plancton
Active member
I decided to get a new skimmer. I wanted the vertex alpha cone 250 skimmer, but it costs $1200 dlls. I decided to experiment on doing a DIY cone skimmer that would give me the same performance, same results on skimmate which is the most important function of the skimmer.
Of course that the original vertex alpha cone 250 comes with lots of gadgets for easy access, cleaning, etc. But what I really cared about is to achieve the same skimmate for a far cheaper price.
I´m sure many people have created their own DIY cone skimmers, there are many original commercial brands as well: MSX cone, ATB cone, etc.
But I decided to make a direct comparison with the original vertex alpha cone 250 skimmer. My LFS DIY cone which I have named "Don Rubertex alpha cone 250" (Don Ruben, is the owner of the LFG who built it) has the same measurements for the body of the skimmer as the original alpha cone 250.
Instead of using a red dragon pump, I will be using a Bubble Blaster HY-5000.
Why is that?. In order to prove that something equally good can be made with a far cheaper price tag, and also in order to test the new Bubble Blaster HY5000 pump which is new in the market.
There are 3 brands in the market that are under the same category:
RED DRAGON
ASKOLL aka LAGUNA
Bubble Blaster HY-5000
The red Dragon is supposed pull around 75 scfh maybe more
The askoll is supposed to pull around 80 scfh, but we´ve seen pictures of it reaching even 110 scfh
And the Bubble Blaster is supposed to pull around 85-90 scfh but we have also seen pictures and video of it reaching the 110 scfh.
The red dragon is in the $400 dll range, realiability quality, etc. is top notch. The Askoll its been around for a while and it is supposed to be very reliable, although some users have reported that it isn´t extremely great, the price is about $270 dlls with the volute for skimming.
Finally the Bubble Blaster HY5000 is around $220 dlls, many people have reported that it works great and a few LFS have said it beats the askoll, it hasn´t been tried for a long period of time, but it comes with 3 year warranty.
The body of the skimmer costs: $240
The BB HY 5000 pump costs: $220
Total $460 dlls vs $1200 dlls of the original, that´s 1/3 of the price of the original.
The BB HY 5000 comes with a nice presentation:
They are chinese but really good quality, I´ve seen many people using this brand with excellent results, they are definetely not bad quality chinese.
The pump is bigger than the red dragon:
The Don Rubertex skimmer starting to take shape:
The cup is removed by a custom twist mechanism:
It will be ready next week, so keep in tune for more.
Of course that the original vertex alpha cone 250 comes with lots of gadgets for easy access, cleaning, etc. But what I really cared about is to achieve the same skimmate for a far cheaper price.
I´m sure many people have created their own DIY cone skimmers, there are many original commercial brands as well: MSX cone, ATB cone, etc.
But I decided to make a direct comparison with the original vertex alpha cone 250 skimmer. My LFS DIY cone which I have named "Don Rubertex alpha cone 250" (Don Ruben, is the owner of the LFG who built it) has the same measurements for the body of the skimmer as the original alpha cone 250.
Instead of using a red dragon pump, I will be using a Bubble Blaster HY-5000.
Why is that?. In order to prove that something equally good can be made with a far cheaper price tag, and also in order to test the new Bubble Blaster HY5000 pump which is new in the market.
There are 3 brands in the market that are under the same category:
RED DRAGON
ASKOLL aka LAGUNA
Bubble Blaster HY-5000
The red Dragon is supposed pull around 75 scfh maybe more
The askoll is supposed to pull around 80 scfh, but we´ve seen pictures of it reaching even 110 scfh
And the Bubble Blaster is supposed to pull around 85-90 scfh but we have also seen pictures and video of it reaching the 110 scfh.
The red dragon is in the $400 dll range, realiability quality, etc. is top notch. The Askoll its been around for a while and it is supposed to be very reliable, although some users have reported that it isn´t extremely great, the price is about $270 dlls with the volute for skimming.
Finally the Bubble Blaster HY5000 is around $220 dlls, many people have reported that it works great and a few LFS have said it beats the askoll, it hasn´t been tried for a long period of time, but it comes with 3 year warranty.
The body of the skimmer costs: $240
The BB HY 5000 pump costs: $220
Total $460 dlls vs $1200 dlls of the original, that´s 1/3 of the price of the original.
The BB HY 5000 comes with a nice presentation:
They are chinese but really good quality, I´ve seen many people using this brand with excellent results, they are definetely not bad quality chinese.
The pump is bigger than the red dragon:
The Don Rubertex skimmer starting to take shape:
The cup is removed by a custom twist mechanism:
It will be ready next week, so keep in tune for more.
