Is the Reef Octopus Regal Worth it? Any better options?

[fishski13]

Hi everyone. So I have never had a protein skimmer but I am looking into getting one. I am looking at some option and saw that reef octopus has a sale. I like the specs of the Regal 150. I have a 145 gallon net tank where I would use it in. Would you guys go with the Regal 150 or some other skimmer from a different brands. Thanks.

 

[Troylee]

Nice skimmer! A curve 7 will work also.

 

[C_AWOL]

I'm not entirely sure which variant of the 150 you plan on going with (regular vs space saving) but I personally dislike the space saving versions due to the higher difficulty of servicing the pump (literally the only point of failure/main point of maintenance). A potentially minor thing as well would be the reduction in reaction space as well between air and water.

Is your 145g a fairly heavily stocked tank/planning on being heavily stocked? You can consider a larger version (assuming space allows) and go with say a 200-int for example for a small increase in price. In the case where you will gradually increase the stocking then you can use the included dc pump along with the gate valve to make necessary adjustments according to your current bioload which is a huge plus over many other skimmers that utilize an AC pump.

To answer the most important part of the question though, any skimmer from any brand that has a good pump will generally work really well. I believe most bubble magus now utilize the sicce psk pumps which are probably the most reliable ac skimmer pumps out there (with a really great warranty too!) with the only two down sides being the fact that the ac pumps happen to be noisier than the dc alternatives and the fact that the models I'm aware of all have the pump placed internally (just a personal thing due to eventual servicing requirements). Being less capable of adjustments in reality is a really minor thing when comparing dc/ac in the case of skimmers (just makes it easier in the sense of over sizing in my experience) since it's also not a toy and usually wont need to be played with at all once dialed in.

TLDR: Great buy if you want quiet due to dc pump + built in float for overflow prevention (huge bonus in my opinion) but any skimmer for your planned bioload with a good pump whether ac/dc will work just fine since you it's mainly the pump that does all the work without being too technical about body shape/silencers.

 

[nkyreef]

The regal skimmers are very nice. I have two of them. The varios DC pumps are solid. Also have 2 for returns. Apex controllable and quiet. Easy to disassemble and clean.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I have the Regal 200 for my still dry but future 225 gallon tank, for fun I put it on my DT 120 gallon,I had 5 large fish, I could only get one width of my finger per week with skim mate, after a month I pulled it, I put my Simplicity 240DC on it and I was dumping the skimmer cup every 8 hours for a month, the Simplicity looks funny next to the Regal 200. I would get the 150 model.

 

[UtahReefer]

Buy an Ultra Reef, you'll never look back...

 

[Mike1970]

Royal Exclusive FWT

 

[littlefoxx]

Hi everyone. So I have never had a protein skimmer but I am looking into getting one. I am looking at some option and saw that reef octopus has a sale. I like the specs of the Regal 150. I have a 145 gallon net tank where I would use it in. Would you guys go with the Regal 150 or some other skimmer from a different brands. Thanks.

I really like my reef octopus skimmer!