I opted to spend a bunch of money on a skimmer because I was tired of cheap ones that I spent more time fiddling with then they did skimming.
It consistently produces the same amount of skimmate day in and day out and not once in the year I've had it, have I been tempted to throw it off the sundeck....

I think perhaps the biggest difference is quality....those titanium screws will never rust....that 1/4" thick acrylic will never crack....etc. Properly maintained, a skimmer of this quality should far outlast lesser quality skimmers.

I upgraded from a EuroReef CS-6-2+ with gate mod and meshmod to a Bubble King Mini 180 last fall.

I am happy with the upgrade.

The main advantages are:

1. Almost silent, compared to my noisy EuroReef.

2. You don't need to tinker with it, just dial it in then forget about it, reliable skimmate production day in and day out. Compared to my Euroreef which I was always adjusting to try and get the skimmate production right.

3. Rock solid build quality.

The disadvantage is:

1. Price. If you can't afford it, get a Bubble Magus.

The new Deltec skimmers will be out soon,looks like they will be worth a look.

http://www.theaquariumsolution.com/n...re-information

reef octopus make a very good skimmer based on the BK principle.. not sure if its available buy you guys though..

Just a hunch, Won't white be darn near impossible to keep clean in the sump?

My bubbleking seems to stay white o.k.

Vertex has new cones skimmers that are out that are supposed to be pretty comparable to Bubble kings

The Vertex Aquaristik cone skimmers are made by Royal Exclusiv actually. The two teamed up to make a cone skimmer of bubbleking quality (cnc machined parts) but at a much lower price point. Apparently it will be sold as Vertex but made by Royal Exclusiv.

The Alpha 170 is starting at $649 and the Alpha 250 is starting at $999 but that is just the presale price and then the 250 goes up to $1200 and the 170 to around $800. Not sure what the bigger one costs but I think it was like $1200 for presale and then $1400 regular.

This was info from a while back though...not sure how it ended up going for naming the skimmers.

This where I had read about the new 'Vertex' but then I went to premium aquatics website and they have them only under the Royal Exclusiv name. Maybe Vertex is now doing their own cone?

http://glassbox-design.com/2009/new-...d-more-photos/