Need some advice...Bubble King or ATB?

SchnitzelReef

SchnitzelReef

Active member
Looking to get a new skimmer. I have the money for either a bubble king double cone 250 with the DC pump, or an ATB 1050 with the Askoll motor. My tank is 250g, gunna be an SPS dom tank.

I'm not just looking for the best of the best, I'm also looking for best bang for my buck, and that's why I'm looking at ATB. I've heard great things about the ATB, and I can get an ATB 1050 with an Askoll pump for a pretty good price, about $500 less then the bubble king. I feel like this skimmer might be money well spent, and leave me some extra cash to spend on corals or whatever else I may need. I also like the fact that IF/WHEN the pump goes out, I just find a good deal on a Laguna pump and switch the motor blocks.

ORRRR

I go with the more expensive bubble king double cone 250. I know bubble king is the best of the best, and I know they use only the thickest and best materials. Etc etc. BUT what I want to know, is the extra money really worth it?? Is my tank really gunna see a BIG improvement if I go with the BK? One of the things that worries me is the DC pump is pricey if/when it goes out. Also the DC pumps haven't been out all that long. Are they really as reliable as the proven Askoll motors???


Also worried about BK customer service. Heard some horror stories. ATB has a new US rep, and he's based out of southern California which is where I live...so that's a big plus.


Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks guys
 
Bubble Magus. Great skimmer as far as efficiency! Save your money and put it into the lights or animals. When the Bubble Magus finally dies, you could buy 3 more and still be ahead vs. a Bubble king!!!!
Any of those Euro skimmers are WAYYYY over prices. Your paying a ton of Euro taxes and exchange rates. Not worth it at all in my opinion!
You want better build quality??? Reef Dynamics is good and built here. However, no more efficient in my opinion.
 
Personally I'd go with the ATB. Bubble Magus is not even in the same playing field as either of the skimmers that you mentioned, but you would save a ton of $$$$
 
I found myself in the same position but did not want to spend such a large amount of money. I found the SWC230 extreme that had the very same pump I wanted, the Askoll 1500. I was certain I wanted this Laguna body pump that is the basically the same as the Red Dragon that runs the BK. A fellow sells them (SWC230) on ebay for 450-475. It cranks out coffee colored skim and I have to literally look at it to know it is running because it is so silent. I am sold on these Askoll 1500 pumps. It took a little time to fully break in, and now it is on cruise control. Cheers and good luck in your search.
 
Not a fan of bubble magus. I've had 2 different types of BM skimmers, and they were good, but not great. I want something that I don't ever have to worry about, and I had issues with both of my BM skimmer pumps.

Let's keep it between ATB and Bubble King
 
I have owned both, I had a ATB Elegance 200 which was a really nice skimmer, it pulled great skim and when I sold it I got almost what I paid for it 2yrs later. I purchased a Bubble King Double Cone 200 to replace it, I was really blown away with the attention to detail even down to the box that it came in. The real reason I decided to switch was I wanted to go DC power and now that I have I am happy I did. The unit is completely silent and very easy to adjust dry or wet skim. Both units worked very well at pulling skim, the biggest points the BK gets is.....super easy to clean, adjust, and quality. The ATB strong points are pulls fantastic skim and good quality, it is harder to clean and not as easy to adjust. Good luck with your decision hope this helps.

P.S. I have never needed parts or service on either unit so I can't really chime in regarding that, however I do know that BK is partnering with Premium Aquatics here in the US and I have received excellent service from them. I also heard ATB lost it US distributor but I can't confirm.
 
That was my experience also, trying to get the ATB. It was not available because of the distributorship issue. I had limited my choices to the units with the Askoll.
 
Boa1277 said:
I have owned both, I had a ATB Elegance 200 which was a really nice skimmer, it pulled great skim and when I sold it I got almost what I paid for it 2yrs later. I purchased a Bubble King Double Cone 200 to replace it, I was really blown away with the attention to detail even down to the box that it came in. The real reason I decided to switch was I wanted to go DC power and now that I have I am happy I did. The unit is completely silent and very easy to adjust dry or wet skim. Both units worked very well at pulling skim, the biggest points the BK gets is.....super easy to clean, adjust, and quality. The ATB strong points are pulls fantastic skim and good quality, it is harder to clean and not as easy to adjust. Good luck with your decision hope this helps.

P.S. I have never needed parts or service on either unit so I can't really chime in regarding that, however I do know that BK is partnering with Premium Aquatics here in the US and I have received excellent service from them. I also heard ATB lost it US distributor but I can't confirm.
Click to expand...


Appreciate u taking the time to respond, so the question is, is the double cone worth $500 more? Let's forget about quality and customer service, what about the amount and quality of foam? Worth it?

Thanks!

And the new US reps name is Chad. A few of my friends just met him at a So Cal Reef Show last weekend. Sounds like ATB is here to stay.
 
I will be running an ATB on my new set up. It was awesome testing it. I can't speak to what the bubbleking produces
 
SchnitzelReef said:
Also worried about BK customer service. Heard some horror stories. ATB has a new US rep, and he's based out of southern California which is where I live...so that's a big plus.
Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks guys
Click to expand...

Hello schnitzelreef

.. thats exactly the reasons, why Royal-Exclusive come to USA with a own warehouse next month. We make the customerservice now himself include hand by hand, with our best Dealers in USA, Premium Aquatics and anouther good shops.

In the Future, we have all products and spareparts on stock...

About the Question, is it worth the Money, ... i can not speak about ATB, what i can say, the RD3 Speedy Pump is a german made, speedadjustable DC-Pump and this Pump is very popular here in europe.

Here a double Cone 200 with RD3 Pumps in a customertank, 2 weeks after starting....



Hope it helps...

best regards... Klaus
 
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I doubt if you get better customer service than w/ Chad at ATB. Yes they are open for business and skimmers are incredible and well worth the cost. If you have any issues, it's pretty much handled within 2-3 days turnaround. He doesn't play around and does what he says. Good luck.
 
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