Life reef skimmer versus Bashsea

[Water Dog]

Bubble King, for example, has never released a model that you couldn't buy a replacement pump for. Mine came with their Askoll pump, which is discontinued, but I could buy their replacement RD3 or RDX pump which are all compatible and perform just as well or better.

But therein lies the rub…. You are still held captive my the manufacturer as you have to use their proprietary pump. Replacement of said pump can be anywhere from $400 to $700, the needle wheel replacement around $250. It’s a tough pill to swallow when spending well over $1000 on a skimmer.

The appeal of the Lifereef is that I can spend $90 on a Jebao or $700 + on a Red Dragon Speedy 3 or anywhere in between and it will still perform well. As a consumer, I am not held captive by a proprietary pump or needlewheel impeller.

 

[italquam]

Gotcha. That logic makes sense. I think manufacturers probably make more money on the needle wheels for the exact reasons you describe. If you have to buy their pump (or better yet, replace the whole skimmer because they discontinued the pump), it's more money for them. :)

I would point out that there are some needle wheel manufacturers that (unlike Reef Octo etc) continue to support older models so you can at least replace a broken pump. Bubble King, for example, has never released a model that you couldn't buy a replacement pump for. Mine came with their Askoll pump, which is discontinued, but I could buy their replacement RD3 or RDX pump which are all compatible and perform just as well or better.

Yeah I would say high end needle wheels are good like Bubble King or Ultra Reef , as far as reliability of parts.

Others like Reef Octopus , Skimz, etc , I just don't trust as far as long term. I have a Life Reef , I bought used 6 years , ago

But therein lies the rub…. You are still held captive my the manufacturer as you have to use their proprietary pump. Replacement of said pump can be anywhere from $400 to $700, the needle wheel replacement around $250. It’s a tough pill to swallow when spending well over $1000 on a skimmer.

The appeal of the Lifereef is that I can spend $90 on a Jebao or $700 + on a Red Dragon Speedy 3 or anywhere in between and it will still perform well. As a consumer, I am not held captive by a proprietary pump or needlewheel impeller.

Water dog , I couldn't of said that better myself. For example, I use mag drive pump on my LifeReef skimmer and it runs like a workhorse. Mag Drive also stands by there pumps