kevensquint
Active member
Basically, which one is higher performance and easier to run ( as in less fiddling etc...) Thanks
MRC orca pro I or reef octopus 6000 skimmer?
- Thread starter kevensquint
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FirstContact
Active member
Wish Reef Octopus used heavier/thicker acrylic for their products. Tend to be hard on my equipment, and always felt that their acrylic was a little light compared to other manufacturers.
The newer line uses PVC for the base and connections.
FirstContact
Active member
That sounds better!
The MRC Orca is by far a better skimmer in my opinion and would be much more consistent with less fiddling. That said, the Reef Octopus will be MUCH more efficient and more quiet due to the fact that the Orca uses a beast of a pump compared to the RO. The Reef Octopus on the other hand will need the pump cleaned regularly (monthly or bi-monthly) to remain nearly as consistent as the Orca. While the SRO does have a larger diameter body, the Orca uses a beast of a pump that will generate greater air flow and finer bubbles. Don't get me wrong, the RO is a good skimmer but the Orca will outperform it in my opinion in large part due to the pump it uses.
If I had to choose between the two and power consumption and noise wasn't a concern, I would choose the Orca over the RO in a New York minute. If power consumption and or a bit of noise is a factor than the RO will work just fine.
If I had to choose between the two and power consumption and noise wasn't a concern, I would choose the Orca over the RO in a New York minute. If power consumption and or a bit of noise is a factor than the RO will work just fine.
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aquamn1999
Member
I just took off a Reeflo Orca 200 pro that has been in use 5 years straight with no problems and just installed an SRO 6000 ext 3 days ago. The Reeflo is a great skimmer and i never had any problems with it. It is louder that the SRO because it uses a dart gold pump with pin wheel. I was wanting a change and save a little electricity. The SRO 6000 uses about 1/2 the watts. My question to you is what size tank are you putting the skimmer on and how much is your bio load?
kevensquint
Active member
400 gallons, heavy bio. On paper the reeflo pulls 1900 LPH air and the bubble blaster is at 2100 LPH....So even though the reeflo is more heavy duty, how is it better with less air?
i think people see the big pump and think it will have more air draw so better performance.
Really this is the only company that uses these large pressure pumps for a NW pump. Seems like a bad design honestly to use these pumps on a skimmer. Its a great return or close loop pump but seem like the wrong pump for a skimmer. Would rather see the askoll pump that gives about same air but with alot less power. Proven pump with many years of use as a skimmer NW pump.
Just my 2 cents....
The Dart pump has a much larger needle wheel that will do a better job atomizing the bubbles. The end result is that it produces smaller/finer bubbles which results in more contact surfaces for better foam fractioning. There is a point with air flow into a skimmer that you run into diminishing returns. That is to say that the amount of airflow isn't as important as what you do with that air. Because of the needle wheel size of the Dart pump, you will end up with more dense foam that does a relatively better job in efficiently removing the DOC's from the water. Also as you pointed out, "on paper". Just because the SRO can pull that much air, doesn't mean it will be well balanced at max airflow.
aquamn1999
Member
I would go with SRO 6000 ext and a auto neck cleaner. My tank is 350g and a heavy bio load. Like i said I've only had it on my tank a few days and I'm happy with it's performance.
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