DAS Skimmers

[LoneStar]

DAS Skimmers

Dutch Aquarium Systems

I've been in this hobby for +2 years and I thought I have seen most every brand of equipment by now. Never seen or heard of these skimmers before. Kinda thought they were cheap knock off's. But tonight I ran across the DAS Skimmer Club thread on ReefCentral tonight. I'm slowly reading through it but it seems these are directly made off of Deltec's design. Apparently DAS bought the plans sometime ago (but I could be wrong). It does look like they use different pumps.....which may be good or bad. Good for a cheaper, quality unit or bad if they don't last as long.

Plus their cheaper than a Deltec!

This bad boy would be a heck of alot cheaper than the AP851 I want to get down the road. Its the DAS EX-3 and its only $629 as compared to around $1150 for the AP851.
http://stores.petorama.net/catalog/EX-3_Large.jpg

And here is a website I found to get them:
http://stores.petorama.net/Categories.bok?category=Aquarium+Supplies%3APumps% 2FFilters%3AFilters

Ok, for those of you 'in the know', burst my bubble and tell me its too good to be true.

[stoneroller]

Wow I have a club!! When I lucked into my skimmer I didn't know what I had. I was told "smells like a Deltec" which turns out is pretty accurate. It's a DAS ES-1 which has only one recirc pump. It is well built and absolutely solid so it should last long (that's my plan). Don't know much about the pump except it has a needlewheel. Wish I had the manual, that link to the pdf doesn't work BTW.

Maybe Deltec obtained the plans from DAS??

Would like to see a comparison of skimmate production.

[LoneStar]

Heres the link to the RC thread I've been going over:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1100510&perpage=25&page number=1

There are some photos in there and some user experiences as well. Good to hear yours is working out well.

Looks like the pumps they use are AquaBees....which are used on some Deltecs and H&S skimmers. Plus it looks like if the pumps ever go out, their only $110 to replace, compared to a couple hundred for some other high end brands.

Let me know if you find out any more info!

[stoneroller]

I'm on page 7!

[thedude]

I'd say the first DAS skimmer is some what comparable to a Deltec AP600. The difference is that Stuart (of Deltec UK) has said that Deltec further modifies the pin wheel and magnet of the impellar. A DAS and Deltec impellar look very different so I'd tend to believe him.

Another thing is that a lot of Europeans say that Aquabee's are cheap pumps. The only problem I have with them is the little flap that makes them pump the right way.

[LoneStar]

Another thing is that a lot of Europeans say that Aquabee's are cheap pumps. The only problem I have with them is the little flap that makes them pump the right way.


Yeah I saw a few people mention a 'flap' issue with the pumps but I wasn't sure what they were talking about. What would this flap be? If I go with any of them, it would be the EX-3 model. Is it worth my time researching these any further? Or take this brand as hit or miss. Some people on RC find these to perform as good as a comprible Deltec would.

[stoneroller]

On my next maintenance cycle, I am going to pull my pump and check out that flap and clean it real well.

[caferacermike]

Any of them run the Eheim pumps cannot be compared to Aquabee pumps. Eheims are just that nice. I was headed for Deltec because they ran Eheim pumps but lucked out at the last minute on a Euroreef model that uses 4 recirc Eheim 1262's.

[LoneStar]

On my next maintenance cycle, I am going to pull my pump and check out that flap and clean it real well.

If you can, please take a photo of the flap. I'm trying to figure out what it is....





If you keep up a good maintenance schedule, I don't see why those Aquabee pumps wouldn't last for a long time. But that could be said for any equipment in this hobby.

[thedude]

Ok info on the "flap"

The impellar on any given pump starts in a random direction each time. The design on the Eheim understands this so the direction the impellar is spinning doesn't matter. For some unknown (and annoying) reason, the aquabee has to have the impellar and flap line up for it to run correctly.

Example (this is all hypothetical):

The Aquabee's impellar starts in a clockwise motion so the "flap" has to cover the right side port for the pump to run effectively. When it doesn't switch like it's supposed to, you get bubbles but the foam doesn't travel up the neck at all, it just pops.

As to if it's worth getting, I would choose Eheim pumps over Aquabee's any day of the week. That being said, the Aquabee still works. I'd base your decision on customer service personally. If your DAS skimmer pump breaks, who gets you a new one?