I need a new skimmer help me pick

[Ben1]

First off I am a believer in heavy skimming. I am currently running a Euro-reef RC135, which is nice and runs recirculating but seems to be to turbulent for me and I want to move to an in-sump skimmer anyhow to free up the space. Moving the euroreef to the sump is out of the question as its to large of a foot print.

With that said I have narrowed my search to these:

MSX200, the 250 wont fit in my sump.

http://www.marinesolutionsinc.com/catal ... _info.html

ATI BM 250 or 200, the 250 will fit in my sump and has 2 pumps kinda nice.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant ... de=ATIskim

Mini Bubble King 180, just seems expensive for what it is,

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant ... bubbleking

So I dont know I can afford them all so thats not as issue, all have bubble plates which should help with the turbulance issue I am unhappy with. All will fit in my sump, but only one has two pumps. I think the ATI might be the best of the three but I am not sure as I have only seen pictures online of these running and have no real world experience with these three.

Tank is a BB 58 SPS reef.

 

[Len]

Look a few threads below. There is a Bubble King sale (15% off). That might sway your decision

 

[Anonymous]

With a 58 gallon tank you can do a lot of heavy skimming with the BM 200 (only one pump) save yourself a few hundred bucks on top of that! (Considering the pumps themselves can be had for only about $100 or so)

 

[trido]

With a 58 gallon tank you can do a lot of heavy skimming with the BM 200 (only one pump) save yourself a few hundred bucks on top of that! (Considering the pumps themselves can be had for only about $100 or so)

Ditto. I have the BM 250 on my 450G system and it pulls unbelievable amounts of gunk daily. IMO it would be WAAAYY over kill for a 58G tank

Be aware, the Sicc pumps on the ATI's are known to be tempermental on restart. Also the mesh wheels do need replaced every few months for peak performance.

For some strange reason. On my skimmer only. The impellar shafts are getting grooves worn into them after only seven months creating more issues. I am familiar with four BM's personally and they are really good for the price if your willing to deal with a couple small quirks.

 

[Anonymous]

Trido, are those issues you mentioned a warranted fix? Or is it a tough luck that's normal wear and tear problems?

 

[trido]

Trido, are those issues you mentioned a warranted fix? Or is it a tough luck that's normal wear and tear problems?

The restart issues and threadwheel replacement are normal. In most cases the restart issue can be cleared up with a slight trimming of the threadwheel.

In my rare case, both impellar shafts are getting grooves worn where the magnet rides inside the housing causing the magnet to literally stick to the side making restart near impossible. It has been covered under warranty once but Im trying to find the source of the problem before I harrass reefgeek again for new impellar assemblies.