people seem to like that one. Deltec's seem expensive, are they that much better than a Remora?

How about this one?

Super Reef Octopus (SRO) XP 1000S HOB Cone Skimmer

Jared

 

[cmor1701d]

The Octopus line seems to be the way to go these days. Great product at a good price.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I have a Remora Pro, and while I'm not knocking it I think you'll find when you look around there are more folks hating it that loving it. Usually the argument is that there are just so many better ones out there for the money. Just my opinion, but I think a lot of the hating on the Remora comes from the fact that you can't really tweak it like you can other skimmers. It doesn't have a needlewheel, it doesn't draw air into the pump, it doesn't have any of the things that normally get "modded" on other skimmers. You just plug it in, and it works. That's why I like it!

I don't doubt that other skimmers out there work better than the Remora. And if I was starting out now, I'd probably start out with an Octopus HOB of some sort... but not that gawd-awful looking cone HOB. Holy smoke... what a beast. I'd probably just go with the standard Octopus HOB. But the beauty of the Remora is that there is just nothing to futz with... no worry about the air line clogging up, or it overskimming and flooding your floor. No maintenance other than cleaning the pump once a year or so, and cleaning out the collection cup. You just have to figure if you want to trade the loss of efficiency for a more bulletproof setup.

And yes... I agree that Deltec skimmers are ridiculously priced... even if they skimmed 400% more junk out that any other skimmer.

 

[jphendren]

Thanks for the replies, Warner Marine contacted me and let me know that they have discontinued their skimmers at this time. Supposedly they have new models coming in the future though.

I'll look into the Octopus line. I do like the Deltec MCE600, I've read that it is about as good as you can get in a HOB, but dang the price is high! Over $500 for an acrylic box with a pump?

Jared

 

[mr_X]

the beauty of the Remora is that there is just nothing to futz with... no worry about it overskimming and flooding your floor.

that's one thing i am in complete agreement about. it definitely will not over skim.

 

[mwilliams]

Jared - Try looking at Reef Octopus-bh-100. Not to bad on the price.
www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus-bh-100-br-hang-on-back-protein-skimmer-495.html

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

that's one thing i am in complete agreement about. it definitely will not over skim.

LOL... I am sensing a slam hidden in there. Guess you're probably trying to say it can barely skim at all, eh?

What I was *trying* to say, is that you're not going to end up overflowing this skimmer because some airline got clogged or some other possible failure avenue. If it overskims (which you *can* make it do, if you want) it just drains back into the skimmer and the tank. It can overskim if you want it to. In fact, it seems like the Remoras skim much wetter than most of the other 'respected' skimmers.

Jared... I would seriously take anything WM says about "models coming in the future" with a grain of salt. When I was waiting for my HX2, all I kept hearing was that it'd be here in about 4 weeks. The reason for the delay kept changing. First it was the prototype had to be approved, then it was shipping, then it was issues with manufacturing, then shipping, then customs, then, then, then... You get the idea. At one point, I was told they were boxed and ready to ship, but the next month I was told they were still being manufactured. When you hear this for a year, it starts getting to be like a broken record.

My personal opinion... the two ends of the spectrum for skimmers are kind of pointless. The cheap skimmers are mostly junk, and you'll fight and fight them to get them to work... if they ever do. The über-expensive skimmers are so expensive... when you consider the newer research that really starts to point out how little difference there is in the "efficiency" of different skimmers... it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend the extra money. You can get a skimmer that works just about as well for half the price. So that middle ground ($200-$300) seems like a reasonable area. Just my thinking out loud...

 

[jphendren]

"The über-expensive skimmers are so expensive... when you consider the newer research that really starts to point out how little difference there is in the "efficiency" of different skimmers... it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend the extra money."

Yeah, I was also looking into getting a sump and running a Bubble King mini 160, but was wondering how good can this thing really skim compared to a $300 Reef Octopus?

Jared

 

[mr_X]

with skimmers, 98% of it is about the pump. the efficiency of the pump v.s. the amount of air it draws. the other 2% is design...bubble plate,...better acrylic...if a bubble king has a pump pulling 300gph and 25 scfh(standard cubic feet per hour) of air and uses 60 watts, and you want to stack it up to something like a reef octopus, with a single sicce pump that pulls 30-35 scfh, and uses about 30 watts, while pumping 660 gph, the answer is quite clear.

yes kurt, i am a remora hater and it's only because of experience. and yes, their was a jab, but it was at aqua-c, not you. even their website cannot give any concrete info other than their spray injection system accomplishing "huge amounts of air and water to be processed with a relatively small pump". i find that quite vague. if i was a skimmer manufacturer, the most important item that i would advertise about my skimmer is it's actual numbers, just like anything else in this hobby. look at LEDs ...most LEDs are crapola, except for the few who actually post their PAR numbers.