Do you really need an $800 skimmer? NO

[Lenny718]

Hey trig what's wrong with collecting pebbles? Lol I agree totally in this hobby you get what you pay for.

 

[JonnyJ]

Some of it falls under that " you get what you pay for" category and some of it is all hype. Just read and follow some of the blogs.

I see friends follow nonsense reviews all the time, and watch legitimate people rip them apart.

Out of 20 reviews on aquarium equipment Im lucky if i believe 1..


Use what works for you.

 

[d5332]

I have both skimmers running side by side and when one skims so does the other, cleaning both cups at the same time.

Maybe the pumps are not properly rated who knows, the Atman pump pumps and the Sicce pumps are commonly used and many people are fine with them.

Like I said, if you have a standard home aquarium and want to save some money you can, if you dont mind working an year or two to pay off your skimmer that's your choice as well.

In regards to the person that compared the ebay led's to my skimmer comment, had you taken the time to read you would have noticed that I indicated that ligthing in important based on corals you are keeping. I would not recommend Ebay LED's to someone keeping SPS corals.

However, for a person with a fish only tank or simple to keep corals that dont require rediculous output or spectrums and wanting to save on electricity, bulb replacement and still indulging in the LED craze it is my opinion that there are reliable vendors on Ebay and the Internet in general that a person can purchase a LED unit with real 3 watt leds in it and correct spectrum. Again read before replying, I am not suggesting Ebay LED's for hardcore reef tank.

 

[kres1024]

:sgrin:

I have both skimmers running side by side and when one skims so does the other, cleaning both cups at the same time.

Maybe the pumps are not properly rated who knows, the Atman pump pumps and the Sicce pumps are commonly used and many people are fine with them.

Like I said, if you have a standard home aquarium and want to save some money you can, if you dont mind working an year or two to pay off your skimmer that's your choice as well.

In regards to the person that compared the ebay led's to my skimmer comment, had you taken the time to read you would have noticed that I indicated that ligthing in important based on corals you are keeping. I would not recommend Ebay LED's to someone keeping SPS corals.

However, for a person with a fish only tank or simple to keep corals that dont require rediculous output or spectrums and wanting to save on electricity, bulb replacement and still indulging in the LED craze it is my opinion that there are reliable vendors on Ebay and the Internet in general that a person can purchase a LED unit with real 3 watt leds in it and correct spectrum. Again read before replying, I am not suggesting Ebay LED's for hardcore reef tank.

if it takes you a year or 2 to pay off a skimmer then you shouldnt be in this hobby:duh:

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

:sgrin:




if it takes you a year or 2 to pay off a skimmer then you shouldnt be in this hobby:duh:

lol seriously..where do you work? a Sweatshop in china?

 

[Lenny718]

You guys are to much lol I think even a sweatshop worker could buy a skimmer in a year or two. Defiantly got a good laugh from this thread.

 

[Geraud]

A photographer friend of mine was telling me that one his professors once told them: "I cannot afford to not buy the best".

A friend of mine long ago was pointing out how people did not want to buy Resun pumps (that was circa 2004) because they were made in China, while he was really happy with them etc. 3 months later, one of his cheap pumps grilled, killing all of his tank. He got lucky it did not start a fire in his home.

You indeed pay what you get for... and seeing how much we pay in livestock, there is really no reason to be cheap on equipment. I am not telling spending thousands on "the most luxurious" just for the sake of it, but going for the cheapest systematically is clearly not a good idea in the long run.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

WARNING:
Contains Spoilers!




















































Most skimmers with a proper functional design are going to pull out roughly 30% of organic compounds whether you pay $300, $500 or $1000. It's just science, there's only so many ways bubbles can move through water and collect organics... That price tag is really just about the name and possibly the build quality.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

WARNING:
Contains Spoilers!




















































Most skimmers with a proper functional design are going to pull out roughly 30% of organic compounds whether you pay $300, $500 or $1000. It's just science, there's only so many ways bubbles can move through water and collect organics... That price tag is really just about the name and possibly the build quality.

Right.. so now tell me how a air stone skimmer from 1982 is exactly the same functionality as let's say a modern skimmer like an mtc or skimz or anything w/ a venturi for that matter. Hey they all have bubbles! Sorry but I beg to differ. The design is a crucial part in functionality like just how you can have a standard let's say reef octopus or something then the cone version which is always better and also more expensive for that reason. Most skimmers are designed differently unless it's a knock off of somethign else like the ones on ebay that look like a bubble magus but they're not etc. Different people have different ideas of how filtration should work..more or less the same concept yes but totally different between a bio ball wet dry filter and a canister or hang on the back filter they are all filtration but completely different and it's the same with skimmers. That's a big part of the reason people can never pick which one to choose because there is so many and they are all different. I'm sure Rick who has owned about 700,000 skimmers probably every one that has ever been on the market can chime in.

 

[jpellica]

Oh boy. And chinese LEDs are just as good as the named companies, and knockoff eheim pumps are just as good as eheim and koralias are just as good as vortechs etc etc you can keep saying it but it wont be true and adding 2 skimmers is not as good as 1 amazing skimmer. Plus your drawing more power,more equipment that needs to be cleaned and less room in your sump. Im glad you like your 2 cheaper skimmers,you prefer it that great but what your saying isnt true and plus those sicce pumps have alot of bad reviews and the newer pumps on the expensive skimmers have been designed specifically for skimmer usage. if you are comparing your sicce to a RD pump or even a bubble blaster pump the truth is there is no comparison. Enjoy your skimmer you like them great but most people i know with the vertex and the reef octopus know those skimmers you mention are not the same in any way

So well put Duke. 2 skimmers is not the best idea for many reaction reasons as well as the points u made. And I don't want to clean 1 skimmer cup why would I want to do it twice.
If that's the case why not buy to cheap cars that will give you 12 cylinders instead of that 12 cylinder Bentley.LOL

 

[boozeman]

Just my two cents.... Until someone does an actual comparison between all skimmers, saying that the more expensive ones aren't worth the money is just hearsay.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

There have been studies that looked at what was being removed by skimmers, which is really what matters, and across the board there was an average of about 30% of organics removed.

Randy posted a great link if you guys took the time to look it over (I know it contains graphs and numbers that might be scary) which shows some pretty informative numbers if you read it. Or you can keep arguing over opinions.

 

[Widdy]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/2/aafeature/

 

[Geraud]

While the study does indeed show that the maximum most skimmers can remove is about 30% of organic waste, you have to remember two things.

- it compares skimmers of different technologies, not of different build qualities
- there is more to a skimmer price than how much it can pull out of the water... because if it pulls out a lot one day but is broken the next day... it is pretty expensive.

This is the second part people need to think about. Always going with the cheapest solution is not a good idea in the long run imho.

 

[NYreefNoob]

as i stated earlier, it's more about finding the best matched skimmer for your system then anything, i have tested and played with alot of skimmers over the years, and ill use this as a example, i had a 80g heavy stocked sps tank with a heavy fish load, use a vertex in100 with a sicce pump set-up off a atb 840, this skimmer was a monster on my tank, pulled consistantly and dark, tried a wm k2 which uses the same pump and design basically, it pulled really solid for about a month then didnt seem to pull as much or as consistantly, had a atb 840 which pulled basically the same as the vertex i had modded, also the skimz sm202 recirc which pulled great for a month then settled down ( knew this skimmer was too big for my system when i did testing for them ) used a das ex1 which pulled solid but not the amount nor as dark as the vertex or atb, also had a vertex alpha 200 which pulled alot and dark crap but was over sized as well, the benifit with that skimmer was that i could make alot of adjustments from amount of water being pulled to the amount of air, this was actually my favorite skimmer but was too much in the long road, also had a bubble king 160 which i wasnt impressed with it.. for me i dont want to spend a $1000 either, but i dont want a flimsey built skimmer either. you dont have to spend a fortune, but dont think that your getting the same quality which a cheap skimmer either, nor will it perform the same


lfsmarine, ive read that article while back and i dont agree over all with their results, there's alot of factors that go into the use of a skimmer, the water depth it set's in and ect

plus i do a little mod to most of my skimmers that allow me to further tune it, my little secrect

 

[Imbarrie]

So let us see where you end up in a couple years when those loud and cheaply made skimmers require much more maintenance. Once of them uses a brush wheel which breaks down efficiency in a very short amount of time compared to a needle wheel design. The all in one cone design is also louder as the pump is confined within the body of the skimmer.
In this hobby you get what you pay for. Forums like these are great places to bounce ideas about equipment. And the consensus is not in your favor.
I will keep rocking my quality hand built $400 Reef Dynamics skimmer long after you are on your third and forth skimmers.