Skimmer Upgrade

chatyak

chatyak

New member
I currently have a lifereef svs-24 on a 125 gallon tank.

I am thinking of getting a Royal Exclusiv Bubble King 200 internal to put in my new 90 gallon sump.

Is it worth $1600?? I am currently battle algae issues as well and I feel I should be getting a lot of skimmate.

I have:

1 kole tang
2 false perculas
1 mandarin (that eats frozen food too :))
crabs, shrimp, etc..

20ish frags for coral.

Thank You
 
It's a nice skimmer:D

Worth 1600??? Dunno I would spend my money elsewhere... but if $ was no option, I would definitely get one!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14458578#post14458578 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hop
It's a nice skimmer:D

Worth 1600??? Dunno I would spend my money elsewhere... but if $ was no option, I would definitely get one!
Click to expand...

Hop -

What would you recommend as the next in line under the bubble king?

Regards,
 
Next in line? Wow... I'm not sure... I really think it starts to open the field at this point. there are a lot of nice skimmers in the $1000 range.

But I'm running a msx250 and love it. I would love one of the MSX cones with the Askoll pumps. I'll be adding an askoll to my msx here soon (I hope).
 
This question was just torn apart in the forum of equipment and lighting. There is a 2 page thread on this in that forum. 40 some people responded to this debate. I don't know how to link the thread here for you. If someone tells me how I will do it for you, if not, it is under Zeus2 (The battle of the skimmers)This thread is about 5 days old now, so it'll be farther back in the pages. Good luck with the skimmer.
 
Bk 200 would be nice for your tank. Have you looked into ATB Cones? I would recommend a ATB Small or ATB Medium for your tank size. They are cheaper than the BK and perform just as good maybe better, depends on who you talk to.

R.W.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14459006#post14459006 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hop
Next in line? Wow... I'm not sure... I really think it starts to open the field at this point. there are a lot of nice skimmers in the $1000 range.

But I'm running a msx250 and love it. I would love one of the MSX cones with the Askoll pumps. I'll be adding an askoll to my msx here soon (I hope).
Click to expand...

I'm on the MSX site now and I'm trying to see what the major difference is between the cone and the 250 (other than shape)... does the cone help to move more water into the collection cup?

I'm sumpless at the moment because I'm making a new one and I dont want to order glass baffles until I have my new skimmer :D

Could I run two skimmers? I could "funnel" the water with baffles to force it to pass the skimmer pumps in a more targeted area and run both skimmers at once.
 
You could run two skimmers.
I was just going through the exact same thing you are with which skimmer to buy. I was torn between BK 180, ATB Small, ATB Econo 840, and Warner Marine K2. I decided to go with ATB small because it comes completely apart for cleaning where the Econo 840 did not. Warner Marine K2 is a new line so I wasn't sure about the actual performance. BK180 would be very nice also. It all depends on what you are willing to spend and what exactly are you looking for in a skimmer.
My main concerns with this purchase was:
Noise Level, MUST be VERY quiet
Good quality
Excellent customer service
Perform well
Easy to clean

R.W.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14459148#post14459148 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by R.W.
You could run two skimmers.
I was just going through the exact same thing you are with which skimmer to buy. I was torn between BK 180, ATB Small, ATB Econo 840, and Warner Marine K2. I decided to go with ATB small because it comes completely apart for cleaning where the Econo 840 did not. Warner Marine is a new line so I wasn't sure about the actual performance. BK180 would be very nice also. It all depends on what you are willing to spend and what exactly are you looking for in a skimmer.
My main concerns with this purchase was:
Noise Level, MUST be VERY quiet
Good quality
Excellent customer service
Perform well
Easy to clean

R.W.
Click to expand...

Those are good points R.W. Without writing a novel... you can see the issues I am having by seeing my thread here...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1577762


So I am making a new 90 gallon sump to replace my old 55 and my primary objective is high quality skimming, low noise, easy to clean and not constantly "fiddling" with tiny parts, good service, and of course... lots of skimmate... I don't think it was pulling out as much as it should have been (lifereef).
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14459148#post14459148 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by R.W.
You could run two skimmers.
I was just going through the exact same thing you are with which skimmer to buy. I was torn between BK 180, ATB Small, ATB Econo 840, and Warner Marine K2. I decided to go with ATB small because it comes completely apart for cleaning where the Econo 840 did not. Warner Marine K2 is a new line so I wasn't sure about the actual performance. BK180 would be very nice also. It all depends on what you are willing to spend and what exactly are you looking for in a skimmer.
My main concerns with this purchase was:
Noise Level, MUST be VERY quiet
Good quality
Excellent customer service
Perform well
Easy to clean

R.W.
Click to expand...

Do you have a link to the ATB small? What does ATB stand for?
 
MSX 250, I looked at those too. To me they didn't seem as quiet as the bk or atb which was my number 1 attribute that needed to come with my skimmer.
 
But getting an ATB Small cone into Canada you will be paying about the same as buying a BK 180 or BK200. I also wanted to try the new cone design, which is why I chose ATB.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14459931#post14459931 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by R.W.
But getting an ATB Small cone into Canada you will be paying about the same as buying a BK 180 or BK200. I also wanted to try the new cone design, which is why I chose ATB.
Click to expand...

Well noise isn't an issue... my equipment is in a fish room and I run a dehimudifier so that's louder than anything :D

I can't find a good website that sells the MSX in Canada... I don't want to pay import fees :mad:
 
MSX250 is what I have and I love it. I was in the same boat as you with the life reef...and wanted better. The MSX250 was 379 shipped, really take a look at them
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14460039#post14460039 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by roadracn
MSX250 is what I have and I love it. I was in the same boat as you with the life reef...and wanted better. The MSX250 was 379 shipped, really take a look at them
Click to expand...

Hi Rod.

Do you have comparisons between the two?
 
What about the Vertex series? I see those are listed on a site here in Canada to save on shipping.. are they reasonable? Never heard of them.
 
well I got pointed to them after I complained to a fellow reefer about the current LR skimmer that I had similar if not the same model as yours. He pointed me to this thread,

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1534954&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

After doing the research, I found that bang for the buck, it was by far the best skimmer on the market. I went with a larger one for my tank because I know my bio load is huge. I went with the 250. Do the research and see which on you would like. The 200 is probably ample for your tank, but there wasn't much size difference and that's why I went larger. As far as differences go there were many. On the LR I constantly had to mess with the setting on it (I later found out that I didn't have the sump configured correctly) but it still didnt seem to generate that much skimmate, and I didnt think that was good. I got the monster, and finally got it all set up. the 250 runs 2 small pumps and so far its been great. I am pulling more out in a day than the other did in a month. Its more economical to run than the mag 9 I had on the other skimmer, and a lot quieter. The lr was puling 6-7 scfh of air through the cylander, and the msx pulls 33-38 scfh of air through each pump...basically 10x the air that the other pulled. Its easy to tweak, clean, assemble and disassemble. The cup only requires 1/2" to remove, and it appears to be built with real quality. Read the thread I listed and I bet you are a believer. The cones are nice also, but more than you would need on a 125...a lot more than you would need. Octopus skimmers are also the same thing as the mSX, the story goes that the MSX guy got caught in Hurricane Katrina and didn't get back to China in time so they sold the design to Octopus. same skimmer same pumps, but the MSX pin wheels are better than the octopus ones. They also come with a mesh wheel to mod, but i have not yet messed with it. i basically want a plug and play skimmer and I got one.
 
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