BEST SKIMMER BRAND: Who get's your vote?

[Doctorgori]

I haven’t read the whole thread, anyone vote for SKILTER yet?

I’ve been Waiting on a “Land of misfit Aquarium gear” thread .... if ever one is started Skilter will kick it off ,,,it even tops laser worm zappers and purple up

 

[Oldsalt]

Wish I could have voted for the top 3. I use a Bubble Magus curve 9 plus DC which does the job very well on my 340 gallon/1250 litre (LR, substrate and equipment displacement gives me ~1000 litres of water) system. However, I would have gone with the latest Red Sea skimmers , had they been available just over 2 years ago. I chose the Bubble Magus for easy sump fit and depth, robust build, quiet DC pump, big collection cup, simplicity and, of course, fair price. Had another year or so gone by, I would have purchased the latest Red Sea.

 

[Oldsalt]

Don't do it. BM are finicky and it will frustrate you to know end. Stay w/ RO.

I tend to agree because I have a BM curve 9 plus DC. It was, initially, a bit finicky - that was, until I installed a baffle in the sump and got it to sit in just over 9.5" of water. Any lower, I had to turn the gate down to 2 (or lower) in order to get the foam to rise. Then it would go nuts intermittently - overflowing and spraying everywhere. Now that it's in the right depth, I have the gate set just a tad past 3 (the last position being full open) and it hums along brilliantly. It never overflows (unless I use coral putty or Quantum - or similar - phosphate remover). But that tells me it's doing a good job of exporting nasties. Aside from that, good skimmer at a fair price. As I posted earlier, I would have gone with the latest Red Sea had it been available at the time I bought the BM.
Just be mindful to keep your Magus in the recommended depth as stated on the leaflet and you shouldn't have any problems. One caveat - keep away from Bubble Magus with an AC pump. They are noisy. I have friends with them and you can hear them running from the next room.

 

[Ciscodog]

I am also using a 150sss elite in my Red Sea 170 for about a year. I have it on setting 4/5 cause it’s a little over sized atm. I wanted quality and dc control in case I go bigger. It’s quiet and runs well. Now i know I’m good for a tank upgrade and at least 4 years.

Yes it will be great when you upgrade. I run mine on setting 2 in my 525. It has always been reliable.

 

[5hak]

I have used various skimmers over the past decade and can am currently using the Tunze doc 9012 It skims like a beast and it’s silent plus like the following:

• The size smart compact design
• Surface suction device with film removal
• The low power consumption
• The joint setting ‘power pump and air intake’ to ‘select’ the amount and kind of foam
• Simplified cleaning with the full opening of the skimmer
  
  The skimmer is working like a dream and I wouldn’t replace it considering the fact that I have limited space in my sump.

 

[bob salzlein]

Wouldn’t you need either 2-4-6 poles? Three would be very unusual. Three phase yes!

Sorry it's 6 Pole, given some wrong info

 

[ReefGeezer]

I'm using a Skimz SM202 recirculationg skimmer on my waterbox 220.6. It's my first skimz skimmer and my first recirculating skimmer. Very happy with how stable and consistent it is. I highly reccomend it. As far as a dream skimmer.... I dont know. What brand but can say it must be recirculating. Dont thinking will ever go back to an internal skimmer.

My old Reef Octo is a recirculating skimmer. It works well, is very stable, returns to the proper level after power interruptions, skims lots of gunk, and parts are easy to get. The down side is the power it uses. I'll admit the power cost isn't high enough to worry about, but it is inefficient as compared to a needle wheel skimmer that runs on one pump. BUT... compared to a Beckett or venturi driven skimmer and my old skimmer seems pretty efficient.

 

[BAUCE]

Best? Bubble King are the nicest if money isnt a deciding factor. I love my cheaper Vertex model. Can't really go wrong with any of the top brands in this thread though.

 

[PHXReefguy]

Yes it will be great when you upgrade. I run mine on setting 2 in my 525. It has always been reliable.

Only setting two??

 

[oceans garden aquaculture]

I run two a bubble magus curve 5 and the Coralife 75 cone skimmer Both are over sized for the systems they are on and those systems are new and lightly populated systems. I voted other because of the question Which is the best? I have no clue lol. I am happy with both of mine maybe happier with the curve because it has a pop off cup while the coralife has a threaded connection cup.

Reef octopus is hard to match. Price and material/build quality are fantastic.

 

[|Tom the Bomb|]

Results:
NYoS:
Pros: Very high quality, efficient, quiet, effective, the best in terms of it doing its job
Cons: Very Very Expensive. The factor that bumped it to second
Reef Octopus:
Pros: Same as Nyos. Decent quality but still does its job nicely. Way cheaper than NYos and that's why ppl can afford it more than NYoS
Cons: Not as good as NYoS but that doesn't matter too much

 

[naterealbig]

The RD3 is a german made pump, it's the RDX that's made in china (and not by RE).

I see. The pump, or the motor block? I don't run a BK, but I have. And as far as I know, the mini series is the only line that consistently used that pump. The Supermarine, Deluxe, Deluxe External, and Double Cone models use RD3. Your statement doesn't seem very fair.... It's kindof like saying Toyota = Lexus.

 

[ksed]

I see. The pump, or the motor block? I don't run a BK, but I have. And as far as I know, the mini series is the only line that consistently used that pump. The Supermarine, Deluxe, Deluxe External, and Double Cone models use RD3. Your statement doesn't seem very fair.... It's kindof like saying Toyota = Lexus.

Have a look at the picture below. This is the new Supermarine 160 with the Asian pump.
Good pump though.

 

[Xero]

Have a look at the picture below. This is the new Supermarine 160 with the Asian pump.
Good pump though.

Yeah, I said the same thing a while ago and got challenged by their rep, and I said "made in germany, or assembled in germany" and that conversation got quiet fast....The one's with the titanium impellers look as if they have parts shared with messner, another germany company with similar looking pumps with titanium impellers....but the cheaper ones with the impeller plate with the 3 notches that looks identical to all the other china DC pumps?? yeahhhhhh....

 

[LC8Sumi]

I see. The pump, or the motor block? I don't run a BK, but I have. And as far as I know, the mini series is the only line that consistently used that pump. The Supermarine, Deluxe, Deluxe External, and Double Cone models use RD3. Your statement doesn't seem very fair.... It's kindof like saying Toyota = Lexus.

I never said that all RE skimmers use the non-german (I could've been wrong about the exact country it's produced at to be fair) pumps. I've just said that the one in the picture linked by someone here was. But then it turned out it's not an rdx pump, so maybe it's not made outside of Germany afterall, I don't know who and where makes the rd6 pump (but the mini is not available with the rd6 anymore, only with the rdx - that's why I confused it in the picture in the first place, because I didn't know they've made a short production run between the AC and rdx version with the rd6 pump).
Also the smallest Double Cone, Supermarin, Mini all use the rdx pump (and they cost more than the equivalent German AC version does, apart from the DC130, which is not available with an AC pump anymore).

I'm not talking against RE, I'm just telling that I'm not 100% satisfied with it (edit: maybe I've misinterpreted the question of this poll? Or maybe someone else did? Or maybe "best" means different things to different people), which I would expect to be for this price point, even though my RE skimmer runs a German pump. To be honest, with any premium brand one would expect exponentially less problems, not "just" slightly, or linearly less. Actually I would expect no problems at all. I'm also questioning the price point / quality of the rdx pump compared to original RE pumps, not to mention that they're not explicitly (with bold fonts on the skimmer / pump specs page) stating it on their website that it is "not a 100% made by RE" pump, which is a bit shady for me in this class. If something, then this is what doesn't seem to be very fair. Don't get me wrong, it can still be a great pump and product, but it's like buying a Lexus, expecting a Lexus and finding a Kia engine inside of it. (edit: even though some Kia engines might be just as good or even better than some Lexus (made by Toyota that is) engines)

Once again, this is just an opinion, not stating a fact, or wanting to steer someone away from the brand. And as far as I know free speech, discussing opinions are still permitted in most parts of the world. But sometimes it just seems like brand fans/employees sometimes get on forums / facebook pages / youtube / etc. social media and try to silence people who have any other opinion apart from the brands marketing team. That's also not very fair I think.

Edit: The last paragraph also isn't an RE thing, it happens with most "big" brands nowdays.

 

[biecacka]

Bubble King here. This thing is a flat out beast and easy to use and tune. Which for me was priority number one! I’ve had a few other skimmers and this one was the easiest to set up and use. Although I did love my custom GEO becket but I tired of tinkering with it.


corey

 

[fcmatt]

I don't think I have used anywhere near enough different brands to have an opinion. I run RE though because I like their kit.

 

[Glauber]

imo the best ones I have used do far is nyos ND bubble magus

 

[Slcwinder]

I just put in a bubble magus and it was pulling nice skim the next day. They have my vote

 

[Ayzel1]

I love my Aquamaxx!! Ive had to replaced the impeller a year after I got It from another reefer. It is still going strong, and if I ever replace it, I would get another one.