Vertex Alpha 170 vs Mini Bubble King 180

[Rodrigo_BG]

As far as sump room is in concern witch one of these 2 skimmers needs less room?

Alpha 170:
Footprint: 12.5" x 7.75

Mini Bubble King 180
Footprint: 12" x 11

the doubt is that I don't know if they included the pump size on Alpha 170 footprint.


Talking about performance, witch one is best?

 

[Jeremy B.]

The 170 is not including the pump, so the Mini 180 is going to be much smaller in the footprint. What size area is this going into, and how big is the tank?

 

[Rodrigo_BG]

Hi Jeremy, it'll be a 45g tank + sump, it's kind of a nano tank but I'm looking fo a good skimmer due to my sps goals.

Sump will be 22" x 16" x 20".

Inside the sump I'll need to fit the skimmer, a return pump and the chiller/carbon reactor pump.

What is Alpha 170 footprint plus pump? total sump room needed

 

[mojo~]

both of those skimmers are way to big for a 45g plus sump. heck even the bk mini 160 would be the one you want if you truly wanted a bk skimmer. I am 100% + Jeremy will agree with me on this one. The alpha 170 and the bk mini 180 are simply too large for a 45g tank.

 

[Jeremy B.]

I agree completely. If you want a Bubble King, go with the Mini 160, that would be by far the best fit for you. An Alpha 170 wouldn't do much at all on that size system, even with the heaviest load possible.

 

[Rodrigo_BG]

thank you guys, so I'll pick the BK 160. Do you guys suggest any other good skimmer for my system? I really want the best skimmer my system can handle.

 

[Jeremy B.]

I think you will be very happy with the Mini 160!

 

[mojo~]

The mini 160 is one of my favorites as well.

Mojo~

 

[Rodrigo_BG]

Hi, what's the correct watter level for the Mini 160?

 

[Jeremy B.]

You can run the Mini 160 anywhere from 7" - 9", although 7.5" - 8" is preferable from when I ran mine.