Deltec AP850

[riot]

OK looks like the waterline I put is still too low. Sorry did not check after I post so this morning skimmate still collecting on the spill over. Will get back to night and raise it up high till the O ring level. Sure wont floood out right?

Thanks guys.

Piglet- pix out once I get more skimmate in the pot.

[riot]

Ok by now the spill over is gunked up cant even look thru, so decided to take it off and clean up.

Pix of skimmate collected 48 hours.

It is a brownish liquid, diluted with a bit of overspill I encountered when I overtuned. My initial error was to undertune, so the water level was below the bayonet fitting/ O ring area, and I managed to get dry fluff that encrusted the spill over lip. Tuning to slightly below the O ring led to wetter material.

Note that since Friday, I have not fed the fish, and normally I feed very sparingly. A cube of mysis or pinch of cyclopeze twice a week. 5 fish (small damsel and clowns) plus medium 1 yellow tang.

[riot]

My personal and current feelings towards the Deltec-

A bit more complicated than HS to tune - I ran my old HS2000 with full air and valve open, no problem. The deltec maybe coz its still new a bit more sensitive.

Perfomance so far is pretty good. Very similar to my old HS- infact no difference. Therefore, I suspect that the needlewheel technology employed by the two companies are equally efficient and effective. A HS for the same size is equal to a similarly sized Deltec.

Secondly, did upsizing to a larger skimmer do anything for my reef? The gunk taken out by the huge Deltec is equal to the skimmate taken out by my itsy bitsy HS F2000. The smaller HS takes over (assuming) 95% detritus from the system, the Deltec takes over 95%. Since my system is just 400L, the HS is sized perfectly, the Deltec oversized.

However, for a larger system, the smaller HS that I used would not be able to accept a larger turnover, whereas the Deltec Ap850 is able. It is also more able to respond to sudden and additional workload in case of die offs, as compared to the smaller HS.

Therefore, the logic is: for a fixed sized system, all things being equal, a smaller skimmer suitably rated, will work as effectively as an over rated skimmer. However, when things are in flux, the larger skimmer should be able to correct the disequilibrium faster than the smaller skimmer. (chim right?)

[dr evil]

im a h&s user but looking at the deltec workmanship n performance, it certainly rocks

thinking of upgrading again...

[jc85]

im a h&s user but looking at the deltec workmanship n performance, it certainly rocks

thinking of upgrading again...

Where's ur diy skimmer?

[dr evil]

never use a diy skimmer b4. built 1 but did not use . im always been a needlewheel fans

deltec, here i come

[piglet]

[IanJ]

Of course you could always consider Aquamedic for needle wheel skimmers. Advantage is that they need no tuning, the water level is self levelling. Buy, fit, and clean.

Just not sure how they stand pricewise, maybe overpriced.

[riot]

Nah, think I will stick to my Deltec . I love the space shuttle look.

Go go Deltec Clan!

[jc85]

never use a diy skimmer b4. built 1 but did not use . im always been a needlewheel fans

deltec, here i come

Why not convert ur diy beckett to needlewheel then?

[IanJ]

Sorry, my comments were aimed towards Dr Evil, nothing wrong with Deltec.

In UK Deltec and Aquamedic tend to go head to head. Each have fans.

I bought the Aquamedic 5000 baby rather than the 850 purely on the recommendation of the shop that runs both skimmers on their systems. However i believe more people in the UK use the 850 than the 5000

In the UK the prices work out about the same for both, i dont know the actual prices here but i heard that the 5000 sells for about$1800, which i think is well overpriced, $1200 would be more realistic.

In some respects the 850 does have advantages and no question you have bought a great skimmer, just suprised its taken singaporeans so long to figure this out.

[dr evil]

maybe someone want to do a price comparison for all the needlewheel skimmers n performance. maybe put some ratings.

that will help for those who are keen on needlewheels

my 2 cents

[weileong]

Local prices. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Aquamedic 5000 baby - $1800 rated up to 2252 litres (500 gallons)

Deltec AP850 - $1300 rated 1500 Ltrs (333 gals)

H&S A-200-1260 - high $2k+ rated 1200 litres

Performance wise would be difficult to qualify.

[piglet]

weileong.. AP850's installation kit.. -around s$300 ?? thus total cost for AP850 with installtion kit -around s$1500.

[weileong]

All the 3 skimmers are external skimmer and they all requires additional pump and pipings to work.

For AP850 it already comes with the hose adaptor so you can just provide the pump and flexible hose. I still prefer to use the connection kit

[weileong]

oh BTW there is always the AP902 rated to 550gallons at $2250

10" dia, 900mm tall running 2x1260. Same one Alfar using.

[IanJ]

So the 5000 baby is over priced here i think.

UK price is about £400, which includes 17.5% VAT which equates to a price around $1000 this includes the shops margin(they are cheaper in mainland Europe). Allowing for an additional freight cost, $1800 sounds a little steep. For that money in the Uk you can get the 5000 Twin.

From the prices listed its easy to see which gives the "biggest bang for the buck"

[AlfaRomeo]

Yup and considering that the H&S A-200-1260 (1200L & Single pump) is much more expensive than the AP902 (2500L & Dual pump)...

[weileong]

The A-200-2x1260 specs: (from H&S website)

Surface: 400 mm x 340 mm

Pump: 2x Eheim 1260/65W

Max. Size Of The Tank: 2200 Litres

Input: 20 mm

Output: 50 mm

Skimmer Body: 200 mm

Height: 820 mm

The AP920 specs: (from deltec website)

For Aquariums up to:

Heavy Stocking 1800 Ltrs (400 gals)

Normal Stocking 2500 Ltrs (550 gals)

Water Throughput:

3000 Ltr./ h (667 gall/h)

Dimensions:

L: 620mm W: 340mm H: 980mm

Skimmer body: 250mm

[AlfaRomeo]

WL, any idea on the price difference for both?

[riot]

That was the main factor in me switching from HS to Deltec. The price difference when I was informed by Weileong nearly blew me off my seat, hence the sudden order for the Deltec. A simple exchange of information saved me close to $1k.

Big fat thanks to WL once again.

[sunnymau]

sorry to hijack the forum awhile.

bro weileong, can u post a pic of ur return pipe with the Tee?

cause my water level flactuacte tooo

[roidan]

Between the H&S A-200-2x1260 and the AP902,

it's a no brainer, "deltec rocks" in this mid-weight class

[weileong]

There you go.

I didn't glue the outlet, too lazy to go get a union

Straight off the skimmer.

The D32 piping happens to fit the cheap local JIS 25mm pipe, so I enlarge it to 30mm.

[weileong]

Heres the Tee you want.