Reef Octopus 6" Pinwheel In Sump Skimmer NWB150 vs SWC 160 Extreme Cone

[Zakk]

Okay, so I had both of these skimmers in the sump, side by side.  Similar sized machines, and similar sized collection cups.  Without any break-in period at all, the R.O. Outperformed the SWC.  Both pull similar amounts of skimmate, but the octopus pulls really thick gunk while the SWC pulls a more watery mixture. I'll tell you this, I've never smelled anything like the crap that came out of the octopus' collection cup yesterday, and I've probably had 10 skimmers in my reef history.  That stuff was freakin foul.

The Octopus is still in its 3-4 week 'break in' period, so not sure if it would get even better.  The SWC is still a pretty sweet machine, it makes a lot finer bubbles in the chamber, so you would think it would work better, but maybe that's why it pulls a more watery skimmate, I'm not sure.  My big beef with the SWC is the use of that atman motor, they should just switch to sicce or something (I think the SWC 160 non cone uses that pump). 

Negatives to the Octopus?  The muffler is kind of retarded.  The new one has two inlet holes, that act like bass tubes.  I plugged one and put a air muffler thing from a powerhead into the other and it still pulls air and is silent.  Not sure why they changed designs on them, the pic in the instructions is of a totally different muffler.  The one on the SWC is totally silent. 

So while I really like both of them, I think bang for the buck is better with the Reef Octopus (less than $200 from Bulk Reef).  I know if I step up to a bigger tank I'll be getting another Octopus, no question. 

 

[Blob-79]

stange..i pulled thick dark skimmate with that swc no problem

 

[Zakk]

stange..i pulled thick dark skimmate with that swc no problem

Check out the video I'm putting together now on the wavebox... It has a shot near the end of the skimmate, I just can't duplicate it on the SWC.  Don't get me wrong, I would be happy with either one of these in the tank, I pulled the SWC and put it away as either a backup skimmer, or one for another tank.  Also, it's not a fair comparison since the one is much newer than the other.  I should have done a vid of both running side by side. 

Maybe I'll go check just how close in size the two collection cups are, maybe the SWC is really a fair bit bigger, and I was skimming wetter to make them fill the same.  However they looked really similar to me at the time.

I figure someone might be interested in the Reef Octopus because of the nice price point.  I -think- the SWC's are getting close to $300 or so new, and I think in that bulk buy I got $25 or so off the octopus, so it's $100 cheaper and works well.  PLUS it has the pump outside the chamber, I just don't like them inside because of the strain on the cords...

 

[crazybizzle]

i know my swc 200 with mesh mod is amazing i can adjust it to wet or thick goop it runs a sicce 2500 not sure what the 160 runs but i love mine, and to think i almost sold it last year for 100 bucks cuz i couldnt fit it..

 

[Zakk]

i know my swc 200 with mesh mod is amazing i can adjust it to wet or thick goop it runs a sicce 2500 not sure what the 160 runs but i love mine, and to think i almost sold it last year for 100 bucks cuz i couldnt fit it..

The 160 runs the atman 2500. 

 

[crazybizzle]

i bet if u mesh mod the 160 it would skim the shit outta the octopus

 

[Zakk]

i bet if u mesh mod the 160 it would skim the shit outta the octopus

It has a pretty good impeller on there, this one:

Again, I'm certainly not putting down the 160, in fact the octopus was supposed to be the backup skimmer, I just put them both in and ran them...

 

[Zakk]

Same thread, this is really close to how it skims

Which I think is pretty wet.  With the octopus I'm getting more like this (skimz):

A lot like a used coffee filter.  I would compare it to tea vs coffee.  The bubble magus I did have produced very similar skimmte to the SWC (same pump), and in fact I've had trouble pulling thick gunk before, unless I turned it waaaay down and it would take 3 days to make 1 inch of goo.  I'm getting about an inch of thick syrup every 24 hours, which I have never been able to get before.

 

[Blob-79]

yea the octopus skimmers are good skimmer, nothing bad to say about them. In my comparisons the atman 2500 and sicce 2500 perform reletively close to eachother using the same impellors. Using a pinwheel I found they both pull within 3-4 scfh (approx 100lph) of each other. The sicce always being higher

Saying all this, the swc ur showing in your pictures definitly needs some fine tuning to get the appropriate skimmate.

 

[teebone110]

I think a lot of variables effect skimmer production. The most obvious is the airflow and water level settings, but I noticed a HUGE difference in skimmer output once I improved the flow in my tank. More flow, increased detritus in the water column. It also caused an increase in polyp extension. My SPS look incredible due to the improvement in nutirent exchange. This resulted in a significant increase in the quality of skimmer output.

Just a hunch, but if you were to fire up your SWC-160 now that you have improved flow, I bet you would see similar skimmate production to the Reef Octopus (and the SWC might be named starter again )

 

[Zakk]

I think a lot of variables effect skimmer production. The most obvious is the airflow and water level settings, but I noticed a HUGE difference in skimmer output once I improved the flow in my tank. More flow, increased detritus in the water column. It also caused an increase in polyp extension. My SPS look incredible due to the improvement in nutirent exchange. This resulted in a significant increase in the quality of skimmer output.

Just a hunch, but if you were to fire up your SWC-160 now that you have improved flow, I bet you would see similar skimmate production to the Reef Octopus (and the SWC might be named starter again )

Could very well be, although I had the two running together before the wavebox went in.  However, yeah the crap that has been skimmed up since the box started is not normal output.  Also, I sold a pile of liverock yesterday that probably also stirred up sediment and also improved flow as well. 

 

[Neopimp]

Love my SRO XP skimmer.  I know im not really adding anything to the convo. Lol

 

[Krazykarl]

My mtc skims similar to the first photo (160 cone?). I wish I could pull out skimate like the second pic. Although I wouldn't enjoy the smell lok

 

[Duke]

I have a skimz skimmer, it pulls dark gunk like in the picture, I almost puke everytime I clean it.
Its a needlewheel, can I use a different impellor similar too the one above zakk posted?

 

[Blob-79]

it all comes down to how you have your skimmer setup. variables include depth of water that the skimmer is in, and the output valve setting..well air flow as well, but not many skimmers have adjustment on this.

Duke, in the testing i did i compared that meshwheel with a pinwheel in both pumps, the atman2500 and sicce2500 the pinwheel beat out the mesh in every test (barely though)..about 2-3 scfh. Mind you the mesh wheel that is pictured is a pretty lousy excuse for a mesh wheel if you ask me. There are mesh mods you can buy online that "promise" substantial increase over a pin wheel

 

[TORX]

As far as I have read here, nothing is stating that the SWC is a bad skimmer, just not as good as the Reef Octopus. The SWC is a great skimmer in itself and extremely easy to tune. I have mine in 7 1/2" of water and have only had it up and running for now 4 days. I am pulling out crap I have never seem come out of my tank. Darker then the SWC pic from Zakk, but not as dark as the Reef Octopus pic posted from Zakk.

The SWC recommends 6-9" of water depth. I may put some egg crate under mine to raise it a little and see the difference as the bubbles are not as fine as I would like. I have seen online that most who run 8+" of water are not able to get the fine bubble in the neck resulting in watery or tea like skim. The set up is the most important part and if not tuned, then I am sure that both skimmers would pull tea instead of tar.

To sum it up, both are great skimmers, and yes, it all depends on how you have it tuned.

 

[teebone110]

an action shot from youtube of the SWC...

swc rs extreme160 cone skimmer 001.AVI

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

Can ya all post differnt types of mesh wheels?  I mean pictures. ..that yu can use that will work for skimmers or are they all the same but diff mesh ?

 

[crazybizzle]

i cant get a pic of my mesh wheel but looks retarded it serioysly looks like a sponge quater inch mesh attatched to the flywheel but works awesome . also my swc 200 only sits un probaly 4 inches of water cause the pump sits 3 inches from bottom of tank connected to skimmer tube either way its a beast

 

[Blob-79]

how is it holding up bizzle? do you ever have to replace the mesh?