For the price the bk mini's are a joke imo.
Hi Luke, Performance on the 160 is good. you are paying a lot for build quality on the 160 as there are other skimmer that perform as well.Not much bang for the buck on the 160. I really like it as its quiet and the built solid. but at almost $900 new it will have a hard time against a atb 840 at $650.
Now the BK mini 180 is about twice the skimmer as the 160. Drawing 1200lph of air to the 160's 600. And pulling 2000lph of water to the 160's 1000lph of water.
THe things I do like about the mini's.
Silient, you havea hard time hearing them at all.
Built really well, Thickest material on any skimmer I have seen.
Cup easy to remove, you can pull it off with one hand. It rest on the cylinder. The weight of the cup holds the o ring against the chamber. I have had skimmer weigh less than the collection cup on my mini 180.
So with that said. THe 160 is pretty weak for the price point. I really like it and if you want the best little skimmer you an get then ok. but I would say a heavy stocked 90 is its limit. I would run one on my 57g rimless.
By the end of the year their will be some other really nice skimmers out that will be less than $500 and will be built really well too. Te days of $1000 skimmers are over for most of us. The alpha 170 is only $649, the ATB 840 1.5 is the same. Octo is coming out with their cone too. We will have to see.
For me I am using my research and going back to the budget skimmers. lol I will probably run a vertex in 100 on my 57 g i just got. Then maybe put on a new warner marine skimmer this fall. Or maybe a atb multi or something. No hurry.
Nice to hear from you Luke.