Rate These Skimmers

MJD 1

New member
Put the following skimmers in order from best to worst:

ASM G-3

Euroreef CS 135

Trigger Systems TS 150

Bermuda Aquatics BPS 3C


Let the debate begin!

MJD
 
if it was my money i bould build something ... but if i had to buy something i would say the asm g3
 
The likelyhood of someone actually owning all 4 to give a non partisan vote is going to be rare.

Human nature is to vote for the one you own to help justify your purchase.

So no debate here either.
 
I agree with Nanook, who just so happens to agree with David, who in turn agrees with ridetheducati...:)
 
Awww come on guys if you were gonna buy one which would it be?

Partisan or not. I have heard very good things about Trigger Systems.

A euroreef is a Euroreef so that explains itself.

ASM always has the good fanclub and the bad fan club and it seems best when modded which is what i dont want to do.

And I no nothing about the Bermuda.

SO if Youuuuu had to choose which would it be...


MJD
 
Sounds like you already made up your mind then:D

If I was choosing, I would choose none of those skimmers.

:)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8850648#post8850648 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanook
Sounds like you already made up your mind then:D



I wish I made up my mind,:(

Anyone else?

MJD
 
A lot of the decision depends on the size of your tank, the bioload of the tank, your budget and future plans to upgrade.

Comparing ABC NW skimmer to XYZ NW skimmer is tough to do because most people only have one or the other. You can say, "I have "x" amount of gallons and want a skimmer that will handle a normal bioload for "x" amount of gallons". Then, we can give you some pointers.

However, in the real world, not many of us have tried 3 or 4 similar but different brand skimmers. A lot of people have probably used NW's and Beckett's, you can find a gazillion threads on that topic. Also, there are a lot of people that like to say their brand of skimmer is better than someone elses brand...those types of threads are 99.9% of the time pointless.

The key to choosing is to get the most bang for your buck from a reputable company that will stand behind the skimmer for both parts and customer service. Going too cheap is usually a mistake and unless you are a wealthy man, going too expensive is just out of the question. That leaves you with middle of the road skimmers...there are several companies out there that build decent skimmers. Choose a brand and research it thoroughly, see what the good aspects and bad aspects are, then look at the next brand and research it thoroughly.

You should be able to knock it down to just a couple by just doing some serious reading. It would help to see them in person if there is anyone in your area using something similar. It is your hard-earned money, so take the time to research it right instead of looking for a quick fix like you did with this thread saying rate these four skimmers now:D
 
Nanook,

I APPLAUD YOU. Well spoken or should I say written.

Please do me a favor and cut/paste your response and make it a sticky. Anyone dreaming or thinking about a skimmer should read your response. There are countless skimmer threads that can be resolved with just one response.
 
In our shop, we run just about every type of skimmer:
We have four ETSS 1000 powered by Pan World 250 (big pump)
1 custom built 5 foot tall beckett driven powered by a Pan World 250 (big pump)
ETSS 500 powered by a Mag 7 (small pump)
ASM G4 Plus powered by a Sedra 9000 (small pump)
Octopus Recirc 2000 powered by a OTP-3000 and a Mag 7 (both small pumps)
Octopus NW200 powered by a OTP-3000 (small pump)
CSS 220 powered by something small, can not remember the pump
Octopus Shredder powered by a OTP-3000 (small pump)

After using all of these, my *preference* is a needlewheel driven skimmer. They seem to be easier to tune and generally require less fiddling to keep them dialed in.

A couple of other things to consider is your total water volume and more importantly, your bio load. You might have a 300 gallon tank with a light bio load that would require a smaller skimmer than a 180 with a heavy bio load.

If you get a chance, there is a very good thread in Calfo's old forum on here discussing skimmers. This is a long thread, but worth the read.

While I have not used all of the skimmers you have listed, I suspect that they will all get the job done if they are sized for your system.

Happy skimming...
 
Thank you for all the feedback, but i still havent sorted out a clean answer.

I want a 120 gallon medium stocked with a 40 gallon sump.
Say you are the owner of a LFS, and you want to recommend me a skimmer, based on your experiences what would you reccommend and why.

MJD
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8855461#post8855461 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MJD 1
Thank you for all the feedback, but i still havent sorted out a clean answer.

I want a 120 gallon medium stocked with a 40 gallon sump.
Say you are the owner of a LFS, and you want to recommend me a skimmer, based on your experiences what would you reccommend and why.

MJD

I would look at some sort of a needlewheel skimmer. A skimmer with a ~8 inch chamber. I am not a sponsor here, so it would not be good for me to recommend the products I sell. There are several good options in the needlewheel market. I am sure that if you were to read through any of the "group" threads on here they will all tell you they like their skimmer.
 
Back
Top