Which skimmer is best?

artilespm

artilespm

New member
I'm in the middle of designing my new reef upgrade. It's going to be between 180 - 240 gallon mixed reef. I'm looking for a top of the line skimmer. I used the Aqua C EV 120 skimmer for about 2 years and was very happy with the results, hence, I was ready to settle with upgrading to the 240 or 400 for my next set up. I would like to acheive skimming at about 75 - 100% above where I should be, in case I decide to upgrade again. :) Lol. As all of you know, this hobby will drive you crazy with the purchases you make on an item only to turn around and replace that item with another. This time I want to do things right, or close to it. I want to know what your experiences are or have been with the following skimmers:

Deltic (AP-701) Beast from what I've heard
Euroreef Series skimmers (which model and why?)
H&S (which model and why?)
Any other brands/models you have experience with.

Please note that I plan to have another at least 100 or so gallons of water via a sump/refugium tank combination depending on the size of my show tank.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Peter
 
The deltec is a nice skimmer, but if money is even a slight constraint, its about the poorest cost/performance choice out there.

You could get a much larger ASM/Euroreef/Reef Octopus/etc for much less money, and generally with skimmers, the bigger the better.
 
get the biggest you can afford. I have used

Seaclone = JUNK
Coralife = Almost junk
Aqua C = Works good, Not geat
ASM = Works Great

Anuthing on your list should rock
 
In or out of sump? Does heat input matter? Space constraints? Noise issues?

The most skimmer in the smallest package but at the most insane price would be a bubble king. Simply cannot be beat in terms of electrical consumption, noise and performance for the package size. However, certainly in no way shape or form "budget".

As for the rest of the needlewheels, for entry level budgets, certainly the PCI models are hard to beat. They are definitely good bang for the buck, but there is definitely better out there--and yes I speak from experience.

For a more...shall we say polished and optimized unit the AP701 is a BEAST, but partially b/c the eheim frankly is almost too much pump for the body of the unit. For reference I used an AP702 for my 180 which was obviously major overskimming, but man o man did that thing perform. H&S has comparable size units that are probably a bit cheaper.

If you're not so space constrained and can use a large external pressure rated pump, think beckett. They aren't "effecient", but certainly are hard to beat in terms of raw air injection.

The other option on the horizon are some new units that Tunze is introducing. Not much known about 'em except that they are different than their current DOC lineup and more needlewheelike in design. The DOCs are also good performers but kinda weird IME. They produce skimmate for sure, but don't bowl you over with foam. Kinda strange, but they work.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7711099#post7711099 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moonpod
In or out of sump? Does heat input matter? Space constraints? Noise issues?

The most skimmer in the smallest package but at the most insane price would be a bubble king. Simply cannot be beat in terms of electrical consumption, noise and performance for the package size. However, certainly in no way shape or form "budget".

As for the rest of the needlewheels, for entry level budgets, certainly the PCI models are hard to beat. They are definitely good bang for the buck, but there is definitely better out there--and yes I speak from experience.

For a more...shall we say polished and optimized unit the AP701 is a BEAST, but partially b/c the eheim frankly is almost too much pump for the body of the unit. For reference I used an AP702 for my 180 which was obviously major overskimming, but man o man did that thing perform. H&S has comparable size units that are probably a bit cheaper.

If you're not so space constrained and can use a large external pressure rated pump, think beckett. They aren't "effecient", but certainly are hard to beat in terms of raw air injection.

The other option on the horizon are some new units that Tunze is introducing. Not much known about 'em except that they are different than their current DOC lineup and more needlewheelike in design. The DOCs are also good performers but kinda weird IME. They produce skimmate for sure, but don't bowl you over with foam. Kinda strange, but they work.
Click to expand...
Moonpod, in regards to the PCI skimmers. There is definitely a lot of positive feedback on them, and they look like a great skimmer for the price. I'm currently running an AP600 on a 90G with a 40G sump. I'm in the planning stages of an upgrade to a larger setup, maybe a 120 or 150G with a basement fish room (large sump) and room for a big skimmer. Where would you rate the AP600 in the current lineup of PCI skimmers? As much as I would love a 701 or 851, that would really hurt the budget. I was thinking of the biggest PCI model.
 
I have no experience with the smaller Deltec units. I think it was a PCI 150 recirc that I used on my office tank which was....ok. I hesitate to say, "this=that" b/c there are always tradeoffs. The only units which are almost directly comparable are the H&S and Deltec units which are very, very close in size and use similar pumps.
 
I highly recommend the Deltec. I just upgraded from an AP 600 to an AP 701 and I love it! If you have the money get a Deltec. With Deltec you can't go wrong.
 
Thanks to all for your input. I tend to be leaning toward the Deltec Line. Either an APF600 or AP701. 143gadgets, where did you purchase your AP701? I checked the Deltec web-site in the where to buy section, but most of those retailers are Aquarium Design companies. Please let me know. BTW, nice photography. How did you figure out the white balance? I'm new to digital and I'm still trying to work out the kinks. I have a Canon 1Ds and previously had a Canon 1V.

Thanks,

Peter
 
The bigger deltecs are great.

The issue with the smaller ones, is you can buy something like a PCI NW200 (8" body), buy an H&S eheim NW, and have a MUCH superior skimmer to an AP600 for $150 less.
 
First, I will say have you looked at ASM's skimmers...if you even think about going Euro reef...go with Asm instead...almost same design and cheaper. So i would rule out the Euroreef due to this. If you have the money look at the Deltecs for sure....dont have experience myself with them but if everyone that i have heard on here uses them likes them so I can argue with that.There are also some Bumps with HandS, but know nothing about them.

I will put a plug in for ASM as for the money I dont think they can be beat...but of course if money is no object then well enough said...
 
First, I will say have you looked at ASM's skimmers...if you even think about going Euro reef...go with Asm instead...almost same design and cheaper. So i would rule out the Euroreef due to this. If you have the money look at the Deltecs for sure....dont have experience myself with them but if everyone that i have heard on here uses them likes them so I can argue with that.There are also some Bumps with HandS, but know nothing about them.

I will put a plug in for ASM as for the money I dont think they can be beat...but of course if money is no object then well enough said...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7715406#post7715406 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
The bigger deltecs are great.

The issue with the smaller ones, is you can buy something like a PCI NW200 (8" body), buy an H&S eheim NW, and have a MUCH superior skimmer to an AP600 for $150 less.
Click to expand...

Can you buy union fittings for the Ehiem that will fit the RO? If so, what are the size and can I have a link to the site. Also, are the unions that secure the pump to the skimmer body metric?

And one more question, what is the air draw in LPH on the stock pumps for the 110,150 and 200 RO?

Thanks.

Jim
 
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