BK skimmers on SPS tanks...
- Thread starter amuruges
- Start date
twon8
Formally registered membe
not many have them, both because they are fairly new and expensive. Those that do really like them, from what i have read. worth is a subjective thing, and to some they are worth it, others they are not. they are the most energy efficient skimmer out there, as far as i know.
RichConley
New member
Honestly, electrical efficiency has nothing to do with people buying bubble kings. If you could make the price up in 2 or 3 years in electricity, it would make sense, but with the price of RD pumps, its like 20 years.
tanglovers
New member
We have a BK300 internal model on our 220 gallon tank....about 240 gallons total water volume. It is an oversized skimmer but we like our fish so wanted to overskim to make up for the increases bioload our tank has.
We love it! It is super quiet it is located in the sump right below the tank and you do not hear it run. They are extremely energy efficient with it only pulling 58 watts of power. Our tank has been set up to try and use all energy efficient equipment, Tunze, Eheim and BK. If they were cheaper would have loved to go with the RD pumps instead of the Eheims but that will wait for the next setup.
The craftsmanship of this skimmer is second to none. I had not seen on in person until our arrived and you will be impressed. I have no complaints other then they do not come with instruction manuals what so ever, at least last July when we got ours they did not.
I love the fact that the skimmer can be fully dismantled and cleaned very well. I also like its short but very wide stature. Allows me to easily clean the chamber and also still able to fit under the stand of our tank. To date this is our favorite piece of equipment on the setup. Already looking at/thinking about our next and final tank setup down the road and I can guarentee you it will have BK skimmer(s) and RD closed loop pumps. I have heard nothing but good things from everyone who has BKs. Only complaint is the price but I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. When we ordered our BK we wanted to be certain we would be happy with the purchase instead of going ASM, EuroReef, Deltec and second guessing our choice. I personally have had good luck with ER and use it on our small tank. Deltec and ASM I have heard good things about but also know people who have sold these to get BKs and love the decision.
We love it! It is super quiet it is located in the sump right below the tank and you do not hear it run. They are extremely energy efficient with it only pulling 58 watts of power. Our tank has been set up to try and use all energy efficient equipment, Tunze, Eheim and BK. If they were cheaper would have loved to go with the RD pumps instead of the Eheims but that will wait for the next setup.
The craftsmanship of this skimmer is second to none. I had not seen on in person until our arrived and you will be impressed. I have no complaints other then they do not come with instruction manuals what so ever, at least last July when we got ours they did not.
I love the fact that the skimmer can be fully dismantled and cleaned very well. I also like its short but very wide stature. Allows me to easily clean the chamber and also still able to fit under the stand of our tank. To date this is our favorite piece of equipment on the setup. Already looking at/thinking about our next and final tank setup down the road and I can guarentee you it will have BK skimmer(s) and RD closed loop pumps. I have heard nothing but good things from everyone who has BKs. Only complaint is the price but I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. When we ordered our BK we wanted to be certain we would be happy with the purchase instead of going ASM, EuroReef, Deltec and second guessing our choice. I personally have had good luck with ER and use it on our small tank. Deltec and ASM I have heard good things about but also know people who have sold these to get BKs and love the decision.
RichConley
New member
Have they changed them so you can remove the collimation plate yet? As far as I knew, you still couldnt clean under it.
As to craftmanship,looking nice, fitting under a stand, etc. Thats a priority to some, but to most people with large tanks, they have fish rooms/basement sumps, and it really shouldnt matter. Its nice that a skimmer looks great, and uses really sturdy materials, but I dont plan on kicking mine, or putting it on exhibit, so does it matter?
As to energy efficiency, the high cost of the Red Dragon pumps makes it a silly consideration. The red dragon that is comparable to a sequence Dart is almost $1000. That 80w difference is going to cost you about $6 a month in electricity. Thats 13 years to pay off the pump in electricity($800). Most pumps dont last 13 years. Also, consider that if you put that $800 in a CD when you bought your sequence, and rolled it over every year, you'd be pushing $1500(@5%) at that 13 year mark. So you'd still be ahead $700 on the sequence. The longer they both run, the more the sequence pulls ahead.
tanglovers
New member
I agree there is other great equipment out there, I agree with most people having fish rooms etc. We actually have one as well behind our tank but that was after we moved it so we do not use it for the sump but keep all the ballast/ ca rx/ tunze boxes back there.
I like the RD more for the super quiet operation, the energy savings is a plus if you consider it a plus.
If the ER skimmers were smaller we would have mostly likely gone with one of those for this setup. We started looking at the deltecs very seriously and after getting prices together decided to do the BK that is rated on tanks up to almost 600 gallons...still too small for our next tank unfortunately.
Just like everything in this hobby many different ways of doing things to still have success. It is like cooking, so many recipes and so many still have success.
I like the RD more for the super quiet operation, the energy savings is a plus if you consider it a plus.
If the ER skimmers were smaller we would have mostly likely gone with one of those for this setup. We started looking at the deltecs very seriously and after getting prices together decided to do the BK that is rated on tanks up to almost 600 gallons...still too small for our next tank unfortunately.
Just like everything in this hobby many different ways of doing things to still have success. It is like cooking, so many recipes and so many still have success.
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
You guys should look into DAS skimmers as a cheaper alternative to Deltec or BK. I've seen all three in action and the only thing the DAS is missing is the expensive price.
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
Travis, moodpod, fliger and some others either have one or have used one.
i have seen Travis's in person adn WOW!!! that thing is huge and pulls hard. he has a internal 400 on his 280gallon reef...WAY overkill and it still rocks.
ask Travis for some pics
Lunchbucket
i have seen Travis's in person adn WOW!!! that thing is huge and pulls hard. he has a internal 400 on his 280gallon reef...WAY overkill and it still rocks.
ask Travis for some pics
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=728472&perpage=25&pagenumber=11
check out a couple pages before hand too
Lunchbucket
check out a couple pages before hand too
Lunchbucket
jsbzmcdaniel
New member
Have a link to the DAS skimmer?
moonpod
Premium Member
DAS units are essentially the previous generation of Deltec turbo units. They are a licensee of Deltec and I believe they are made in Texas. Now I dunno what's true or not, but Deltec claims to have changed the turbo design from what the DAS units use. Regardless, that's my understanding and what I've seen.
Why do you buy a BK? Because you need to pack the most skimming possible in the smallest package possible. Bonuses: silence, electrical effeciency, great build quality and representation that cares. I have a 450g tank and unfortunately, no there is no associated "tank room" or whatnot. EVERYTHING fits under the tank (except the chiller and the autotopoff). If space is not a consideration, then most realistically a mongo CC air driven unit is probably the option that gives you the finest bubble column, the most contact time and uses the least electricity. I do mean GINORMOUS though. Becketts are a "brute force" approach that also works for setups where noise and space aren't considerations. They still IMO are relatively maintenance heavy (when I had one I was constantly cleaning the injectors and the skimmer neck), but they are an option.
As for other needlewheel options, I love Deltecs coupled with the selfcleaninghead--practically zero maintenance. H&S units by report are quite comparable but unless it's a really large skimmer I don't believe they offer self cleaning heads.. First hand experience, ERs and ASMs don't hold a candle and I can't cope with lousy CS. I don't like to give my money to companies that don't support their products.
Oh and BTW, first hand experience and killawatt measurements, a Red Dragon 12 outflows a Dart quite handily and uses about 40-50w less.
Why do you buy a BK? Because you need to pack the most skimming possible in the smallest package possible. Bonuses: silence, electrical effeciency, great build quality and representation that cares. I have a 450g tank and unfortunately, no there is no associated "tank room" or whatnot. EVERYTHING fits under the tank (except the chiller and the autotopoff). If space is not a consideration, then most realistically a mongo CC air driven unit is probably the option that gives you the finest bubble column, the most contact time and uses the least electricity. I do mean GINORMOUS though. Becketts are a "brute force" approach that also works for setups where noise and space aren't considerations. They still IMO are relatively maintenance heavy (when I had one I was constantly cleaning the injectors and the skimmer neck), but they are an option.
As for other needlewheel options, I love Deltecs coupled with the selfcleaninghead--practically zero maintenance. H&S units by report are quite comparable but unless it's a really large skimmer I don't believe they offer self cleaning heads.. First hand experience, ERs and ASMs don't hold a candle and I can't cope with lousy CS. I don't like to give my money to companies that don't support their products.
Oh and BTW, first hand experience and killawatt measurements, a Red Dragon 12 outflows a Dart quite handily and uses about 40-50w less.
RichConley
New member
Definitely Moonpod, theres no question on that.
The thing is, thats a $1200 pump. Are you willing to drop almost $1000 to save $5 a month in electricity costs? (50w continuous, $0.15/kwh)
Energy consumption shouldnt be an issue here. You will never make up that initial investment. You'll never even come close with energy savings. You'd be better throwing the $1000 in an account and paying that $5 a month with the interest.
Theyre great pumps, but the energy savings arent enough to even come into consideration. If these were pressure rated on the other hand.....
moonpod
Premium Member
It's not just about the energy savings. Smaller caliber plumbing (easier to plumb). True silence (the Dart is quite reasonable, but it ain't silent). Smaller footprint. Much, much less heat transfer (the Dart is reasonable but you can "see" the heat in the system). There are a multitude of reasons.
Similarly I find large ASM skimmers to be a joke. Sure the skimmer doesn't cost that much. But you end up with something with a large physical footprint in your sump and with a large heat input into your system. Silly IMO.
Finally of course there are always 6 ways to skin the cat. In the end you gotta make your own "value" judgements. For my particular setup, RDs and a BK made sense. For others, there will be other solutions. Neither is "right" or "wrong".
Similarly I find large ASM skimmers to be a joke. Sure the skimmer doesn't cost that much. But you end up with something with a large physical footprint in your sump and with a large heat input into your system. Silly IMO.
Finally of course there are always 6 ways to skin the cat. In the end you gotta make your own "value" judgements. For my particular setup, RDs and a BK made sense. For others, there will be other solutions. Neither is "right" or "wrong".
RichConley
New member
In addition to that, I'd like to see a bunch of skimmers (regardless of size) grouped by price.
IE a $2000 BK vs a $2000 ER, vs a $2000 H&S,etc.
I think for most of us, that would be a more relevant comparison.
I have one and it is amazing also the most quitest thing I have ever owned. I just bought a RD return also and its amazing. I found a guy online whos sells them a little cheaper then anyone else and said screw it lets try it out. I owned Deltecs and Euro reefs and ASM nothing compares to me
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
A local reefer I know has a Barr Aquatics Beckett, BK300, and Deltec AP851 running on his 600gal system. The beckett spanks the BK and Deltec
