orca skimmers

I just got a recirc. built by him.(glue drying for return plumbing)
These are built like tanks, much thicker than say an octopus, don't know how nice or thick or what type of acrylic is used on the A.E.'s.

They use true unions and a zero clearance cup on a union. Coned neck riser as well flanged with nylon bolts.

He will do any mods you want him to do as well and his speciality is cutom built.

It' ll be running tomorrow so I will be posting an initial thread on first thoughts. I've used many skimmers before, many...but this is the nicest. We'll see how it performs. :)
 
While I am sure it is better built, the ORCA units look like high quality skimmers, I doubt it could come near the efficiency of the classic 400, it is just too big and has three pumps.
 
How would you know that? Bigger doesn't mean better ;)
The pumps and set-up have more to do with recirc. nw's.
Not saying the A.E. is or isn't more efficient....but at what cost? Does it skim as well? Because that's ALL that 'really' matters. 20-40 watts will not even be noticed on most set-ups.
Also, I'm running external and have four legged pets and drunk friends on weekends around and it would take a deliberate kick from a person to break this which gives me 'peace of mind'.
Not to mention, who's going to use a 10" skimmer body on <100g?

That said, I know only a little bit about thew A.E.'s and haven't even fired this bad bot up yet. And how much is a A.E. 400 shipped? Now how about already mesh-modded and sent with extra fittings to play around with if so desired?


Skwirl...you can't go wrong either way....but call him(orca) and ask what he can do for ya ;) Those couple skimmers on his site are basically ones people order then don't end up getting. Mostly he's custom.
 
Foot in Mouth :(

I'm sorry...just realized he was comparing a standard single nw to the AE400 classic. That skimmer you have linked probably will not skim as well as a AE400. It will be smaller though, so depends on what size sytem it's for. But you should e-mail them and hear some prices for different set-ups.
 
i have a 155bowfront, with 2 sumps. all together there is about 180-200gal water vol. it is fowlr, but may be reef in a year. i dont want to change skimmers if i go reef. i want to be able to keep sps if desired. at the moment i have a rather light bioload, but i like to push things, so i doubt it will be that way for long. i dont have room as of yet for the ae400, but can make room in the weeks time it takes for any skimmer to get here, so i dont mind the size at all. i already have a euroreef cs8-2 on the way, but i dont think it will be strong enough to run my tank. my last skimmer was an mrc mr2 which skimmed like a madman, but was louder than i liked, and i like the "set it and forget it" quality about the nw skimmers. i could spend $350 on a skimmer, but not more than that. what are my options? is there anything that will outperform the ae400 in that price range?
 
EAGLES
I know I get frustrated too because it is so hard to acurately quantify which skimmer is better than another. From what I can tell (never saw one) the ORCAS are great, and very well built, but if you have cash constraints you could get an octopus or aquaeuro, hell you could mod an odyssea or via-aqua200, and get something that skims as good for a lot less cash, but at the cost of build quality, ease of use, your own personal time etc. Right now it is probably hard to beat the euroaqua on a cost/performance basis, unless you want to seriously mod a really cheap unit. In fact the best cost/perforamance basis is most likely a DIY unit, if you have the skills and patience to build it:)
 
For 200g, they would make something larger than that, i think.
Like a double aquabee or such.
That is the size mine is(~75 total gallons), but recirc. that is meshmodded, bore out venturi and pump output and 1.5" gate valve on the output, unlike pictured, being gravity fed from overflow T'd.

Mine will be running tomorrow if you can wait a couple days I can give you a solid review.

how much are the A.E.400's shipped?
 
kodyboy...I agree, but it looks nice as well as being built better which on an external skimmer is pretty important along with the peace of mind. As for in-sump...I completely agree with you.

But the cost of a lesser built Octo or AE shipped and then modded is probably not much less, no?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9617277#post9617277 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kodyboy
my ability to write run on sentances knows no bounds........
Click to expand...

same here, lol, but you're a teacher:smokin:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9617283#post9617283 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E-A-G-L-E-S
.

how much are the A.E.400's shipped?
Click to expand...

it will be 278 shipped to my door. what about the euroreef cs8-2? its nowhere near it huh?
 
I may be a teacher, but of biology not English:)
Modded they may or may not be anywhere near the cost. Mesh modding an aquaeuro classic 400 would probably cost $5 and take 10 minutes, but allow it to blow away most 8 inch diameter/24 inch tall units if not larger. Even in stock it proably is better than most units if not all in the $280-290 range....shipped!
As an external I totaly agree on the aestheitics, is that not what an aquarium is for in the first place!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9617525#post9617525 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E-A-G-L-E-S
what pump does the cs8-2 use? what's the dimensions on that skimmer?
Click to expand...

Pump is is a sedra kds5000 and it is 24"tall with a 8" diameter reaction chamber. i dont care at all about effecient use of wattage. i just want it to skim like crazy. i really want something that will come close to the mr2, but with no beckett. i just want a cup full of dark nastiness.
 
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