ATB 840 Protein Skimmer & New Pump

[mbrady]

I have had my heart seek on purchasing the ATB 840 Protein Skimmer for a few months now. At a cost of $650, it has taken me awhile to save the $. The wife keeps me on a tight fish budget and I have been saving money each month. Now I finally, have the money only to find out they have gone and changed the pump. Is the 840 still worth purchasing? The chatter online is that the new pump is not for the better. I am now questioning my choice.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? FIND A NEW PROTEIN SKIMMER OR TRUST THE ATB 840 IS STILL A QUALITY SKIMMER.

If not the ATB 840 could you suggest a protein skimmer for a 125 gallon mixed reef with a 30 gallon sump.

[scrapz]

I've seen people with the aquamaxx co line of skimmers. Seems to be really consistent and pulls out a ton of crap for it's size.

[slief]

Despite the pump change, it's still a very well balanced and great performing skimmer that will perform every bit as consistently as the previous ATB's with the Airstar pumps.

[DDon]

I faced the same dilemma with deciding on the ATB 1050 and in the end decided to go forward with buying it. Having the Jabeo pump on it is somewhat disappointing but the skimmer itself is very well built, much better quality than the SSA skimmer I had. The pump is very quiet and the skimmer is pulling more crap than I expected. The only question now is how long will this pump last. Only time will tell but so far I am pleased with the performance and build quality of the ATB skimmer.

For full disclosure, my first choice was an MTC MVX series skimmer but because I wasn't able to get in touch with them went with the ATB. No regrets with my choice though.

[rtague]

Same boat, was about to pull the trigger on the 840 and then seen they changed to jebao pumps, are you kidding me, after all it's the pump that makes the skimmer for the most part.IMHO that drops atb from one of the best skimmers on the market to not even worthy of consideration, really bummed out by this.

[scrapz]

I am sure ATB has made some minor but needed changes to the Jebao pumps for it to perform up to their spec, just like how RD mods a askoll block. This is all speculation on my part though.

Is the new skimmer pump failing or is the name association of Jebao the negative selling point of the skimmer?

[biecacka]

Scrapz if I had to guess I would go with, "The name association of Jebao is the negative selling point of the skimmer." After all many ppl have reported having issues with the pump and their quality as a powerhead has been questioned from the beginning. So it's only a natural assumption that they will get bad reviews for this.
**my guess**

Corey

[bayoupr]

The Jebao pumps being used are the DCT model. These appear to be better built and the controller is much better than the older Jebao models. I know several people including myself running these and have not had any problems of performance fall off. The main thing with the Jebao pumps is clean them every 10 - 12 weeks and they will last which I do with all my pumps whether it's Jebao, panworld, tunze, etc:

[mbrady]

Thank you all for your comments.
It's so hard to find quality and reliability at fair a price in this hobby. It is even harder to find agreement amongst hobbyist. I thought ATB was that product. A quality product at a fair price. The Jebao pump now introduces the question of reliability.

Perhaps "Slief (Director of Customer Support Royal, Exclusiv) could explain why the fears of the Jebao pump are not valid.Are they only using the shell of the pump? What modifications are they making to the Jebao pump.
I would greatly appreciate his comments and thoughts on the reliability of the Jebao pump.
I want to believe the ATO 840 is still the Protein Skimmer for me.
But it is hard to believe the Jebao pump will not have a negative impact on the performance of the 840.

[slief]

Originally Posted by mbrady

Thank you all for your comments.
It's so hard to find quality and reliability at fair a price in this hobby. It is even harder to find agreement amongst hobbyist. I thought ATB was that product. A quality product at a fair price. The Jebao pump now introduces the question of reliability.

Perhaps "Slief (Director of Customer Support Royal, Exclusiv) could explain why the fears of the Jebao pump are not valid.Are they only using the shell of the pump? What modifications are they making to the Jebao pump.
I would greatly appreciate his comments and thoughts on the reliability of the Jebao pump.
I want to believe the ATO 840 is still the Protein Skimmer for me.
But it is hard to believe the Jebao pump will not have a negative impact on the performance of the 840.

First off, I don't think they are using the Jebao pump. I thought they were using the Waveline but I could be wrong. At least that's what I thought Chad was using when he was offering the DC pumps with these skimmers. Beyond that, the only changes that I am aware of are the needle wheel impeller and the volute. As for the reliability of these pumps, If they are using the Jebao DCT, I can't honestly say nor would I want to speculate since the pump is brand new to the market.

All things being equal, skimmer pump aside, ATB makes great skimmers and are among the best in their class. Especially for their price. I know many people who have used ATB's over the years and swear by them. As far as the pumps are concerned, they jury is out on that one and it wouldn't be fair for me to say anything negative about them. Especially since I respect the company.

[beto72]

MBRADY,
I PMd you. If you are interested I have 840 V2 available. It is in excellent condition.

[mbrady]

Slief;

Thank you for the honest response. That is all I can ask for.

Mbrady