I am setting up a Reefer 350 with a Trigger Platinum 26 auto fleece roller sump. I am having a hard time deciding on if I should get the Reef Octopus Elite 150sss skimmer (varios pump) or the Akula Ultra Reef Skimmer 160 or 180. I have heard that you should undersize your skimmer when using a fleece roller. The reef octo is rated for 75 gal at heavy load. The 160 is 53 gal and the 180 is 78 gal at heavy load. I have a reef octo varios return pump already and like it. Any help/insight would be appreciated
Reef Octopus Elite 150sss vs Akula Ultra Reef Skimmer?
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dedragon
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Cant speak long term as I just bought the akula 160 but it is build like a brick ****-house. It is also much larger than it appears having a wide body, wide neck, and a giant skimmer cup. The actual cup cover itself weighs almost a full pound (i think you could literally kill someone with it). The acylic for the body itself is also thicker than i think any other skimmer manufacturer. I also like the sound of the sicce 600+ (low hum not whining sound) as opposed to my now retired nyos 120 pump (higher pitch) or some dc return pumps set over 50% (whining sound). Base is amazing as it lets out very little air bubbles, the only flaw I see is I do not see a real way to adjust the air (though it started skimming almost immediately and pretty dry skim too).
On the 150ss I have seen the reef octopus skimmer and it is well made and trusted by a lot of reefers here, i dont think i have seen many complaints. Hard to say without them next to eachother but I would probably say the akula would have a larger reaction chamber. If you like the pump sound of the reef octopus though i would probably lean that way though as either will perform fantastically.
Either will skim amazingly on that size tank, I think the nyos may have pulled a drop more skimmate out due to the smaller diameter neck (hard to tell in a much larger cup), but was affected more easily when putting in food, hands in the tank, water level adjustments, etc compared to the more stable akula and i just hated the pump noise.
On the 150ss I have seen the reef octopus skimmer and it is well made and trusted by a lot of reefers here, i dont think i have seen many complaints. Hard to say without them next to eachother but I would probably say the akula would have a larger reaction chamber. If you like the pump sound of the reef octopus though i would probably lean that way though as either will perform fantastically.
Either will skim amazingly on that size tank, I think the nyos may have pulled a drop more skimmate out due to the smaller diameter neck (hard to tell in a much larger cup), but was affected more easily when putting in food, hands in the tank, water level adjustments, etc compared to the more stable akula and i just hated the pump noise.
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If you have any questions about either brand then please feel free to ask. We are a distributor for Reef Octopus and we are the US importer for Ultra Reef.
Thank you,
Thank you,
I just switched from a NYOS 120 to the Ultra Reef 180 and WOW, what a difference. It had a larger foot print which I like because you can touch it with out moving the entire skimmer like the NYOS. I just sold a RO 150SSS because it seemed very cheaply made to me and a control board seemed stupid, it's a skimmer that should run 24/7! The quality in the overall design with the ultra reef skimmer is BAR-NONE. Here's pictures of it running within two hours. It's a work horse and is very impressive. I don't think I'll ever use another skimmer besides Ultra Reef.
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Im in the same boat. Im in the process of building a Red Sea 350. Stuck between those same 2 skimmers but definitely leaning more to the Ultra Reef. I was thinking of the 180 but may want to be under sized since I want to use a fleece roller as well.
We are happy to help if you need it. As mentioned previously we carry both brands and we are the US importer for Ultra Reef.
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I have the Elite 150SSS and it’s a great skimmer on my 90g. Below is a pic 1 day after cleaning. Very simple to add CO2 scrubber (which I highly recommend) to the 150. Float switch in skimmer cup ensures you don’t put the waste back into your sump. Quality built, can’t hear it operate, and very easy to tune.
kinetic
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I just got mine and it's an explosion of sound. I can't believe how loud this thing is. Took it completely apart to inspect, nothing looks out of place. Not even close to silent. I can hear it in my bedroom on the other side of the house. Maybe mine is defective (already contacted the store), so hoping to resolve this soon. Otherwise going right back to my NYOS!
Please contact us. We are the US and Canadian distributor and I will be happy to help - 803-788-4445. Obviously there is an issue with the motor block or the impeller. We've sold hundreds of these skimmers so no worries. We will take care of you regardless of where you bought it from.
I have zero issues, mine is dead quiet. Maybe you need to try it in saltwater versus RODI water?
kinetic
Valuable Member
I've learned that "dead quiet" or "silent" is always relative. It's impossible to know until I hear it for myself.
The only reason why I don't think saltwater would be any better is because my NYOS 120 is 48 dB in the same RODI bucket.
The Ultra Reef 160 is measuring about 68 dB (max), though it averages at 58 dB. My NYOS 120 is 48 dB. I've been running the Ultra Reef for 72+ hours now, and it did slightly drop in dB, but still the sound can be heard in all the rooms of the house.
It could just be the particular "pitch" of the pump paired with my particular "sound" preference as well. Some people say the NYOS is louder, but perhaps they are just oppositely sensative to the sounds of the pumps.
I agree it is definitely relative and open up to opinion hands down. I will say the Ultra Reef, sucks WAYYYYYY more air than my NYOS does, but that was also a selling point for me.
kinetic
Valuable Member
I would agree that's great, but it's humming my entire house. I just can't compromise there. I'm going to see if I can troubleshoot this, otherwise I'll go back to using the NYOS.
Ill be curious what is causing your humming noise? I wonder if something is loose on it?
kinetic
Valuable Member
I think there's a few things. I've even held the skimmer off the bottom so it's only touching my hands and water, and the noise didn't change.
1. The cup lid is definitely making a loud humming noise. I did a trick where I cut a silicon tube lengthwise and used it as a "gasket" like silencer, and that cut the sound by 5 dB alone. I'm using a silicon that's kind of hard, so I think I can cut the sound even more if I use a much softer one.
2. Despite the lid, the pump is pretty loud on its own
I talked to Aquarium Specialty and they're going to swap out the pump/impeller to see if that helps! I'm also going to just run the pump by itself and test the sound there. Then start piecing it together one piece at a time and testing the sound to see if there's a specific piece that's humming louder than others. Then maybe I can get a replacement or try to quiet it with maybe something like some silicon padding.
I would say that being that it is in a bucket would make it way louder then being in a sump. The bucket will definitely magnify the sound. Also there was a little bit of a break in period with mine. My Ultra Reef did have a bit of a hum to it when brand new. But once the pump broke in dead silent. I would say it was a weeks time maximum.
kinetic
Valuable Member
i would tend to agree, but I ran the NYOS 120 in the same bucket and it was silent, about 20 dB quieter than the Ultra Reef!
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