Good articles for selecting a skimmer?

saintperez

saintperez

New member
Bonus season is around the corner. Thinking of upgrading to a Vertex Alpha or a BubbleKing. Looking for any good articles you guys might have come across that talks about what to look for in a good skimmer.

I've always heard that BubbleKing is the mac daddy. But the problem I have is the small foot print 11 x 14". So I'm looking for an internal pump like Mini Bubble King 200 VS13 with RD 3 Mini Speedy
http://royalexclusiv.net/Skimmer-Pu...ing-200-VS13-with-RD-3-Mini-Speedy::1286.html

But isn't the cone design the optimal?

This one from Vertex looks pretty good
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vertex-omega-180i-protein-skimmer.html


Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Have had both...and to be honest BK never failed me. Only drawback might be whenever it fails...and you need spare parts you might be waiting a little bit. Even though they have a new warehouse in Florida....they have a tendency of taking forever to mail parts.
I am currently using a Bk double cone 200 and can't ask for anything better.
 
What kind of parts could or do go wrong on a bubble king? Also, do they need constant removal from the sump aside from the collection of course? Because where I would it it's not easy to put in or take out.

doggydoc, did you notice an immediate improvement in your tank with the Bubbleking? I'm debating if it's worth the money or if a Reef Octopus would do the trick. I hear all kind of stories of people running them with great success. Now, I want to grow nice SPS. So I want my water to be pristine.

Any words on that are greatly appreciated.
 
Skimmate is awesome. And I am even skimming wet. I haven't had an issue with mine. But there were some issues reported re replacement parts. Again NOT ME, but if you search RC you will find some. But honestly nothing like BK engineering
 
Any of you guys heard anything on the Mini Bubble King 200 VS13 with RD 3 Mini Speedy ? Wondering since it's a different design cylinder vs. Cone if it's not as good.
 
Good articles for selecting a skimmer?

Honestly if I had the $$$ I would have gone for the reg vs the double cone on my current tank. True and tested tech.
I had the BK 200 with the reg pump in my prev tank. Workhorse. Never died on me. And used it for 4 years!
Only issue I had was replacing impeller!!!
I LOOOVE the MINI series.
 
Come see mine anytime.....so worth it IMO I empty mine 3 times a week .....I have it running wet and it still takes a good few min to wash out the thick mud caked in it that it pulls out .....
 
For those of you that have the Bubble King , did you get it during some holiday sale? Is there a black Friday deal I should be watching out for that carries BK?
 
I did a LOT of research on skimmers. I settled on a Super Reef Octopus XP cone. They seem to be the best balance of quality and value. Bubble King you seem to pay a premium but the performance is excellent. I'm very happy with my skimmer so far. I clean the cup a couple times a week. I'm not getting sludge yet but its a VERY dark syrupy water that smells like heck. I don't know any different as this is my first REAL skimmer. The other ones I was considereing at the time was the Vertex and BK. ATB is another one that gets great reviews but they were all too big for my tank.
 
Used from a local will be your best price ....but very hard to come buy ....once you own one though you will never be selling it unless you are breaking down the tank or upgrading to a larger tank and a larger bk .....
 
rovster said:
I did a LOT of research on skimmers. I settled on a Super Reef Octopus XP cone. They seem to be the best balance of quality and value. Bubble King you seem to pay a premium but the performance is excellent. I'm very happy with my skimmer so far. I clean the cup a couple times a week. I'm not getting sludge yet but its a VERY dark syrupy water that smells like heck. I don't know any different as this is my first REAL skimmer. The other ones I was considereing at the time was the Vertex and BK. ATB is another one that gets great reviews but they were all too big for my tank.
Click to expand...

+1 for Super Reef Octopus. I run a Hurricone Skimmer which is just another version of the Super Reef Octopus 3000 or 5000 I believe. It uses the bubble blaster pump which is awesome. They come with a decent warranty and Coral Vue located in the US has great customer service from what I've seen so far. The newer models come with DC pumps if thats your cup of tea. Having ran an ATI skimmer with the DC pump, I will say I regret selling that skimmer. Nothing wrong with Bubble King, but I think you can get more skimmer for your money with other good skimmers like SRO, RLSS, etc. If you are looking for small foot print, the SRO comes in a sump saver model with the pump on bottom.

A skimmer thats recently caught my eye is Reef Life. They are a more compact design, aren't as sexy looking as the cone skimmers. But you can run them off just about any pump. There is a big threat in the Equipment forum on them. If I had to buy a skimmer thats what I would look at.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
FS: Royal Exclusiv Bubble King DC200 Skimmer with RD3 Pump - $600
Replies
0
Views
230
Jimbo327
J
asmodeus
skimmer vs skimmer
2 3
Replies
49
Views
3K
wildman926
wildman926
D
Red Dragon 3 50w controller dead
Replies
1
Views
6K
slief
slief
vapormd
Parting out tank setup in San Francisco, lost of misc equipment
Replies
5
Views
864
vapormd
vapormd
S
detritus outbreak after a year? Coral dying.
Replies
8
Views
1K
Paul B
Paul B
Back
Top