Hang on skimmer reviews: prism pro deluxe VS aquac remora pro VS deltec MCE600

[DeltecRules]

Here is my deltec, its rocking!! Best skimmer I ever had. I did have a remora pro, coralife super skimmer, asm G-1, euroreef CS5-2 and they don't even come close to the production of my hang on deltee. I have it on my 55 gallon.

A week full of Gravy yum yum

 

[wds21921]

"Hobby Experience: Total Noob"

Enough said.

 

[Snarkys]

: )

I think i will always be a noob in this , no matter what i learn there will always be a billion more things i don't know . i think when i have 10,000 posts i may change from total noob to just noob ...

facts are, i took of the remora that was either producing nothing or filling with a very light green water with almost no smell in a matter of minutes to hours. when i put on the deltec , the very same day it started producing a thick sludge and has every day since then . this stuff smells so bad i don't dare open the cup until i get to the bathroom because it sticks up the room for quite some time .... The unit also runs at about 1/10 the sound level and takes up way less space inside my tank.

keep in mind that i was so disappointed with both the remora and and prizm pro that i thought all hang ons must just suck and was going to just take the remora off and do more water changes but i decided to at least try what everyone says was the best option for hang ons . So this is is a review from someone who honestly expected the deltec to also be a waste of money but was pleasantly surprised to find it worth every penny spent . it is better on noise level , appearance and foam production , what else could i ask for ?

 

[wds21921]

So over whatever amount of time you've had the deltec running, you haven't noticed any changes in either the odor or the coloration? Referring to my theory about catching up to the bioload.

I'm wondering about noticeable differences not just questionable ones.


And you also saw it immediatley pulling dark skimmate within an hour or so after removing the Remora? (Pro?)

I'm not questioning it's ability to pull good skimmate at all or that it may in fact be a better overall skimmer.
I'm just curious about those who say things like "the Remora is horrible", "the Remora doesn't work", etc. If they didn't work then I've seen way to many lucky people in a small area including myself.

I guess my problem is having to pay $400 or almost double the cost of a decent skimmer which is essentially the cost of a new tank, for one small piece of equipment.
Since we know that removing the skimmate, colloidal proteins and waste from the tank give us better quality water and hopefully better and healthier animals is it that much of a benefit for the cost ratio?
My apology for the jab too.

 

[sjm817]

I'm in the same boat as Snarkys. My Remora Pro pulled out next to nothing. I tried it HOT, HO-sump, in sump, mag3, mag5. It never worked well. Either lots of very weak tea colored water, or nothing at all. I dropped in an ASM G2 and it startded pulling out stuff immediately. Without exaggeration, it pulled out more in a day than the Remora could in a week. It pulled out a very heavy amount for a few weeks, then it tapered off to a "normal" amount when the tank was cleaned up.

I'd much rather pay $400 for something that works than $225 for something that doesn't.

I run a Deltec in sump these days. Have you seen anyone who has upgraded from the Remora to the Deltec MCE that hasn't been very impressed with the change?

 

[wds21921]

No, but then again most everyone I know has 125 gallon and under tanks. Of the ones I know who use them (remora), they seem to have no problems with them at all. That's why I question some of the reactions. Not discounting your experience with it at all, just wondering why there is (apparently) so much significant difference.
To the best of my recollection, the only other (not HOB) I've seen was on a 75 gallon and 125 gallon combo set up where they used the Aqua C large sump type skimmer (not sure of the exact model). And at least at that time I know they liked that one too.

I think this is a case by case or user by user preference maybe where there is really no winner and perhaps no loser?

To put the shoe on the other foot now since the debate is so easy:

I'd rather pay $225 for something that has worked for me than to gamble $400 (almost twice as much) on something that may not be any better for me or show any real improvements other than what it collects. See what I mean?
And even if it did pull out more gunk (loose term) is it going to be enough of an improvement that it's going to matter or are we hitting the level where it's simply unaesthetics going into a collection cup?

I mean you still have to do the same amount of water changes I would guess, and I've not seen anyone on here say that there was a huge difference in the appearence of there tank or in the health and growth of there animals, or longevity.

It's like the "is it possible to overskim" question. There doesn't seem to be any clear cut answers.

I like the production of skimmate from my Remora and it's a huge step up in output (color, odor and quantity) from the Prizm I had.

For those who absolutely are sold on the deltec's performance congrats and I'm glad you like them, but I've got no reason to spend $400 on something that I'm not sure is going to make that much of a difference other than in appearence.

 

[sjm817]

I would say the best bet is to read the reviews/posts of people who have owned both products and see what they say. Do they feel it was worth the upgrade? If you have only used one of them, its kind of hard to make a comparison.

 

[Snarkys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6395187#post6395187 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
I would say the best bet is to read the reviews/posts of people who have owned both products and see what they say. .

this is absolutely the only way you and hope to get a real answer because if you have only owned one you have no real idea of how the other will perform , just your best guess. so far of all the people i have seen that have owned both it is hands down , no question the deltec.

 

[Snarkys]

thought id answer your questions as best i can.

So over whatever amount of time you've had the deltec running, you haven't noticed any changes in either the odor or the coloration? Referring to my theory about catching up to the bioload.

as far as the tank goes I haven't seen any real difference , i have a low bio load, don't feed much and do 10% weekly water changes. I believe your theory could be true but certainly not in my case because the remora was pulling out next to nothing and the same day i put the deltec on it pulls out tons of gunk and every day after that it has pulled that much gunk out .

I'm wondering about noticeable differences not just questionable ones.

it is debatable what someone might call noticeable but at the risk of repeating myself, the smell cup has got to the point that as of today my girl friend makes me empty /clean the cup in the laundry tub because whatever room i do it on stinks so bad that she wont put up with it any more, the remora juice hardly had any smell. the deltec foam is constant and always has a " very dry" foam that fills both the cup and the neck of the unit. again it also makes next to no noise , just a low hum and it has a very low visual presence in your tank.

And you also saw it immediately pulling dark skimmate within an hour or so after removing the Remora? (Pro?)

yes , right away . I went from sceptic to happy i spent the money in a matter of hours of turning the unit on.

I'm not questioning it's ability to pull good skimmate at all or that it may in fact be a better overall skimmer.
I'm just curious about those who say things like "the Remora is horrible", "the Remora doesn't work", etc. If they didn't work then I've seen way to many lucky people in a small area including myself.

horrible is up to interpretation, but my "personal experience" would classify the remora as horrible when compared with the deltec and just 'OK' to bad when judged on its own merits

I guess my problem is having to pay $400 or almost double the cost of a decent skimmer which is essentially the cost of a new tank, for one small piece of equipment.
Since we know that removing the skimmate, colloidal proteins and waste from the tank give us better quality water and hopefully better and healthier animals is it that much of a benefit for the cost ratio?

it does cost a lot, if you can afford it i feel the benefits of noise, visibility and quality foam production make it well worth it. personally if i didn't have the money to spend on it i would skip the hang on skimmer entirely and do more water changes. This really is just my opinion and based of my experience with the skimmers. i know that other people are perfectly happy with the both the remoras and prizm pros but i can only give advise based off my experiences.

My apology for the jab too.

takes a lot more than that to hurt my feelings, no harm no foul : )

For those who absolutely are sold on the deltec's performance congrats and I'm glad you like them, but I've got no reason to spend $400 on something that I'm not sure is going to make that much of a difference other than in appearence.

Personally i ebayed the remora pro and overflow box for $199 and it sold in a few hours so it cost me about $260 to upgrade, including shipping.

 

[DeltecRules]

The deltec mce600 is the best skimmer I had so far. I had the remora pro with the mag 3 for a year and it didn't produce that good. I got maybe 11 ounces of skimate of week out of my heavy bioload of 55 gallon tank which has 55 pounds of live rock and 25 pounds of live sand. I also had alot of messy eaters like fairy wrasses and declivis butterfly. I had cyno and nitrate problems no matter how many water changes I did. So I decided to buy a deltec and I wasn't disappointed. It uses half the watts of power than the mag 3. The bubble size that the deltec pump produces is much smaller than the remora pros. The aquabee needle wheel skimmer sucks in more air than the remora pro did. And you don't have that nasty ugly pump hanging in the tank that ruins the beautiful reef view. I am skimming wet, getting 11 ounces a day of black sludge. Believe me there is a difference. It was worth every penny of $476.00 I paid No detectable nitrates or cyno ever since I ran the deltec.

 

[frewilly2]

thanks alot im looking for a new hob skimmer and i think ill get the deltec mce600

 

[chip721]

Re: Hang on skimmer reviews: prism pro deluxe VS aquac remora pro VS deltec MCE600

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6305113#post6305113 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Snarkys
The unit also has two crappy options for what to do with your pump. either you have that huge mag 3 dangling in your tank or you use the ridiculously large overflow box.

I have a Remora Pro with a Mag5 pump on my 54g. I didn't like the dangling pump or the overflow box. I simply replaced and extended the 3/4" tubing. My pump sits at the very bottem of my tank, out of sight, behind some live rock. It works well for me.

 

[sjm817]

Re: Re: Hang on skimmer reviews: prism pro deluxe VS aquac remora pro VS deltec MCE600

Re: Re: Hang on skimmer reviews: prism pro deluxe VS aquac remora pro VS deltec MCE600

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6397234#post6397234 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chip721
I have a Remora Pro with a Mag5 pump on my 54g. I didn't like the dangling pump or the overflow box. I simply replaced and extended the 3/4" tubing. My pump sits at the very bottem of my tank, out of sight, behind some live rock. It works well for me.

Kills any possibility of surface skimming though.

 

[Snarkys]

Re: Re: Re: Hang on skimmer reviews: prism pro deluxe VS aquac remora pro VS deltec MCE600

Re: Re: Re: Hang on skimmer reviews: prism pro deluxe VS aquac remora pro VS deltec MCE600

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6397275#post6397275 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
Kills any possibility of surface skimming though.

this brings up another interesting point , you can't surface skim with the deltec either, however....

when i first bought my remora i didn't have the overflow box but i decided to get it for two reasons , one to hide that ugly pump and two because i was getting a thick oil slick on the top of my water which the oveflow box solved almost entirely. when i was looking at buying the deltec one of the main things i was turned off by was the fact there was no overflow box. I did a few searches here and found that they had no plans off ever adding an overflow box because they say that the unit cleans the water so thoroughly that there isn't anything left to build up on the surface. They also said if you do get some build up just turn a power head at the surface so the film gets mixed back into the water and the unit will clean it out then. To be honest i thought this was a load of crap but I guess its true because the oil slick is gone... BTW i always have had two powerheads aimed at the surface for gas exchange.

 

[Snarkys]

one last note , the unit does cost a lot but it is a lot cheaper than adding a sump and IMHO is as effective or more effective than many in sump skimmers . I think you can get in sump performance with this unit without adding a sump and save many hundreds of dollars on buying a sump , return pump, in sump skimmer , plumbing , drilling your tank or getting a RR tank ...

 

[swashbuckler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6397774#post6397774 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Snarkys
one last note , the unit does cost a lot but it is a lot cheaper than adding a sump and IMHO is as effective or more effective than many in sump skimmers . I think you can get in sump performance with this unit without adding a sump and save many hundreds of dollars on buying a sump , return pump, in sump skimmer , plumbing , drilling your tank or getting a RR tank ...

good point, i wonder what the main reasons of a sump may be besides its ability to house a skimmer... b/c technically, if one had a good HOB skimmer like a deltec, there would be no real reason for other methods of filtration (like refugiums)

all you would need to find in tank space for is a heater, and perhaps a place to put carbon... but other than that- sumps with HOB deltec become useless.. $480 for skimmer vs. $500+ for sump and all its components.. just my .02

 

[The Grim Reefer]

This is the last weeks skimmate from the Remora Pro. The collection cup has to fill about a third of the way before it reaches the drain so there is maybe enough to raise the jug level another 1/2" or so. I think cleaning to collection cup slowed it down some but this is close to what I usually get in a week.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

This is the last weeks skimmate from the Remora Pro. The collection cup has to fill about a third of the way before it reaches the drain so there is maybe enough to raise the jug level another 1/2" or so. I think cleaning to collection cup slowed it down some but this is close to what I usually get in a week.

 

[Snarkys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6397851#post6397851 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swashbuckler
good point, i wonder what the main reasons of a sump may be besides its ability to house a skimmer... b/c technically, if one had a good HOB skimmer like a deltec, there would be no real reason for other methods of filtration (like refugiums)

all you would need to find in tank space for is a heater, and perhaps a place to put carbon... but other than that- sumps with HOB deltec become useless.. $480 for skimmer vs. $500+ for sump and all its components.. just my .02

the deltec has a place to put carbon if you want to use it and i aslo use hang on fuges : )

i personaly use all this hang of stuff because my stand doesn't have room for a sump .

 

[trekel]

is it possible to skim to much