Which Skimmer should i get?

J

Jay

Pacific Coast PS-3000 (needle wheel driven)
Red Sea Berlin Turbo XL (rated for 400 - 500 gallons)

im having a hard decision between these two... any suggestions?
 
neither if you are buying them new. i would look at octopus skimmers if you are on a budget.

how big of a tank are you wanting to run a skimmer? and how much are you looking to spend?
 
If I had 400 to spend I would go I tech, or new octopus cone skimmer, msx 250a (askoll pump not sicce). If you are comfortable buying used check out reefcentral alot of good deals on there

http://www.reefspecialty.com/p492/Super-Reef-Octopus-Protein-Skimmer-XP-2000-Internal/product_info.html

this is the cone skimmer I would go with if it was my $400 and had to buy new. if you want it talk to Reefpets a local sponsor he can beat that price hands down. I just got the external version and I am setting it up on my big tank tomorrow
 
@Jay wrote:
what do you think of the Aqua Euro USA Classic 250? or the octopus PS-3000 said:
I have never used an aqua euro or known anyone to use that skimmer so for me I would pass. Octopus ps-3000 and pacific coast ps-3000 are the same skimmer and very inneficient compared to skimmers built today that is prob a 3 to 4 year old design using an inefficient pump. You had to mod that impeller to get it to skim properly. I owned the recirculating version of the one you are looking at.

It really depends on what you want to keep. If you want to keep sps then you need to go with a newer type skimmer that will clean the tank. A skimmer is a piece of equipment you really should not skimp on as you want to keep the water in pristine condition. I am not saying buy the most exspensive skimmer out there. But buy one that has a prove track record either pump wise or design wise. It is your tank and you can spend the money accordingly but in my opinion those two skimmers I would pass on as you would be upgrading the skimmer later on.

Buy used if you are comfortable going that route. If you can find a das ex2 or ex3 that is a great skimmer for the price if you can find one. You want make this skimmer be the last skimmer you buy as there are alot of skimmers out there in your price range just choose the best one as there is alot of junk skimmers out there.
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well now that i have looked around im not sure i want to buy the 400.00 skimmer.. i would hope someone on here has used the Aqua Euro USA Classic 250 Protein Skimmer its seems to be a good skimmer with a good price.

http://www.aquaeurousa.com/Protein_Skimmers.htm

or what about a Precision Marine bullet 3 protein skimmer?
 
Hi,

It seems like you have already made up your mind. :lol: That skimmer is not very good, if you do any research you will see that the performance is lacking, the pumps do not pull a lot of air and several mod's are needed to get it to perform. As stated before, the skimmer is a vital part to having a successful reef tank, if I wanted a 265G reef tank that will eventually have thousands of dollars worth of coral/critters in it, I would not buy the cheapest skimmer I could find. When purchasing a skimmer keep in mind that a lot of manufactures overrate their products, you see this practice more so on the lower priced products so it's important to remember that a skimmers handling capacity is more about bioload than water volume. The second skimmer you have listed required a pressure rated pump in order to perform as designed and is very inefficient in regards to the amount of power consumed. I would go with the skimmers previously recommended to you but in the end it's your money and your tank.

Good luck,
 
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