Which protein skimmer?

[viceroy]

I still deciding which protein skimmer should I get for my 4 feet tank. I round up the 3 which are skimz,reef octopus and bubble magus... And thought or opinions and review from you guys..?

[sherman]

I still believe in Deltec

[viceroy]

deltec to expensive for my budget. Among the 3 bro..

[Kakani]

Skimz not bad quite value for price with the peformance.

[MadScientist]

Deltec or tunze

[dnsfpl]

4 feet tank can get old model like 701 or 851

2nd hand should be less than $400

[chercm]

Trust me get deltec and you do not have to worry

[Jameshong]

I still deciding which protein skimmer should I get for my 4 feet tank. I round up the 3 which are skimz,reef octopus and bubble magus... And thought or opinions and review from you guys..?

Support Singapore product... Skimz!

Good quality built, excellence performance with reasonable price. If got budget....BK is the best..lol!

[MadScientist]

Bk?

[spkentchai]

Bk?

Bubbleking Skimmer...250 internal model $2400

[MadScientist]

Wow, 10 cents per bubble per minute

[viceroy]

I buy bubble king i will become bubble slave..

[John Deroe Kenedy]

Bubble Magus??

[MadScientist]

Bubble king is from royal exclusiv, same company which makes red dragon pumps

[RockyBoy]

I used H&S then skimz. To me, both are equally fantastic needlewheel skimmers. Unless I have to compare between beckett, venturi and needlewheel, totally different for all. Tried all 3 types, still beckett is the best, but of course, due to the required pump pressure requirement, needed alot of electrically power.

[Sandal]

any skimmer for 5 feet tank under 1k? thank you thank you

[MadScientist]

I used H&S then skimz. To me, both are equally fantastic needlewheel skimmers. Unless I have to compare between beckett, venturi and needlewheel, totally different for all. Tried all 3 types, still beckett is the best, but of course, due to the required pump pressure requirement, needed alot of electrically power.

How about venturi vs needle wheel? Don't think there's beckett for mini and nano tanks

[viceroy]

Didnt come across any beckett for small tank.. Usually for big tank with high bioload

[MadScientist]

Yup, unfortunately

[spkentchai]

any skimmer for 5 feet tank under 1k? thank you thank you

You can use BM or skimz...shd be under 1k for brand new and under $500 for 2nd hand...I'm using a BM now Nd works great...

[Sandal]

thanks for ur advice. now see got any luck on the 2nd hand market. if bo dan buy brand new liao haha

[viceroy]

Be patient bro.. sure got good stuff

[clownfish_forever]

Someone asked the same question in the Marine Habitat magazine so I am sharing the answer here. This is from Wayne Oxborough, Norway, Ultimate Reef. To me, it is quite chim la, maybe it makes better sense for the advanced brothers here

An important fact to remember is that expensive skimmers remove exactly the same things as a cheap one (30% of total organics on a normal system are skimmable), but the differences between a good skimmer and a bad one is that the bad skimmer takes a lot longer to remove the organics, and does it less efficiently, so the overall organic count in the system remain higher. The choice of skimmer is governed by several parameters - it must fit on the system, physical size and rating are important, as are the choice of pump and type of air injection, quality of manufacture and noise. While there are numerous skimmers of dubious merit on the market, there are also a larger number of well-designed and good-priced skimmers that perform very well for most people.

HOB skimmers are the more common ones available, but there are also a number of system, usually small all-in-ones available, where a kimmer is effectively mounted in the main display. If you dont have a sump this choice is easy - you get a hang-on, or you can sit one in the back corner. If you have a sump then that's usually the best place for a skimmer.

Having decided on the style of skimmer, the next question to ask is how large it should be. Manufacturers offer rated tank size recommendations for their skimmers, but these vary greatly from maufacturer to manufacturer. A simple measure is to look at the total system size, and then select a skimmer that pulls 1 litre of air per hour for each litre of water.

There are number of ways to generate the bubbles in a skimmer, but for the most of the higher end skimmers on the market, the chosen method is a pinwheel or a meshwheel. Venturi skimmer are less common except in smaller sizes, although in some case Beckett valves are used, which are a type of 3D multiple port venturi and are claimed to be more plankton-friendly. The venturi skimmer can have the advantage of using only a single large pump to push water and blow bubbles, but in larger size it is harder to tune, and calcium carbonate build-up on the venturi can limit air access (unless religiously maintained), which doesnt help performance.

For many, the choice is between a meshwheel or a pinwheel. The meshwheel offers greater performance, but there can be a considerable maintenance overhead. Some manufacturers offer a choice betwen the tow, which is good, and some meshwheels are made from a hard plastic that takes a lot less maintenance than one made from Enkamat.

Another choice is to make whether it's one pump or two. Some skimmers sit on the sump and use a single large pump to blow bubbles and move water through the body. More complex skimmers are available that us two (or more) pumps - one to move water through the body, and one (or more) to blow bubbles. This has several advantages: first of all, this is the ultimate combination to control performance, as by tweaking the water supply and adjusting a gate valve on the outlet, the water level in the body can be adjusted very consistently to give a skim that is more or less wet. With a single pump skimmer this is harder to achieve. Also, with a twin pump skimmer design, you can stand the skimmer outside the sump if this is helpful.

[viceroy]

That some good info.. thanks bro