Best skimmer for a $1000?

[McCrary]

I am thinking of upgrading my skimmer, so I wanted a little imput. A $1000 is about the right price, but a little high or low is fine if its a killer buy. Should be able to handle 300 gallons with fairly heavy stocking. Thanks.

[Amphiprion]

Deltec AP701 or H&S A200-1260, IMO.

[McCrary]

What about the AP851? I was wondering how much of a difference the extra height would make.

[Amphiprion]

If you can accommodate it, then sure--even better. The added height bumps up the capacity pretty substantially.

[Bebo77]

yup Deltec.....

[xtrstangx]

The Deltec would be good..

Although I think the ASM G6 would do pretty good if you accomodate the 4' height. Three Sedra 9000's isn't too bad, especially if you recirced them.
http://www.globeaqua.com/asm.html

[DocG]

EuroReef CS400

It has a 12" body.
It has 2 pumps.
It draws a ton of air (1800 l/h).

I own both a Euroreef and a Deltec and while I was waiting for a sump to be built for a different tank I ran them side by side for a couple of months. The Euroreef is rated for 155 gallons and the Deltec is rated for 200-270 gallons. I was surprised at how much better the Euroreef performed compared to the Deltec.

I like my Deltec and now that it is on its own it is doing a great job. However, after all the Deltec hype, I was a little disappointed. I guess was expecting to hear angels sing when I emptied the cup.

The quality of the skimmers is very similar with the nod going to the Euroreef.

EuroReef seems to be taking a hit lately on this board and I don't understand why. They compare very well to the Deltec.

[yoboyjdizz]

I think the euroreef cs400 is rated for more then 155 gallons i think its give or take 400 gallons..

[goda]

tunze doc or wait for the new tunze master skimmer to come out later this year

doc is the best skimmer i can think of.. yet they some how improved it with the master skimmer ( self regulating air intakes so you always have the best foam. stuff like that)

[McCrary]

I have always thought that Deltec was the end all for retail protein skimmers, but never having owned a skimmer on that level I wanted to find out of they are all hype or they have some real backing. It has been amazing to me how many people will put in a vote of confidence for Deltec skimmers without having owned one. Thank you DocG for your opinion, I will give the CS400 another look.

[DocG]

yoboyjdizz,

Sorry for any confusion. The cs400 is rated for 400 gallons. The Euroreef that is rated for 155 gallons is the old cs8-2 which is the one that I have.

[kris101]

Take a look at lifereef.. I have the VS3-48 on a 210 that I couldnt be happier with. They come 4, 5 and 6 foot hights. they are just under 1K

[da colts]

LIFEREEF IS A KICK BUTT SKIMMER. I HAVE THE 5 FT VERSION ON A 400 GAL, THE WORST SMELLING SKIMATE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN 19 YEARS OF DOING THIS. 2 YEARS ON THE TANK AND I HAVE NEVER CLEANED THE VENTURI ONCE, THEY HAVE A SELF CLEANING VENTURI THAT REALLY WORKS. AWESOME SKIMMER LINE.

[tangreef68]

A few days ago, i was reading a thread about the values of protein skimmers. Anthony Calfo mentioned that ASM and Euro-Reef skimmers were the best value, for they work the best for how much money you are spending.

[DocG]

Lets muddy the waters a little bit.

Another option that you can look at is getting a big ol' beckett skimmer.

The main skimmer that I have on my 600 gallon system is a beckett. Becketts are very powerful skimmers but are definitely more finicky then the needle wheels. I adjust the beckett on a weekly basis. I never adjust my Euroreef or Deltec.

Since MRC is a sponsor to this forum lets look at these skimmers. For a little over $1000.00 you can get an MR6 (with the quick release upgrade) with a BL100 pump.

But with that said I will stick with my original recommendation of the cs400. It is hard to beat plug and play.

[McCrary]

I am interested in Beckett skimmers, but have limited knowledge of the company and how they work. Hopefully someone could voice an opinion for expected cost and where a good place to get one would be. Also litereef skimmers seem interesting, two new things to research. I really looked at the Euroreef CS-400, but they just seem more cheaply built than the others I have looked at for a $1000. Although looks can be deceiving and all.

[ZoeReef]

Don't Beckett skimmers require far more powerful pumps? The money you save on the skimmer could be far exceeded over time by the cost of continually buying power. That from a freind who has a 300+tank; 600g system. He owns a Beckett and has one honkin pump on that system. This is not a vote for or against either, just FWIW.

I am very interested in this topic. Personally looking for lowest long-term cost.

[McCrary]

Beckett skimmers from MRC seem like a great deal, but does anyone have a recommendation for a pump that will run quietly on a MR-6. The skimmer will be next to the tank so it must be quiet.

[mbbuna]

if you want quiet you dont want a beckett. you will also need a pump like this.

http://www.championlighting.com/prod...cat=495&page=1

[arconom]

If you don't care about noise or electric get a MRC Beckett.

With a Deltec,ER, or ASM you can't go wrong.


I own all Deltec equipment.

I have owned a ER skimmer and it worked great. I hated the Support.

With Deltec your paying for support IMO. I like to know I can make a call and someone will answer the phone,or will call back within the hour.

I would listen to DocG

[GraviT]

Originally posted by kris101
Take a look at lifereef.. I have the VS3-48 on a 210 that I couldnt be happier with. They come 4, 5 and 6 foot hights. they are just under 1K

I second this option. I'm running a VS2-24 with a Mazzei injector on my 55 (talk about overkill) and it pulls tons of nasty stuff from my water column.

[DocG]

The recommended pumps for the MR6 are:

Blueline 100 - 390 Watts
Iwaki MD 100 RLT - 380 Watts
Sequence 3200SEQ20 - 213 Watts
Sequence 4300SEQ20 - 253 Watts
You can probably also use a Sequence Barracuda which is 225 Watts and is reputed to be a very quiet pump.

The Deltecs are 52 Watts plus a feed pump
The Euroreef is 90 Watts
The H&S is 65 Watts plus a feed pump

[DocG]

arconom - Euroreef has now got it together with their support (as long as you register your skimmer).

They now have a dedicated customer support line. Lately all of the feedback that I have read about new euroreef support is very good. Hopefully the bad customer service issues that people have had with Euroreef is a thing of the past.

[MattG]

I have limited experience with deltec and euroreef. I have personally only owned one of each. I will say i was much happier with my euroreef both in the product and service then deltec.

[McCrary]

Wow, I had never really considered a Euro-Reef before this thread. I had no idea they were so competitive. Both the deltec and the euro seem like good skimmers because of their simplicity and the fact that they are power efficient and quiet. But will a Beckett MR-6 with SEQ 4300 pull more out of the water then the euro or deltec. I will deal with the noise of a large pump if its going to be worth the skimmate that is produced from a larger skimmer.