Best protein skimmers for 2022-2023

[DanyL]

I would suggest to take a look at A&C skimmers.
I have one and so far it's the best I've used, with a more reasonable price than you would find anywhere else.

It's a handmade skimmer made in Ukranian by someone that being doing this for 20 years.
The new models he developed are made partially with 3D printed parts with novel designs, with models that can only be produced using additive production processes.

Many reefers both in Ukraine and Russia (before the war) have switched to using it and sold their pricy Bubble kings, because they found it to perform better.

You may want to read Jake Adams review on these skimmers, they are more powerful than you think, easy to maintain, and cheap even compared to the most basic and generic skimmers you'll find around.

Few people contacted me in private to ask how they can purchase one of these, so I figured I'll leave the details here where everybody could find.

Basically, you can either place an order within the official site or contact Alexander directly through WhatsApp, using the phone number listed at the bottom.

He mostly speaks/writes in Russian/Ukranian, but he can also communicate in English using Google Translate.
He's an expert, and will help you tailor the exact required skimmer according to the description of the target system.
And yes, he does ship worldwide, even right now during the war - the only [very obvious] exception is he would not ship to Russia or Belarus. Also from my experience, shipping fees are a lot lower than from other countries.

Here is the official site:
https://reefma.com.ua

These are insanely good and well built skimmers, I highly recommend them.

 

[Viva'sReef]

on sale!

Ultra Reef AKULA UKS-200 DC Pump Conversion Kit

Ultra Reef AKULA UKS-200 DC Pump Protein Skimmer Conversion Kit

www.aquariumspecialty.com

hmm, thank you for the link. Not really sure it's worth it unless I need to pull more air for a CO2 scrubber.
Any advantage I'm not thinking of? My Hydros handles the delayed startup so that's a non-issue as well.

If the regular AC pump dies (It's a Sicce so it should be a good long while) I'd consider it I suppose. It's just more wires at the end of the day and the Sicce PSK 600+ is only 22w.

 

[spsick]

hmm, thank you for the link. Not really sure it's worth it unless I need to pull more air for a CO2 scrubber.
Any advantage I'm not thinking of? My Hydros handles the delayed startup so that's a non-issue as well.

If the regular AC pump dies (It's a Sicce so it should be a good long while) I'd consider it I suppose. It's just more wires at the end of the day and the Sicce PSK 600+ is only 22w.

Youre absolutely right that AC is more simple and reliable. I got
it just for the sake of quiet and as you said wanting a little more power to pull air from outside. It also has a larger pinwheel so maybe finer bubbles? The app has a nice feature of bring able to set a low speed delay after restart which I guess could be nice for feeding etc but I found the app to be buggy.

 

[West1]

Been running a redsea rsk 600 on my 525xl for 3yrs… biggest complaint is how loud the air intake is. If I could do it again, I would have gone with the Deltec 600 or 1000. Actually considering it.

 

[Bruttall]

300g DT, Eshopps AF300 Fuge sump with Eshopps S300 Gen 4 skimmer, works amazing. I had to reduce my return pump down to 55% to stop the micro bubbles from being pushed into my tank, Sump only rated for 2000gph flow, Vectra L1 pushes 3100gph at max.

I did have to seal the base of this skimmers clear cone to the blue bottom with silicone to make it pump correctly.

 

[Rmckoy]

My reef creations ( mrc )
External skimmer

Works like a beast and easy to set up

 

[Rmckoy]

Any Reef octopus external skimmers recirculating a must for large tank and heavy bio load.

The only issue I had with the reef octopus was if something leaks the odd size plumbing fittings and parts are impossible to Find in Canada and why I went to mrc mr2
I first hooked it up with the recommended mag18 pump which was not enough
So went with a jeabo dc9000

This skimmer is a beast and with only one single
Beckett it’s rated for over 300 gal
Adding an additional Beckett doubles it’s capacity

 

[UtahReefer]

I've been reefing since I was about 16 years old. I just turned 60 (crap!). I have had many skimmers over the years from Bubble King, Reef Octo, and several others. They did their jobs, but by far the best skimmer from performance and a build point I have ever had is my current skimmer. It's an Ultra Reef Akula class DC. The thing just never stops skimming, and it's easy to clean and built way better than the Bubble King's I have used in the past. Worth every penny and with the DC conversion it is infinitely adjustable.

 

[danielankeny]

I have a 90 gallon FOWLR moving up to a 300 gallon mixed reef. It’s a very costly endeavor. I still need to decide on lighting and sump. But my Eshopes S200 is giving me fits here lately I can’t seem to get it adjusted properly, and keep it there. Every 3 or so days it just pukes and puts all of the skim mate back in the sump. I have cleaned it replaced the pump with a new one to just have it puke again. So I am going to buy a new skimmer I am not worried about cost but do not want to have to replace again in 2 years. I have been looking at the reef octopus, bashsea, and bubble magnus skimmers but can’t decide. I don’t know a lot about bashsea, and don’t have any friends who have used them. Please help me with information and your feedback on these three for large mixed reef tanks.

Thank you in advance.

+1 for Ultra Reef!

 

[skimmerman]

I purchased a bubleking for my 180 never seen so much crap pulled compared to the reef octopus. Went thru two pumps . Ice cap products I had no luck cheap manufacturing

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Yes I need to get a new one and transfer to the 300.

Skimmer for a 300 won't skim a 90 gallon not enough organic matter. A skimmer for a 90 won't be effective on a 300 there is to much difference to get one that will do both

 

[WarChief]

Reef Octopus Classic 202s for me and that thing doesn't play. Very strong skimmer!

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I am not so sure about that. Think about it for a minute the Skimmer removes Organic matter so, no matter the size of the skimmer it will remove the organic matter. The issue would be not enough organic matter for it to produce skim mate now how would that be a problem? I am running the Eshopps S200 which is good up too almost 300 gallons and when it works it produces skim mate everyday

Skimmer needs a certain amount of fuel to air to size ratio, each skimmer is turned like a carburetor per say, sorry my friend you can't put a lawnmower carb on a big block engine and you can't put a 2 4barral ram setup on a lawnmower. Same principle.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Personal insults toward other members (especially when they are trying to help) isn't something we allow at Reef2Reef. I am removing posts where this has occurred. Please remember no one is going to force anyone to take advice offered. If you don't like something someone suggests, that's fine, and you don't have to accept the suggestion, but insulting other people is a violation of our site rules.

 

[Seanb1]

That eshopes are very hard to tune I have one 4 years and it always having problems every water change would overflow never could get it right

I put a airline valve on mine so it could be fine tuned, it hasn't skipped a beat since.
Was a piece of crap before that.

 

[UtahReefer]

Ultra reef has been great. Best skimmer I have owned. Silent is an understatement and skimming is on point

You bet... Have an Ultra Reef Akula and did the DC Conversion. Best skimmer I have ever owned, worth every penny.

 

[Short Reefer]

i have been using life reef skimmer since i got into the hobby. Last forever and pulling good skimates.
Cons: Little louder than tradional needles skimmer as it pulls more micro bubbles.

 

[ShawnM24]

I have the 180 and been thinking about the dc convention how are you still liking it

You bet... Have an Ultra Reef Akula and did the DC Conversion. Best skimmer I have ever owned, worth every penny.

 

[MrPike]

I removed mine and was going to replace it, but nutrients started going down from where they were while it was running. This was 3 years ago. Honestly not sure I would run a tank with a skimmer again, I don’t miss it.

 

[UtahReefer]

I have the 180 and been thinking about the dc convention how are you still liking it

I love it... skims consistently. The ability to change the motor speed is invaluable. I use pinky filter pads in my sump. Whenever I change one out the skimmer want to go into "excess foam" mode for about an hour. The DC just lets me dial it back a bit so I keep skimming, Without the DC conversion I'd have to shut the skimmer off for a while. For me having a quality skimmer like this with a variable pump was worth every penny!