Whats the better skimmer?

[Reefer Rob]

Interesting thread. I had a $1200 skimmer on my last tank and didn't really see the value in it. I'm still not sure that skimming is all that important.

I'm looking for a skimmer in this price range for my new setup. From the reviews people give, you wouldn't know there were so many problems with them.

I was thinking of the Super Reef Octopus 1000, what mods will it need right out of the box? All the reviews seem to be positive, but I want to be careful. Lately I feel $300 is a lot of money to put into an aquarium item.