hiepatitis
In Memoriam
I am in the market for a new skimmer. My options are the H&S A200-1260 or the Bubble King Mini 180. Any advice?
H&S vs Bubble King Mini
- Thread starter hiepatitis
- Start date
CruzinKim
In Memoriam
Although I don't own either one, I believe that H&S is one of the best skimmers that one can get for any tank. Quality construction, 2 year warranty, and a proven product. Although the full size BK is a proven product, the mini BKs are too new to the market. Hate to be a thousand dollar guinea pig.
DeltecRules
New member
Re: H&S vs Bubble King Mini
Take the H&S A200-1260. I absolutely love it. I had a Mini BK 200 before and it didn't perform as it should. I had a defective pump, plastic shavings still on the pinwheel and lack of customer service and technical support from premiumaquatics. All I wanted was a replacement pump but instead Jeremy from PA decided to test my skimmer and made it public here on reefcentral trying to prove I was some kind of liar. Said it was working great!! Which was BS. What great customer service to treat someone after spending thousands of dollars on many products from PA. There were also other folks who were having problems with there BK mini 200 who PM'd me who didn't want to make it public. You also have to remmeber the replacement pump if anything goes wrong with your mini after the warranty is $730!! The H&S replacement pump is a standard eheim 1260. If you need to replace the whole H&S pump its $350. But if you need to replace just the eheim and not the needle wheel and the venturi and other fittings its the cost of a standard eheim 1260!
Here is my H&S A200-1260 in action
Take the H&S A200-1260. I absolutely love it. I had a Mini BK 200 before and it didn't perform as it should. I had a defective pump, plastic shavings still on the pinwheel and lack of customer service and technical support from premiumaquatics. All I wanted was a replacement pump but instead Jeremy from PA decided to test my skimmer and made it public here on reefcentral trying to prove I was some kind of liar. Said it was working great!! Which was BS. What great customer service to treat someone after spending thousands of dollars on many products from PA. There were also other folks who were having problems with there BK mini 200 who PM'd me who didn't want to make it public. You also have to remmeber the replacement pump if anything goes wrong with your mini after the warranty is $730!! The H&S replacement pump is a standard eheim 1260. If you need to replace the whole H&S pump its $350. But if you need to replace just the eheim and not the needle wheel and the venturi and other fittings its the cost of a standard eheim 1260!
Here is my H&S A200-1260 in action
DeltecRules
New member
And here is the Mini BK 200 which was clearly defective. And no I don't have a low bioload and don't have power issues like some people claim. I ran this skimmer the same amount of time as the H&S A200-1260. My tank really suffered too 
reef / aholic
New member
H&S A200-1260 is a external skimmer that is rated for up to 300g and is a recirculating skimmer.
Pump: Eheim 1260/65w - $300.00 replacement
Diameter: 8"
Height: 29"
Footprint: 9"x15"
BK Mini 180 is a internal skimmer rated for up to 200g and is a non-recirculating skimmer.
Pump: RD Mini Air 800/28w - $730.00 replacement
Diameter: 7"
Height: 21 3/4"
Footprint: 8 1/4" x 8 1/4"
These skimmer are not even apple to apple in comparison, more like kiwi to eggplant!!!
Pump: Eheim 1260/65w - $300.00 replacement
Diameter: 8"
Height: 29"
Footprint: 9"x15"
BK Mini 180 is a internal skimmer rated for up to 200g and is a non-recirculating skimmer.
Pump: RD Mini Air 800/28w - $730.00 replacement
Diameter: 7"
Height: 21 3/4"
Footprint: 8 1/4" x 8 1/4"
These skimmer are not even apple to apple in comparison, more like kiwi to eggplant!!!
Reef Sponger
In Memoriam
Money wasn't an object for me when I bought my H&S A150 and I would do it again, even over Deltec or Bubbleking. It is just the best built and performance skimmer I've used to date and I had my share of different skimmers. In comparing apples to applies:
Deltec Eheim 1260 replacement plump $550
H&S Eheim 1260 replacement pump $350
Deltec Eheim replacement needlewheel impeller $250
H&S Eheim replacement needlewheel impeller $140
Deltec Aquabee 2001 replacement pump $375
H&S Aquabee 2001 replacement pump $200
Deltec warranty 1 year
H&S warranty 2 years
Performance, everyone says is very similar. But my gut feeling is that no one wants to rock the boat. I'm looking at my A150 compared to Deltec APF600 and with the slightly larger body size and neck diameter size, it's got to have the Deltec beat, plus no microbubbles ever return to the tank from the skimmer.
Deltec Eheim 1260 replacement plump $550
H&S Eheim 1260 replacement pump $350
Deltec Eheim replacement needlewheel impeller $250
H&S Eheim replacement needlewheel impeller $140
Deltec Aquabee 2001 replacement pump $375
H&S Aquabee 2001 replacement pump $200
Deltec warranty 1 year
H&S warranty 2 years
Performance, everyone says is very similar. But my gut feeling is that no one wants to rock the boat. I'm looking at my A150 compared to Deltec APF600 and with the slightly larger body size and neck diameter size, it's got to have the Deltec beat, plus no microbubbles ever return to the tank from the skimmer.
Macimage
Active member
Thanks! I have been leaning towards one of the in sump H & S skimmers.
Time for a stupid question. How does a recirculating skimmer work versus one that is non-recirculating?
Also, with the in sump H & S, can I plumb it with a gravity feed? I've seen in sumps plumbed 3 ways and don't know which would be the best way to set it up. I saw that they can be dropped in sump and you use the pump supplied to feed the water from the sump. I saw examples of a gravity feed and I guess the supplied pump would circulate the water inside the skimmer. And I also saw a Reeflow plumbed with a larger external pump feeding it that was also feeding the returns and chiller.
Thanks for all the help.
Joyce
Time for a stupid question. How does a recirculating skimmer work versus one that is non-recirculating?
Also, with the in sump H & S, can I plumb it with a gravity feed? I've seen in sumps plumbed 3 ways and don't know which would be the best way to set it up. I saw that they can be dropped in sump and you use the pump supplied to feed the water from the sump. I saw examples of a gravity feed and I guess the supplied pump would circulate the water inside the skimmer. And I also saw a Reeflow plumbed with a larger external pump feeding it that was also feeding the returns and chiller.
Thanks for all the help.
Joyce
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Reef Sponger
In Memoriam
Joyce,
BTW, I'm a she. LOL In sump only skimmers are plug n play. You take it out of the box, run it in warm vinegar solution for about an hour and then place it into your sump and fire it up.
What you describe above is a recirculating skimmer, where you have total control over your skimmer in how you want to set it. You can feed by a separate pump or directly from your overflow. I have a recirculating skimmer and I like it much better than all the non-recirculating skimmers that I've owned in the past. You don't have to be concern about having a constant sump waterlevel as it is immune to any changes within the sump, you can install the skimmer in sump or outside of the sump, and you have 3 separate controls to adjust your skimmer for the desired type of skimmate instead on only 2 controls with the in sump models.
If money & space is not a challenge for you, go with the recirculating H&S skimmer.
BTW, I'm a she. LOL In sump only skimmers are plug n play. You take it out of the box, run it in warm vinegar solution for about an hour and then place it into your sump and fire it up.
What you describe above is a recirculating skimmer, where you have total control over your skimmer in how you want to set it. You can feed by a separate pump or directly from your overflow. I have a recirculating skimmer and I like it much better than all the non-recirculating skimmers that I've owned in the past. You don't have to be concern about having a constant sump waterlevel as it is immune to any changes within the sump, you can install the skimmer in sump or outside of the sump, and you have 3 separate controls to adjust your skimmer for the desired type of skimmate instead on only 2 controls with the in sump models.
If money & space is not a challenge for you, go with the recirculating H&S skimmer.
Macimage
Active member
Ooops, sorry about that Reef Sponger.
So, the recirculating are only available as external skimmers? I installed a large sump under the stand and now I really don't have room for an external skimmer. I'd like the most efficient in sump setup.
There have been so many advancements in the past fews years since I set up my last reef tank that it's a bit confusing.
Thanks again,
Joyce
So, the recirculating are only available as external skimmers? I installed a large sump under the stand and now I really don't have room for an external skimmer. I'd like the most efficient in sump setup.
There have been so many advancements in the past fews years since I set up my last reef tank that it's a bit confusing.
Thanks again,
Joyce
Lumamae
In Memoriam
macimage,
you can install a recirculating (external) in sump, there's no reason that you couldn't do that. so you have a choice of in sump installation or out of sump installation, most flexible. i think what RS is saying is that if you don't have enough room in your sump for the recirculating skimmer, then you can go with an in sump only model as they are usually smaller footprint.
we should probably get back to the original topic of the original poster.
you can install a recirculating (external) in sump, there's no reason that you couldn't do that. so you have a choice of in sump installation or out of sump installation, most flexible. i think what RS is saying is that if you don't have enough room in your sump for the recirculating skimmer, then you can go with an in sump only model as they are usually smaller footprint.
we should probably get back to the original topic of the original poster.
Reef Sponger
In Memoriam
Currently, there are very few in sump models that are recirculating. Usually recirculating is attributed to external model skimmers. Also, but not always, the recirculating skimmer has a larger footprint and more height to the skimmer, but you get better performance from them. So, if you have enough space in your sump for a recirculating skimmer, get that. If not, then look at the in sump only skimmers. Check out KM Associates as that's where I bought my last 2 skimmers and they're quite knowledgeable about all the different skimmer lines. Great customer service on top of the knowledge, no exceptions on the great customer service.
hiepatitis
In Memoriam
Lumamae,
I am also looking at the ATB cone skimmers which look very appealing but I'm afraid to blow that much money on a new line against the proven H&S. I don't want to get caught up in all the hype.
I am also looking at the ATB cone skimmers which look very appealing but I'm afraid to blow that much money on a new line against the proven H&S. I don't want to get caught up in all the hype.
Reef Sponger
In Memoriam
I definitely know what you mean by hype. This is why I didn't buy a Bubblemaster until it's been out awhile and all the bugs worked out. Looks like ATB is going through the same, working out the bugs with the USA version of the Eheim pumps because electrical spins the impeller so strong that the pumps are overpowering the skimmer body size.
So, if you don't want to be a guinea pig for ATB, I wouldn't suggest being one for the mini-BKs either. On both, wait awhile to see what it does.
So, if you don't want to be a guinea pig for ATB, I wouldn't suggest being one for the mini-BKs either. On both, wait awhile to see what it does.
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DeltecRules
New member
Well I have owned both. I have owned the Deltec MCE600 Hang on skimmer which is the best Hang on skimmer. Small compact, pump built in skimmer body, ran on 11 watts of power and sucked alot of crude out of the water.
Here are some pics of it.
DeltecRules
New member
I also owned the Deltec AP600 sold it and bought a used APF600 for my frag tank. The AP600 was very powerful for its size. It pulled out alot of crude in my system.
AP600 in action
AP600 in action
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