ideas on a good skimmer
 

i am trying to fine a good skimmer that will work on a 250g tank. the skimmer might be put into a 80g tank, so i guess in total it will be a 320g total volume.. thanks for the info

Do you want an in sump skimmer or hang on the back. I have a ATI Bublemaster on my 210G with 75G sump and love it. Its about as close to a Bubble King as I could afford right now :lol:.

have to go with a in sump. your skimmer is it working out good for you?

I really like it so far, the only negative I could say is it is sensitive to sump water level fluctuations. Positives, it removes about a litre of skimmate a week from the tank on average. I have a fairly heavily stocked tank with regards to fish, corals consist of 95% sps, the rest being xenia and zoo's. Inverts are the usual clean up crew and a couple of cleaner shrimp, sexy shrimp and a 8" maxima clam.

Hope this helps

Sean

I don't think they are making those anymore.

well i have a ATI BM 250 and I love it its the best skimmer that i have aver owed and I have owned pretty much all the skimmers going, air driven becketts , venturi's, in sumps externals, you name it i have used it . IME BM out performs the euro reef too.

J&L used to sell them but I noticed they aren't listed on they're web page ever since they added the super expensive bubble King line. I guess you can't sell a 1,500$ skimmer thats sitting next to a 450.00$ skimmer that looks the same. I bought mine from Hidden reef about 5 months ago and they are still listed on his web page last time I checked.

I won't comment on the $450.00 skimmer looking the same as the $1500.00 one

Skimmers I would look at are:
ATI, Bubble King, H&S, Deltec, Euroreef

J

great thanks for all that info, i'll go and read up on them and maybe i'll fine one that is going to work for me, again thanks

bubblemaster is no longer made. The two most "popular" skimmers at the "moment" would probably be the euroreef and the bubbleking. Both are quite well built and skim a lot. I've personally owned a euroreef and liked it a lot. The store runs a couple bubblekings and they almost never "throw fits" like the other skimmers sometimes have. Both are set and forget I find.

definately either have a skimmer section of the sump that'll maintain a constant water level or have an auto-top off. in sump skimmers perform SO much better when the water level stays steady. it's suprising how it affects the skimming I find.

If your intent on an ATI bubblemaster, I believe these guys still sell them

http://www.reefgeek.com/filtration/Protein_Skimmers/

They're American and I have no idea what their shipping policies are :mrgreen:

The best skimmer
-will mix largest amount of Air, minimum 600-900 L/per hour or more.
-Will be very quiet
-Easy to clean (no screws, and required minimum clearence for cup removal)
-Power efficient (the pump will draw minimum current in amps)

That sounds like the bk mini I've been using in my system

The the Bubblemasters are still being made, the problem is they can be hard to come by. They are slated to introduce the new BM300 shortly.

I also own a Bubblemaster, I have the 250. While I haven't put it to the test yet as it's breaking in while I set my big tank up I can't see it having any problems handling my tank.

Here is a picture of the 300 alongside the 250 & 200
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/5800/dsc0521eom7.jpg

You know what the problem with BM's is? Product support. Or rather, the lack thereof. I'd hate to slam a company, but I've emailed ATI several times over issues with their BM skimmers and not a single reply was sent. We're talking major issues here (body cracks, pump seizes, etc).

Other than that, as people have stated here, they perform admirably for their price point.

Personally, I'd wait until the next InterZoo pet expo before making an expensive decision concrete (should be sometime this summer).

Bubble King definately for bigger tanks
if your looking for a cheap one a SS125 or the one higher then the SS65(super Skimmer by Coralife) with the mesh mod would be pretty Beefy too.

Reeflo
 

I have the reeflo Orca 200 on my 180
Amazing all I have to say

Have a look at the new tunze master doc skimmers.

been testing one for a week and they are very good skimmers. plug and play in sump skimmers.

Here are are some pics.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/P4120393.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/P4120394.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...kimmer-cup.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...kimapril15.jpg