Skimmer debate!

[sharkboy]

I know that this debate has been brought up in the past but after doing some more research it is cloudier than ever! Deltec, Euoreef, Bubble King Mini, or H&S? Looking for something in the 175 gallon range.. I had never heard of the H&S but many people are swearing by them.

[Texreefer]

I'm partial to deltec and happen to have one for sale

[caferacermike]

Might think about what TexReefer has for sale as it's a good product. I'd also tell you to go look through the "best purchase" thread in "lounge" as you'll see several folks swear by their Euroreefs. For me it's Euroreef all the way, if only for the fact that they build a great product for the price. Trust me I think they are still overpriced but well under what some charge.

[MissT]

I'm a EuroReef fan. IMO, they are the best bang for buck. Get the RS250, you wont be disappointed! And you'll save money with that one over a Deltec to get yourself a Calcium Reactor or whatever

[sharkboy]

I like my Euroreef CS250 but just wanted to see what else was out there...Anyone had any experience with the H&S?

[LoneStar]

TexasTodd has used a H&S. He just got a new tank so he is checking his PM's...might want to ask him.

Art, I always ask, what is my budget and what could my budget could really be. I also consider how long am I really going to be in the hobby and then figure out how many times I might purchase the same piece of equipment.

Deltec and Bubble King have always been on the tops of my list. With the new mini Bubble Kings out there, they are now more 'affordable' (as compared to their bigger brothers). Deltec is nice. You do pay for the name but they are built very well. H&S is basically just like a Deltec. For a simple plug and play premium skimmer, the Bubble King mini's are great.

Euro-Reefs are great too. Their re-circulating skimmers are king, and will perform very well. Very good skimmers for the budget.

[hobogato]

i know texastodd used to run one before he got that monster that cafemike has now.

[Richard]

One word - SKILTER

[TexasTodd]

I know nothing about the Bubble Kings other than what I've read.

I think Deltec is the best out there pending Bubble Kings.

I personally feel the H&S was better that the EuroReef. Not a ton, but better.

EuroReef would be my next pick, but possibly first if $$ were an issue. But ONLY with Ehiem pumps on it!

Brian has run both EuroReef with Ehiem and Deltec and I'm pretty sure he'd still pick Deltec. :)

I don't really know why there are differences between HS, Deltec, EuroReef when they're all made basically the same, but they do all run a little bit different.

I'm not sure if that just helped, or, made more confusion!

Todd

[Fish4life]

hard to compare insump/external. My best friend in Idaho had an H&S skimmer, skims the poop right out of the fish. No experience with bubble king but the water flow/lph air is quite impressive not to mention the pictures i've seen of ppls. I probably just babbled but thats my 2 cents. Hardest part is just dialing the skimmers in!


Good Luck,


Kurt

[greenmako]

I would pick Deltec all day over Euro-Reef but if you go with Euro-reef make DOUBLE SURE that it has the ehiem pump if not you will regret it.
My old Euro-reef ended up costing me out of pocket $600 in pumps at less than a year b/c they broke and Euro Reef wouldn't ship me a replacement pumps.

I had to send in my pumps and they said a minimum of 6 weeks at the time to get the pumps back to me. I didn't want to run my tank without a skimmer for 6weeks or longer especially back then when it was a barebottom tank. So I had to purchase all new pumps and send in the old ones.

[sharkboy]

Do deltec's come with eheim pumps? How about the new euroreef recirculating ones?

[TexasTodd]

Yes, the larger Deltecs come with Ehiem. I think some of the smallest may use AquaBee.

You can get EuroReef with Ehiem. But, it may still be an upgrade/higher cost option. I'm not sure if they completely went away from the Sedras.

Todd

[sharkboy]

So the sedras had a lot of problems? I hope mine doesn't go bad...

[RayAllen]

I think Euro reef are on the top of my best list, but im like ASM and Octopus skimmers to which do a heck of a job for a lot less $$.

[tony]

One word - SKILTER


lol

sadly i remember when those hit the market :(

[matt]

I know this is going to sound self serving, but for a 175 gallon the beckett skimmer that Henry has (maybe its sold) for sale at $175 is definitely the best deal I've seen on a skimmer in a while. With the right pump it's tough to beat a good beckett skimmer.

Skimmers are not that complicated; you need the right pump and venturi device, and plenty of skimmer volume. I started building skimmers because the quality of what I saw on the market for the price was really disappointing to me.

Needlewheel skimmers are really popular these days, mostly (IMO) because they don't have the adjustment problems that plagued so many beckett and downdraft skimmers. And, of course, they're much cheaper to manufacturer; there's practially nothing but a tube and pump to the ER skimmers and knock offs. With a beckett skimmer if you use the right pressure pump, and start with a well designed skimmer that has the beckett at the top of the water column, they work extremely well.

Since I'm not really building any more skimmers (certainly not looking to sell any) I'm not trying to be self serving by recommending Henry's skimmer.

[goodiebag]

"skims the poop right out of the fish"

look out SNL writers on strike, here we come.:lightbulb:
thanks 'FISH4LIfe':applause:

forget "TOTY "

here is quote of the year

[mikedelgado]

IMO the best skimmer for the money is the DAS ex series. liscenced thru deltec and cheap.
try petorama.com. I have the ex 3 and i could not be happier.

[TexasTodd]

Mike, joke?

I can't get that website to work.

Todd

[Ed]

it's petorama.net , but the commerce site is currently closed for maintenance.

[mikedelgado]

sorrry petorama.net. I just checked the site , it is temporarily closed. here is a link to a review http://www.swfmas.com/node/80 .