Chris Lakies
Active member
Have u looked at the vertex omega 150? I got one in and did 24 hours of vinegar and ro. Dont have it running in tank yet but looks promising.
Skimmer Q&A Thread
- Thread starter mojo~
- Start date
Have u looked at the vertex omega 150? I got one in and did 24 hours of vinegar and ro. Dont have it running in tank yet but looks promising.
Drae
RAIDER NATION!
Los Angeles craigslist has an ad for a LFS that says they have them in stock. Might want to check that out.
cvcoda
Member
This is probably going to be a stupid question but I have no experience with skimmers other than the small one that came with my AIO 27g setup.
I just received my CO-3 with the Sicce 3.0 and I plugged in to test it and make sure it started up (bc it looked like everything got pretty jostled up during shipping). When I plugged it in, it was very loud and ratchety. It was not in water when I tested it for two seconds max. Is this normal when these pumps are running dry to sound that way?
I just want to make sure there's nothing wrong with the pump as I won't be using the skimmer for awhile until I get moved.
I just received my CO-3 with the Sicce 3.0 and I plugged in to test it and make sure it started up (bc it looked like everything got pretty jostled up during shipping). When I plugged it in, it was very loud and ratchety. It was not in water when I tested it for two seconds max. Is this normal when these pumps are running dry to sound that way?
I just want to make sure there's nothing wrong with the pump as I won't be using the skimmer for awhile until I get moved.
ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
Most pumps need water to run properly.
Good evening! I have about 220g total water volume, with 3 stocked tanks that are fed all tied to one sump. I have a custom built GEO skimmer with a single beckett. I run it with an Iwaki MD-55RLT pump. It is 8" diameter and 18" tall.
I feed 3-4 times a day, and have 18 fish total, sps, lps, and softies. The beckett is a little touchy with stuff getting caught in it and I usually have more solid stuff in the neck than in the cup. If I adjust the level up to get it in the cup, when I clean it, it overflows and fills the cup and reservoir in a few moments.
I am trying to find out if this is the right skimmer for me. I love to over feed and keep my fish fat. I also plan to upgrade to close to 400g in a year or so.
If you were me, what would you do? I am debating getting something inexpensive that would be a better fit for the time being and then look towards something great later unless there is something I could do now for a versatile upgrade. No real budget, just interested in the best performance.
I just think it is strange that I don't see many people with the beckett skimmers
Here is a pic from when it was new.
I feed 3-4 times a day, and have 18 fish total, sps, lps, and softies. The beckett is a little touchy with stuff getting caught in it and I usually have more solid stuff in the neck than in the cup. If I adjust the level up to get it in the cup, when I clean it, it overflows and fills the cup and reservoir in a few moments.
I am trying to find out if this is the right skimmer for me. I love to over feed and keep my fish fat. I also plan to upgrade to close to 400g in a year or so.
If you were me, what would you do? I am debating getting something inexpensive that would be a better fit for the time being and then look towards something great later unless there is something I could do now for a versatile upgrade. No real budget, just interested in the best performance.
I just think it is strange that I don't see many people with the beckett skimmers
Here is a pic from when it was new.
bernie lyons
New member
beckett skimmers
beckett skimmers
The beckett skimmers are excellent skimmers especialy if you are feeding heavily.My opinion is that pinwheels do not do as good of a job compared to becketts ( I've owned several expensive pinwheels from germany and have compared them to becketts) ! If you want something less touchy but want to be able to handle the upgarde of a larger tank at some point , then I would seriously consider using a MTC hsa-1000 beckett skimmer, because it has an larger neck which allows for serious waste removal and is not sensitive to overflowing it's waste collector cup.
beckett skimmers
Good evening! I have about 220g total water volume, with 3 stocked tanks that are fed all tied to one sump. I have a custom built GEO skimmer with a single beckett. I run it with an Iwaki MD-55RLT pump. It is 8" diameter and 18" tall.
I feed 3-4 times a day, and have 18 fish total, sps, lps, and softies. The beckett is a little touchy with stuff getting caught in it and I usually have more solid stuff in the neck than in the cup. If I adjust the level up to get it in the cup, when I clean it, it overflows and fills the cup and reservoir in a few moments.
I am trying to find out if this is the right skimmer for me. I love to over feed and keep my fish fat. I also plan to upgrade to close to 400g in a year or so.
If you were me, what would you do? I am debating getting something inexpensive that would be a better fit for the time being and then look towards something great later unless there is something I could do now for a versatile upgrade. No real budget, just interested in the best performance.
I just think it is strange that I don't see many people with the beckett skimmers
The beckett skimmers are excellent skimmers especialy if you are feeding heavily.My opinion is that pinwheels do not do as good of a job compared to becketts ( I've owned several expensive pinwheels from germany and have compared them to becketts) ! If you want something less touchy but want to be able to handle the upgarde of a larger tank at some point , then I would seriously consider using a MTC hsa-1000 beckett skimmer, because it has an larger neck which allows for serious waste removal and is not sensitive to overflowing it's waste collector cup.
It is a great skimmer, but I figured more people would be posting about using the beckett if it was as good 
At $650 for the MTC-1000, it is the same I paid for this, and I feel better about it knowing you think its better than the needle wheel. Thanks for the response!
At $650 for the MTC-1000, it is the same I paid for this, and I feel better about it knowing you think its better than the needle wheel. Thanks for the response!
ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
Becketts require a lot more maintenance and pressure rated pumps. Those tiny snails and stars will drive you to drink.
bernie lyons
New member
maintenace
maintenace
Cleaning a beckett nozzle every now and then takes minutes no problem .But , replacing an impeller or more often than not replacing the pumps every couple of years on the pinwheel skimmers is big money out of pocket..no thank you !
maintenace
Cleaning a beckett nozzle every now and then takes minutes no problem .But , replacing an impeller or more often than not replacing the pumps every couple of years on the pinwheel skimmers is big money out of pocket..no thank you !
I'm with u. I used to have a pm xl3 Beckett. Best thing I ever did was get rid of it. It was great when there wasn't a snail or star stuck in it. This was a daily occurrence . My advice is to look for an appropriately sized pinwheel.
T
bernie lyons
New member
beckett
beckett
I've owned and sold becketts skimmers for over 13 years and to this day I've yet to have any pinwheel skimmer compare for performance . More over , I see many owners with pinwheel set up's complain about premature pump failure's especially pinwheel design's coming from china...explain this ??????
beckett
I've owned and sold becketts skimmers for over 13 years and to this day I've yet to have any pinwheel skimmer compare for performance . More over , I see many owners with pinwheel set up's complain about premature pump failure's especially pinwheel design's coming from china...explain this ??????
Pretty easy to explain, poor design, poor quality and poorly duped products. The trend towards lots of air, large necks and tiny reaction chambers usually ends up as poor performance. It isn't the needle wheel design, but the quality of the components and poor design.
I must say that when I owned the MTC HSA-1000 the beckett injector was always getting clogged with snails and those small asterina starfish. Particularly problematic in early incarnations of the skimmer where you could not easily access the injector (that was subsequently fixed). Never really understood why most/all beckett units are flow through though, as opposed to re-circulators. The MTC mazzei skimmers are recirculating skimmers, and I suspect will suffer far less from particulate clogs. I ended up buying one of these.
bernie lyons
New member
hsa becketts
hsa becketts
Love to see the pic's of your new mtc mazzei skimmer !!!
As you have pointed out the early version of the hsa beckett skimmers were not as user friendly as the current units which are very easy to work with and in fact skim alot better than the original design.
The reason for the flow through design is to skim the tanks water much more on a hourly basis thus skimming more organics out . The recirculating principle allows for more control over the amount of water being skimmed therefore allowing the user to tinker with the air/water ratio's a bit . Each has it's advantage's and it's up to the end user to determine what's best for them.
hsa becketts
Love to see the pic's of your new mtc mazzei skimmer !!!
As you have pointed out the early version of the hsa beckett skimmers were not as user friendly as the current units which are very easy to work with and in fact skim alot better than the original design.
The reason for the flow through design is to skim the tanks water much more on a hourly basis thus skimming more organics out . The recirculating principle allows for more control over the amount of water being skimmed therefore allowing the user to tinker with the air/water ratio's a bit . Each has it's advantage's and it's up to the end user to determine what's best for them.
stellarfly
New member
Hello Mojo (not sure of your real name, I apologize)
I am really new to this forum but I have been reading reef central posts for a long time now especially posts made by Jeremy (premium aquatics) and you. I am in the process of planning my dream tank build. I'm set on a 120 gallon mixed reef display with a 30-40 gallon sump. I have been reading skimmer reviews for a long time now and after debating countless hours, and sleepless nights I am finally ready to settle on the Bubble King line of skimmers. I know there are cheaper models and everyone keeps telling me there are cheaper models but I keep coming back to stellar reviews of BK skimmers. (You yourself gave the mini160 great reviews) Even after reading the ENTIRE bubble king skimmer club forum I am still stuck between two choices of BK skimmers. It's a tie between the Double cone 150 or the double cone 180! I have analyzed both specs of skimmers and I want the double cone 180 but I am scared that the skimmer might perform poorly due to the larger neck. My stocking selection right now is only medium but I do want some room to grow over time and I think the BK 150 might be a little under-powered. I have seen posts made by Jeremy saying that the 150 would rock on a 120g but I have read that the 180 would work as well. Please let me know your feelings about this dilemma, your professional opinion would matter a great deal to me. I really wanna pull the trigger on a bubble king and be happy for a long time!
PS: Double cone 150 = 6" body (3.1" neck) (350L)
Double cone 180 = 7" body (3.9" neck) (500L)
Always glad to read your posts! Keep up the great work that you do.
Stellarfly (Simon K.)
I am really new to this forum but I have been reading reef central posts for a long time now especially posts made by Jeremy (premium aquatics) and you. I am in the process of planning my dream tank build. I'm set on a 120 gallon mixed reef display with a 30-40 gallon sump. I have been reading skimmer reviews for a long time now and after debating countless hours, and sleepless nights I am finally ready to settle on the Bubble King line of skimmers. I know there are cheaper models and everyone keeps telling me there are cheaper models but I keep coming back to stellar reviews of BK skimmers. (You yourself gave the mini160 great reviews) Even after reading the ENTIRE bubble king skimmer club forum I am still stuck between two choices of BK skimmers. It's a tie between the Double cone 150 or the double cone 180! I have analyzed both specs of skimmers and I want the double cone 180 but I am scared that the skimmer might perform poorly due to the larger neck. My stocking selection right now is only medium but I do want some room to grow over time and I think the BK 150 might be a little under-powered. I have seen posts made by Jeremy saying that the 150 would rock on a 120g but I have read that the 180 would work as well. Please let me know your feelings about this dilemma, your professional opinion would matter a great deal to me. I really wanna pull the trigger on a bubble king and be happy for a long time!
PS: Double cone 150 = 6" body (3.1" neck) (350L)
Double cone 180 = 7" body (3.9" neck) (500L)
Always glad to read your posts! Keep up the great work that you do.
Stellarfly (Simon K.)
ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
If you plan to carbon dose or run a high bioload, go with the Cone 180.
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