So you're looking at ~200 gallons max?  There has been a flood of new skimmers on the market in the past 6 months or so.  I haven't kept up much with the BM skimmers lately.  Do they still skim really wet?  I think that was the biggest complaints about them and everything else was pretty minor.

I don't know what your budget is but the ATB skimmers have been getting pretty good reviews.  The KZ Revolution is another good one.  Allen has a BK 200 mini and I don't think he's impressed with it.  In fact, I think he's looking at getting something else.  The SWC Xtreme skimmers is still pretty new and the jury is still out on them.Â

Then there's always H&S and Deltec.  Gotta love skimmers, there's so many to choose from!   Oh, you could also go with an Octo.  Those seem to be doing well over time.

Might want to look at the Trigger systems skimmers....I have one and it is great...it is external though if that matters

Here is a link... http://www.triggersys.com/protein_skimmers.html
I have the TS300 but for your system you could go with the TS150. I know PA carries them.
Quality is incredible!

One of the great things about these are that they cam be completely disassembled for cleaning....I cam tear mine down, clean it and have it back together in 20 minutes.

eins

Posted By slovan on 01/11/2008 8:59 AM


I think you're just trying to confuse the hell out of me aren't you! " align="absmiddle" border="0">

One of the things I've heard about the BM is if you don't have a heavy bioload then not to oversize your skimmer otherwise you have to skim really wet in order to get it to skim at all.  http://www.reefgeek.com/filtration/Protein_Skimmers/ATI_Bubble_Master/Bubble_Master_200_Protein_Skimmer_by_ATI

I was looking at the SWC Xtreme skimmers seeing as they use the same sicci pumps as the BM do.  Kinda waiting to hear how people are liking them first.   http://www.marinesolutionsinc.com/catalog/Protein-Skimmers-MSX-Skimmers/c22_48/p133/MSX250/product_info.html

Also was looking at the DAS EX-2.   http://stores.petorama.net/Detail.bok?no=74

I would really like to stay under the $500 range if possible (noticed that the price of the BM 200 has gone up now)

Internal or External doesn't really matter to me.

Look like nice skimmers as well!  I don't have a lot of experience with the beckett skimmers though.  What pump are you running with yours? Are they hard to adjust and keep skimming good?  There's not much price difference between the 150, 300, and the 500.  I could prob. swing the 500 depending on the pump needed to run it.

I would get a pressure rated pump as the performance with beckets is much better...I have a sequence Wahoo on mine but that is overkill for the 300.
something that is around 1200GPH pressure rated would work great on the 150 or 300.
The 500 you might want to go to 1500gph.

As for Becketts...they take a tweek now and then ...no big deal to me.

A number of the QC members have seen mine in person, maybe one of them will chime in on what they though of it...
There are a lot of good skimmers out there...I just thought these are a great deal price vs quality wise.

Sequence pumps are AWESOME they are super quiet very powerful and have a 3 year warranty even on the seals.

eins

That's one thing I didn't really like about the beckett skimmers was the $300 pump to run them. OUCH. Plus the fact that the wahoo you're running pulls 265 watts.

If I remember right the Sicce pumps only pull like 23 watts a piece or something like that?

Hey Eins have you ever run a needlewheel skimmer? Just kind of curious how you would compare the two and which one you actually prefer over the other.

Never have run one...its all in how you tune any skimmer...I have a modded beckett in mine and that increased its performance by 20% - 25% or so.

I am sure if a needlewheel is not tuned properly it wont perform well, as is true for any skimmer. Everytime I have seen a Deltec running, I was not impressed, especially for what they charge for them. If you have one and its set up right i'm sure it will perform well.

I just hate all the posts online that show some pic of a skimmer cup coated with thick sludge and the skimate looks like tar and the owner is saying that is 2 hours worth of skimming...lol. Then all of the following posts are everyone bowing to the new skimmer God that miraculously pulled all of that out of some tank...that just tells me they have a really dirty tank/water. I guarantee that same skimmer could not pull that kind of stuff from my tank/water. Bottom line is to get something that is good quality easy to maintain and a brand you can get service/parts for. You are an experienced reefkeeper and whatever one you choose will do a good job, I am sure of that as your water wont be that bad to begin with.

eins

I totally understand what you're saying. I've just never used a beckett skimmer before or for that matter even seen one running. I have heard that once you get them dialed in they'll pretty much outskim anything. The only negatives on see on that behalf are the $300 pump to run it and the energy consumption that they pull.

I have a quite a while before I'll be buying one anyway was just curious on what everyones opinions were on them.

This may be an option as well.Â

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1290142

Check out the new "pro series" , I believe it is coming out in Feb.,, I suppose they are trying to keep up with the SWC extreme skimmer.. By the way it is a Octopus

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1290142&perpage=25&pagenumber=2

You could always buy mine when I'm ready to upgrade

i wish i could give a good opinion on a skimmer by owning a few different brands but i cant, but i can give you a pic how octopus skimmers skim.

my tank doesnt have much of a load on it, i wish it did so i could see some really gross stuff being skimmed, but here a collection cup pic i just took.

That's the same thread I posted right above yours!   GOOD IDEA THOUGH!

That may be a possibility, I think I may end up with something a little bigger though that way I don't have to upgrade in the future.

Sorry about that. Have you been keeping up to date on that thread. It sounds like it's gonna cost 500.00
Do you still have connections to get skimmers?

I haven't been following the last couple days I'll have to read up on it when I get some time.

And I may still have a few connections! Â

I haven't found anything on the MSX 250 it has 2 Sicce pumps, but i would like to know what this is rated at.
If the dual recirc 150 Octo is rated for 300 gallons this thing should be rated at least that. It looks like a monster. Let me know what you find.