Need advice, buying a new large external skimmer...

Piper27

Piper27

I love bengals
OK here is the deal. Right now I have a 5 foot tall mazzei injected 6" recirculating skimmer and a reef octopus 8" in sump skimmer. I need to replace the reef octopus with a bigger better skimmer which will be external. I am out of the loop on skimmers and am open to any and all suggestions. First I was going to go with a bigger Becket or mazzei skimmer but I think the simplicity of a needle wheel recirculating skimmer fits me best. That way I can still run my 5' skimmer.
I don't have money restrictions but I am not paying 2000 for a 24" tall 12" body external. I will pay good money if there is something out there that can handle a big bioload and fit my measurements though.

Here are a few of my thoughts and needs...

-The space it is going in is only 17" wide so its hard to find anything larger than the average 12" chamber recirculating skimmer. Although I guess the 12" bodied skimmers would handle my tank with the other skimmer still running, I want room and want something that can handle more than I am running by far if possible.

-I like the RO skimmers but the neck size is really large. I would like something similar but can't find anything. The aquamaxx look awesome but I can't find any like it that are external.

-It seems once the skimmer body goes above 12" the price doubles. Which I would pay, but unfortunately the footprints double as well :(

-It can be up to 3' tall but I am not seeing any needle wheels that high. Even a mazzei skimmer like the small one rk2 put out would be great but I am not seeing anything, especially with wide bodies.


These are the only two I could find that would fit my bill...

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/super-reef-octopus-sro-6000ext-12-external-protein-skimmer.html

I like this one because it is smaller than my max 17" but its hard to believe I can feed it more water than the one with the bubble blaster and hard to believe it will handle more of a load.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-octopus-12-regal-300ext-recirculating-protein-skimmer.html


Anyone have any suggestions? Any skimmers out there that I am not seeing on my searches? Please help because I can't find ANY other options besides reef octopus.
 
I hope this doesn't travel to the bottom. I need something that can handle around 500+ gallons. Just name a company with an external that I could use which you have been happy with.
 
Out of all the reef octopus skimmers I would get one of the two I posted. I have already ran a srooxp5000 which was nice. I can't go smaller than a 12" body or else I wouldn't really be an upgrade :)

I am burned out from searching all the to skimmers and know the 6000 and the regal are the only two that will work. I need to make sure there are not other companies with better products before I spend 1000 on a skimmer.
 
Yea that's one of the ones I won't pay for. The ehiems are to expensive to replace and the impellers are to thin. Its a 10 inch chamber, what makes it almost 2000 dollars? If the chamber was bigger, like 12+ I could see it. Plus the bodies of thoes skimmers always hold so little foam. Some, almost more than half are clear water. That one says the feed through rate is 350gph? The reef octopus is 1200gph. I would imagine that would clean my water better. My buddy suggested rd because his biopellet reactor was built well though.
 
I'm surprised nobody asked how big your tank is what your stock looks like. After all that's pretty important when it comes to choosing a skimmer.

You're running a 5' Mezzei skimmer? Almost sounds like my old customized Top Fathom TF-500. That was 5'tall and 6" diameter. I switched out the two venturi's for Mezzei's. What a difference that made.
 
slief said:
I'm surprised nobody asked how big your tank is what your stock looks like. After all that's pretty important when it comes to choosing a skimmer.

You're running a 5' Mezzei skimmer? Almost sounds like my old customized Top Fathom TF-500. That was 5'tall and 6" diameter. I switched out the two venturi's for Mezzei's. What a difference that made.
Click to expand...

I know what size skimmer I need though, its not about figuring that out.
Yea I am running a lifereef with a skims 181 body on top which I mounted the lifereef cup and neck on top of. I love the mazzei, and if I could find a good one with an 8 or 10" body that is the same height I would consider just upgrading my lifereef mod.
 
Stick with R/O as it your best value for your money, and part or service is readily available if needed.
Skimz has had bad service in the past so I would not take a chance with them.
 
That is for the advice on skims!

I can actually use a skimmer with a bigger footprint if I put it in an awquard spot so I am going to keep searching. I need one desperately and do not want to make this purchase hastily and get junk.

The rlss 12"/external looks very nice. Smaller body but the neck size is good and air draw looks better with two dcs.
 
I am really thinking about going back to the SRO line. The sro6000ext will fit perfect. But the regal line had the wrong measurements on bulk reef. Ro says its .5" to big to squeeze in my space. :(

No one has any other options I can look at? I am burnt out.
 
I am doing the same search, except in a 10" version. Interested in your thoughts on the Bubble King Delux 300 external.
Since the euro has droped by almost 30%, you can buy one directly from overseas and pay $125 for DHL delivery. (not sure how much import tax would be). Subtract the VAT and your size would be around $2,000. Bubble King USA has not adjusted prices to rlflect decline in euro. I have a H&S that uses two Ehim pumps (8 years) and keep tearing up washers, impeller shafts, and impellers.
Thoughts?
 
Kshack said:
I am doing the same search, except in a 10" version. Interested in your thoughts on the Bubble King Delux 300 external.
Since the euro has droped by almost 30%, you can buy one directly from overseas and pay $125 for DHL delivery. (not sure how much import tax would be). Subtract the VAT and your size would be around $2,000. Bubble King USA has not adjusted prices to rlflect decline in euro. I have a H&S that uses two Ehim pumps (8 years) and keep tearing up washers, impeller shafts, and impellers.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I run a Bubble King Supermarin myself and had the BK made Alpha 300 prior. I've also helped many people with their Bubble Kings and am intimately familar with them. I've run almost every conceivable skimmer in the last 27 years. The BK's are are GREAT skimmers and hands down, one of my favorites but you need to pay close attention to the size rating. They are conservatively rated and have a very large neck diameter. If you don't have enough DOC's in your water or your tank is below their size rating, they will not perform consistently. They are load sensitive and must be sized properly. It's a skimmer that you absolutely don't want to oversize. If you size them properly, they are among the best when it comes to consistancy, lack of maintenance requirements, efficiency and skimmate production in experience.

As I said, I've run a lot of skimmers over the years on many different sized tanks. I've run becketts, Mezzei injected skimmers, venturi skimmers, down draft skimmers, Klase Skimmers, Reef Octopus, Euro Reef and many others. I always try to base my skimmer choices on tank and load size first then footprint. Different skimmers have different ways of generating foam and even when it comes to recirculating or needle wheel skimmers, they are not all created equal and in my opinion, you can't just go based on footprint. As such, I'd be reluctant to provide any advice based on footprint alone.
 
Last edited:
ksed said:
Stick with R/O as it your best value for your money, and part or service is readily available if needed.

Skimz has had bad service in the past so I would not take a chance with them.
Click to expand...


I haven't seen one bad review in Skimz protein skimmers. Furthermore, we don't have to deal with Skimz anymore, now that BRS is handling all the customers service and warranty issues for Skimz protein skimmers in the United States. I've heard nothing but good things about BRS as a leader in of great customer service in the industry. I trust BRS and I think you'll be hard pressed to find a lot of unhappy customers.

Piper27 said:
I am really thinking about going back to the SRO line. The sro6000ext will fit perfect. But the regal line had the wrong measurements on bulk reef. Ro says its .5" to big to squeeze in my space. :(



No one has any other options I can look at? I am burnt out.
Click to expand...


It sounds like you are set on RO because of your past experience. That's perfectly normal and fine. I have had a hard time letting go of AquaC. I've been using their skimmers for almost 13 years because of their simplicity, quality and the best customer service I've ever found anywhere. There are a number of good options out there. If you are looking for something different the best advice I can give is be open minded and as objective as possible. Try looking at off brands like Bashsea, ELOS, Seaside or Sealife. There are so many options out there and you have given this a lot of time and thought. It may be time to take a break and stop thinking of it for a few days. Do what your gut tells you it's a bug investment and this skimmer will be around for years.

P.S. Slief...when ever he has a post I listen carefully. It's hard to find guys with his kind of experience. He knowz what he is talking about. No joke. I trust him.
 
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