asm g skimmers
- Thread starter Ben485
- Start date
glassbox-design
New member
i have never been a fan...for some reason a few years ago they were the skimmer to have because of price and so called performance. now a days there are many other options that are better. out of the box i'd give them a 5, meshmod and recirc i'd give them a 7....i'm in a generous mood this evening 
Id rate them a 4. Ive owned 2 of them, a g-3 and a g4+. Never recirc modded, but mesh modded them and gate modded of course.
Ive never owned one, but from what Ive been hearing lately a Octopus sounds like a much better choice for the economical side of things nowadays.
oh......some mesh mod info for you
http://www.randystacye.com/diythreadwheel.htm
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=966407
Ive never owned one, but from what Ive been hearing lately a Octopus sounds like a much better choice for the economical side of things nowadays.
oh......some mesh mod info for you
http://www.randystacye.com/diythreadwheel.htm
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=966407
jakano
New member
I have a g3 myself and when i first got it i would have rated it pretty high not knowing ant better. I have since modded it with both a recirc mod and mesh wheel mod and that made a HUGE difference in the performance. So out of the box a 5 at best but once modded they really are not bad at all i would say an 8. Of course you have to factor in the materials used in construction and they are pretty flimsy skimmers in that regard. The octopuss skimmers really are built better. But on those skimmers I dislike the fact that they use their own brand of pumps and non standard plumbing sizes. A good friend of mine broke a piece to his pump and there was no way to just go to the plumbing store and buy a replacement part. He had to glue it back together and hope it holds. The ASM skimmers use sedra pumps which are easily found at most lfs.
RichConley
New member
I'd rate it a 4, but its priced like a 7. SO I'd give it a 2 total.
IE, it skims like junk, but costs as much as the ER, and other "high end" skimmers
ASM raised their prices, and everyone else dropped theirs. ASM is the poorest performing skimmer in their price range, and the most expensive skimmer in their performance range.
IE, it skims like junk, but costs as much as the ER, and other "high end" skimmers
ASM raised their prices, and everyone else dropped theirs. ASM is the poorest performing skimmer in their price range, and the most expensive skimmer in their performance range.
I have G-3 for 90g and ASM Mini for 20g:
- they are big and produce a lot of the finest bubbles (what else one should want from a skimmer? 9 for this.)
- the water in my tanks is still not clean,
- the skimmer needs at least gate valve mod, for re-routing the cleaned water to the return pump and having less water on the floor during adjustment,
- mine in the side sump needs babysitting, even with the same water level, without turning pump off. Otherwise or overflows, or doesn't collect anything - the foam is going 2" down in a few hours. Have no explanations why it's happening, but have no time for this.
Will try to make a gravity fed DIY skimmer and replace my ASM's.
- they are big and produce a lot of the finest bubbles (what else one should want from a skimmer? 9 for this.)
- the water in my tanks is still not clean,
- the skimmer needs at least gate valve mod, for re-routing the cleaned water to the return pump and having less water on the floor during adjustment,
- mine in the side sump needs babysitting, even with the same water level, without turning pump off. Otherwise or overflows, or doesn't collect anything - the foam is going 2" down in a few hours. Have no explanations why it's happening, but have no time for this.
Will try to make a gravity fed DIY skimmer and replace my ASM's.
RichConley
New member
If you haven't put a flow meter on an ASM, you're not qualified to say they produce a lot of bubbles.
IME, and when I've measured, they pull less than 1/3 of the air that other similarly priced skimmers pull.
I know there was a time when i thought my modded G4+ worked well and made nice bubbles. I have played with several different brands since then and although ive never put a meter on any of them, i can now say that the only reason I thought the asm was worth a crap was because i didnt know any better. It doesnt mean that my tank sucked at the time becasue of it, it just means i wasnt skimming as well as I thought i was.
rich is right, ASM has a very poor price vs. perfomance ratio. Compare a G4 to an octopus nw200, basically the same size, but the G4 is twice the price, and not as well built.
Right now I would go with DAS and/or Orca as being the best "bang for you buck"skimmers out there, unmodded of course.
Right now I would go with DAS and/or Orca as being the best "bang for you buck"skimmers out there, unmodded of course.
bad habit
Premium Member
I have a g5 running on a 300gl mixed ( sps- lps & leather ) I would have to say It does a SUPER job. My water is crystal clear, cleaning is a snap. It has been running flawless for 3+ years and if I had it to do all over again I wouldn't change a thing. Just because it doesn't pull thick black skimate out all the time doesn't mean it's not working. I feed pretty heavy,after feeding it will clean the water very quickly. I also run ozone, it is injected into the skimmer. May be cheap made but the ozone hasn't affected the acrylic at all. so I would have to rate it a 9. ( only god is perfect)
ASMs are not bad skimmers, they are just overpriced in comparison to Octopus skimmers, which are essentially the same thing just better built and cheaper. If ASM cut their prices in half or at least by 40% then they would be in the running again. ASM build quality is not great, but who regularly chucks around their skimmer?
For a great unit that is not too expensive check out DAS and Orca (as stated above).
For a great unit that is not too expensive check out DAS and Orca (as stated above).
George Grogan
New member
I have a G3. Its heavily modded (gate valve, recirc, direct feed, mesh wheel). It works well for me, and I like it.
That being said, for the price, when I move ahead with a planned expansion, I'll probably go with the Octopus.
That being said, for the price, when I move ahead with a planned expansion, I'll probably go with the Octopus.
markandkristen
Active member
yep the DAS-Ex3 is probably the best bang for the buck at $6?? your basically getting a deltec design with the aquabee pumps.
asm for the money is just not what it should be. some say that the inside has nothing to do with it but i have found better skimmer consitency with acrylic then the extruded plastic.
the octopus is nice for the money. depends on what size of aqarium its going on. if it was 120g or less i would do the octo.
any more than that i would try and spring for the das.
asm for the money is just not what it should be. some say that the inside has nothing to do with it but i have found better skimmer consitency with acrylic then the extruded plastic.
the octopus is nice for the money. depends on what size of aqarium its going on. if it was 120g or less i would do the octo.
any more than that i would try and spring for the das.
loosecannon
New member
Rich cahonies i know were you can put that flow meter! p.s. I love my mini g i give it a #7.
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