what skimmer to buy

[davesolo29]

alright.  i need to get a new skimmer asap.  i only have a budget of approx $300-350.
I can get a vertex IN 180 for $325 or a marine sources for about the same.  cant remember the model,  but Bill at IA has a few different ones for $299 plus tax.
Which do you think would be better?

 

[phi delt reefer]

marine sources is a new brand so you wont hear much.

I happen to own  the model of the marines sources skimmer you are looking into.

The pump only draws 13w and will perform as well if not better than the vertex unit. The vertex pump pulls 32w and has a massive foot print. More wattage may also mean heat being put back into your system due to pump inefficiency.  With the rising cost of electricity this should be a big part of your consideration.


The marines sources acrylic build quality isn't as high as the vertex unit but unless you swing off your skimmer and use it as a table leg it shouldn't be an issue. Bill carries the replacement pumps in store and warranties them himself so if something goes wrong just bring him your pump and he will swap it out and you can get back to skimming. Vertex pump would have to be sent out, reviewed then either replaced or fixed so you'll be high and dry for some time. Bill carries both skimmers so i think your in good hands either way.

heres the skimmer after a week in my 50 gallon.

PM if you want to come by and have a look at it running in my system.

 

[davesolo29]

that would be the one im looking at.
i dont understand the last pic.  what is that? is that an air pressure gauge?  never seen anything like it used on a skimmer before.
i will likely make the trip to london tomorrow afternoon.  will you be around?

 

[Darryl_V]

That is an air flow Meter.  20schf is good for a 50g but not a big enough skimmer for a 120g IMO.....especially since your looking to do SPS.  Personally I would be looking at something a little bit bigger. 

 

[davesolo29]

im thinking it may be better for me to just buy a new pump for my skimmer. 
My RO NWB150 originally comes with the haliea OTP2000 pump with pinwheel and venturi.
Not sure how much air it pulls but the pump is 500gph.
I was looking and noticed that the Bubble Blaster pumps also have the threaded fittings so i think i might just buy one of those instead.

This is the skimmer that i have that is no longer working properly.
http://www.goreef.com/Reef-Octopus-NWB-150-In-Sump-PinWheel-Protein-Skimmer-150-Gallon.html

Do you think this will be a good replacement pump? or should i just get a new skimmer?
http://www.goreef.com/Bubble-Blaster-HY-3000-Pump.html

I would like to hold out for an alpha cone 170 or 200 but at the moment i just cant justify that amount of $$$ and i really dont have the time to wait.  I need something now.

 

[Blob-79]

yea i agree dave, You already have a quality skimmer..instead of forking out the cash for a whole new skimmer..fork out the cash and get a killer pump for it. Last I was in, IA had a bubble blaster pump in stock..not sure if its being held for someone or not.

The marines sources acrylic build quality isn't as high as the vertex unit but unless you swing off your skimmer and use it as a table leg it shouldn't be an issue.

that is partially true..at the same time, you dont want to have to handle your skimmer like a delecate figurine for fear of something breaking or falling off.

...btw those are pretty white hands you have

 

[davesolo29]

i talked to bill about an hour ago.  he has the bubbleblaster 3000 and 5000 in stock.
im leaning towards the 5000 as its only a few bucks more, but it may be overkill for my skimmer body.
what do you think?

http://www.incredibleaquarium.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=201_190_192&products_id=2296

 

[Blob-79]

That im not sure of ATM. Gonna have to research it. U still pannin on heading over this weekend to take a look at ur skimmer?

 

[davesolo29]

well,  i figure upgrading the pump should solve my issues.  i will give you a shout for sure when im in the area.  i should have time for a pop in.

 

[phi delt reefer]

The 3000 is way to powerful for ur skimmer body
I would go with the 1000 or maybe the 2000 dialed back.

I can no longer agree with volume of air per x gallons recommendation after seeing the marine sources skimmer in action. Bubble quality and body turbulence is much more important IMO. I used to own an swc 150 which pulled the same amount of air as the marine sources unit but they two completely different machines. Comparing them on scfm numbers wouldnt provide for an accurate comparision. The atman pump/ hybrid mesh couldnt produce the sea of white bubbles i got with the marine sources unit. With that said they both pulled out the same amount of crap from my tank but it took 10-11 days for the swc to pull what the marines sources did in  7. Yet both sucked about 20 scfm.

I should be honest here and tell u the unit i have from bill was given to me on a review basis, ie i did not pay for it, but it does not belong to me either. I was asked to see if the skimmer was worh bringing into the already flooded skimmer market and my answer is yes. The pump effeciency and bubble production is hard to match.

 

[Blob-79]

IMO All of those 3 variables (turbulance, quality of bubble, air intake) are important, obviously they work in conjunction with each other. Having a low turbulance, high air intake skimmer with great bubbles is obvously much better then say having low turbulance with high air intake but crap bubbles.  I think the main thing your seeing phi is the improved bubbles as you said. The atman pumps in my oppinion can have a tendancy to "burp" pockets of air, which im sure disturbs the "froth" a bit.

You have to remember you have never tried running a skimmer that is actually rated for your size of tank. So in effect you have always been "overkill" on the air draw of your skimmers.  I can say absolutely air draw is important. You obviously need to processs more water in a larger tank, You also need to draw more air to keep the air:water ratio at optimum levels.

These facts are proven by the performance of say..superskimmers for instance..high turbulance and low air saturation kills it. Yea a 220 version processes enouph water to run on a 200gallon, but the air draw and ratio say otherwise. The only time i have ever seen these skimmers work decently is with a recirc mod..even then the high turbulance dampens the function of it.

 

[Neopimp]

Check out the xp3000 from sro.


Edited: I had a much longer message then I saw that everything g was mentioned already lol

 

[Blob-79]

i checked it out, if your looking to go with a bubble blaster pump, if it were me, i would probally go with the 2000 or 3000, probally would go with the 3000.

im not done researching yet, but is it just me or are they all the same except the 5000. Im pretty sure they are the same "askoll" based motor block same volute..probally just a different impellor on each of them to acheive different wattage and flow

 

[Darryl_V]

Air pull is the probably the most important feature to look at but definitely not the only one.  I say its the most important because many of todays skimmers have similar design ie. bubbleplate, gate valve, silencer etc.  But you should definitely be looking at the quality of materials, quality of pump, air flow to body match, diameter of body, cone shape or regular etc.

as for x volume of air to x volume of water......I only use this when recommending a skimmer to people and its only based on my experience and research.  Definitely not a hard and fast rule because there are few if any of those in this hobby.

As for the BB 3000 or 5000 on the NW150 skimmer....I'm afraid both of those pumps will be to much for that 6" body.

The 3000 is way to powerful for ur skimmer body
I would go with the 1000 or maybe the 2000 dialed back.

I can no longer agree with volume of air per x gallons recommendation after seeing the marine sources skimmer in action. Bubble quality and body turbulence is much more important IMO. I used to own an swc 150 which pulled the same amount of air as the marine sources unit but they two completely different machines. Comparing them on scfm numbers wouldnt provide for an accurate comparision. The atman pump/ hybrid mesh couldnt produce the sea of white bubbles i got with the marine sources unit. With that said they both pulled out the same amount of crap from my tank but it took 10-11 days for the swc to pull what the marines sources did in  7. Yet both sucked about 20 scfm.

I should be honest here and tell u the unit i have from bill was given to me on a review basis, ie i did not pay for it, but it does not belong to me either. I was asked to see if the skimmer was worh bringing into the already flooded skimmer market and my answer is yes. The pump effeciency and bubble production is hard to match.

 

[Darryl_V]

i checked it out, if your looking to go with a bubble blaster pump, if it were me, i would probally go with the 2000 or 3000, probally would go with the 3000.

im not done researching yet, but is it just me or are they all the same except the 5000. Im pretty sure they are the same \"askoll\" based motor block same volute..probally just a different impellor on each of them to acheive different wattage and flow

The pump body is based on the ASKOLL but its a china knock off.  That is why the price is less but they do work very well from what Im read and seen.....plus 3yr warranty.

 

[spyd]

I would go with the 2000 unit. The others are far too big.

 

[davesolo29]

well,  the only one he had available was the 5000.  i will find out shortly how it works.  im sure it will be overkill, but as long as it works better than what i have now for the next month i will be happy.  By then, it will either work great for me, or I will have the money to get the alpha cone that i want.  Then i will have a killer pump for moving water out of my RO holding tank. lol

 

[Neopimp]

I woudl just sell the current skimmer and buy a new skimmer with the bubbleblaster.  At least you know the pump is sized right to the skimmer body wont require as much messing around...

But thats me

 

[davesolo29]

i dont want to be the guy that sells a skimmer that doesnt work.

 

[davesolo29]

well.  the female threaded end on my skimmer body is bigger than the male end on the new pump.  so that kinda sucks.  i will have to find an adapter.