Best protein skimmer on the market????

sophie

New Member
Hi all,

In your experiences what would you consider the best in sump protein skimmer?

Starting a 220gal reef and fish aquarium and am new to the salt water world. Do not want to regret the skimmer purchase.

Thank you
 

ChrisOaty

Member
BigSkimmer.JPG
 

sophie

New Member
Thanks Rob, I think I have gone crosseyed reading through brands such as Daltec, ATB 840 2.0, Berlin x2, Octo 2000 xp, Vertex Alpha Cones 200, Euro Reef skimmers, Remora........Sometimes too much info burns your brain.
As long as its quiet, efficiant and does what it has to do without dying then I'll be happy. i'll look at the ASM now.

I'm sensing I was correcting in not going for the Aqua Medic Turbo Floater 3000...
 

sophie

New Member
sk8rdn, it's more the reliability that I am wanting to assure. The Aqua medic 3000 that I was advised upon was nearly the way I went but was put off it due to some pretty aweful reviews.
 

sophie

New Member
Just had a look at the ASM G-4XX. Cheaper than the others I have been researching that's for sure. As i obviously have no exp with these, do they run fairly quiet?
 

sk8rdn

Has been struck by the ban stick
sophie said:
sk8rdn, it's more the reliability that I am wanting to assure. The Aqua medic 3000 that I was advised upon was nearly the way I went but was put off it due to some pretty aweful reviews.

The big three are all reliable, but quiet is kind of an issue all around. Especially on ones for a 220 tank. But yea, I'd question the aqua medics too.
But, no matter the brand, go bigger than your tank. Ie, if its rated for 250 gallon, its on the small side... Go for one at 300 gallons.
Also, look at c-skim 1800... Nice, compact, ultra efficient and easiest to use/maintain...

...."Fish" Happens!....
 

sophie

New Member
The Red Sea C-Skim 1800 Deluxe also looks great and well priced. The Deltec I was looking at comes in at over double the $$$ that these.
Never thought choosing a skimmer would be so hard :s
 

mcarroll

New Member
There is no "best skimmer on the market" cuz "best" doesn't really hold any specific meaning.

You have noticed that there are LOTS of good options on the market these days - a dizzying array in fact.

One thing to hold in mind is that all decent (or better) skimmers are very similar in maximum performance in that they will be able to get no more than about 30% of the waste out of the water that you'd want to get out. It's a physics thing and related to the composition of the wastes that build up - nothing to do with the skimmer design at all. (Skimmer design mostly relates to how quickly one can get to that 30%.....not all that useful a stat cuz all are pretty quick) I wouldn't feel compelled to "break the bank" on a skimmer for this reason.

The next thing I'd suggest is to look at is what skimmer design is being copied the most (yay China!). In my estimation, this would be the Reef Dynamics design (nee Euro-Reef). In fact, Reef Dynamics is the first skimmer I would suggest you check out. While not as cheap as some of the Chinese knock-offs, price is not out of this world as for most of the better european brands, and design and performance are top-notch - no gimmicks! Not to mention they are based here in the USA and they are super easy to reach and talk to for questions or support if you feel like it. I'd start looking at the INS300. I would not hesitate to call the owner (Jeff) to discuss your tank if you have questions either.

Two more things to remember/live by which, if ignored, will handicap even the "best" skimmer: 1) keep the skimmer clean by wet skimming and/or manual cleanings whenever any buildup is noticed. 2) having a consistent (and correct) water level in the tank where the skimmer pump is by using a good ATO. (E.g. aquahub.com's kit, Ultralife's, Tunze, etc that all use reed-style floats.)

If noise is super important (any of the better skimmers are reasonably quiet considering what the device is doing - bubbling massive amounts of air into water) I wouldn't worry about factoring that into the skimmer selection. Instead I would operate the skimmer during "off hours" whatever that means for your scenario, so that the skimmer isn't on when you are around. As long as it can be on 2/3 of the day, that should be adequate as they catch up very quickly after being off. (If you are around to be bothered all the time, this may not be workable.)

-Matt
 

sasquatch

Brunt of all Jokes~
PREMIUM
first skimmer.. berlin classic (now used for storing pennies) having built at least 15, from Beckett to needle wheel (and some just plain strange) Ive come to a simple conclusion... you can only remove so much goo from a tank, some designs are better than others, go big or stay home
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Yeah, recently I bought a protein skimmer to show the page of protein skimmer reviews and really this is an excellent device. It is totally different. Best of luck on your search.

This is 5 year old thread, so a lot of the information presented is obsolete.

As for the article you mention, I disagree with a lot of the points in it. The key one is skimmer sizing. I recommend you get a skimmer rated for a tank that is double the size of your tank, and always use the lower number if they give a range. Manufacturers tend to be very optimistic about their skimmers.

As for "best skimmer", there is no one best skimmer. The entire system needs to be taken into account. What is right for one system may be totally wrong for another, even if they contain the same amount of water.
 
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