Protein Skimmer?

[fatman]

I just believe you are principally paying for name and pump value when buying a skimmer made of cheap extruded plastic. I have over two dozen skimmers in use and they all k=have cracks in their collection cups just from general use not accidents. They are all extruded plastic. When I recommend coralife it is the 125 because of its price its is a better deal than others in its performance range. The small octopus is in the same performance range. A pump can perform somewhat better and be in the same performance range. If is is designed for a tank between 90 gallons and 150 gallons nominal it is in the same range. Al four of the skimmers I refer to are principally for tanks in that size range. For your money the Coralife is the best choice. It is not the top performer, it does not use the best materials for construction, but its price for the performance it provides makes it he best bang for your buck. The Octopus is the only mass manufacturer which sells a cell cast needle wheel skimmer in that size range, but their price is high because of its materials and name, obviously not because of greatly increased performance or its pump. They all perform well it does not really matter which one performs 10 or 20 percent better or what ever. If you start out with an over sized and good priced skimmer there is no need for a skimmer that works better at double the price. If Octopus used a better pump or lowered their price it would be a great skimmer. As it is it is an average performer made with heavier materials and that is not a good enough reason to pay so much more for a skimmer when Coralife sells so cheaply. If all four of the skimmers were made out of cell cast acrylic my opinion would differ,then only the pump, and prices charged would be taken into account as performance is not greatly enhanced by any improvements I have witnessed. Dwell times are an adjustment. Admittedly adjustment ease varies from skimmer to skimmer. If I could purchase Octopus for the same price as the Turboflotors I use I would use them instead, but that is only because of their better materials used in construction. I pay little more than what is typically charged for Coralifes so I buy the Turboflotors. They would be a better skimmer than an Octopus if they were cell cast plastic instead of extruded plastic. I would not however pay full price for Turboflotors, I would buy Coralifes. To put it simple, I will not pay a high price for an extruded plastic skimmer. And the cell cast skimmers are good quality, but then they typically charge them out of the ball park or use cheap pumps and try to mid price range them. The skimmer market needs to settle down so that their prices can become competitive before it is worth buying anything besides cheap needle wheels that perform nearly as well as the much more expensive ones.

[d.french]

i think your missing the whole point i'm trying to make here fatman octopus aren't high priced, that just it look at price difference between the two there very close in price, deltec, euro reef, bubble king, ATI, reeflo, and tunze are all high priced skimmers.

i posted a link with prices between the 2 skimmers only a couple of bucks difference.

[d.french]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...4&pcatid=13924

the first three skimmer 110, 150, and nw 200 are comparable by price and size recommended, except coralife actually won't handle the size tank it says it will, seen it first hand.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...y_Code=Octopus

[fatman]

And the price of a Octopus,if it is not expensive then it is what? It is not ungodly priced. It is mid lined just like the others being debated. It is actually nearest in price to the cost of a Turboflotor which is expensive even for a midline as is the ASM, but they fit in closer to the Coralife than others do. I have stated the fact that the Octopus is made with good materials for its price and easily adjustable, which is nice, but other than that, the upgrade in materials and its name it has nothing to offer to warrant its price and neither does the Turboflotor or the ASM which are also over priced for the league they are in. They are all upper level entry models, nothing more. The Octopus outperforms the Coralife, but not enough for the price difference even given the better materials. The Coralife is the only one in this category with a price that is justified by what it offers. It is not the best performer, but it offers the most value for the price asked. The OctoPus takes second place in value due to its better materials, the Turboflotor has the best pump placing it in third and the ASM is in last place value wise. The others mentioned aren't even being considered herein given their prices. There are no new points being brought out so why is this debate continuing? By me it is not! The End!

[Asteroid]

Hello All -

I read and re-read this thread trying to get a feel for what skimmer to get to hang on the back of my 55gallon glass aquarium (48" x 13" x 21") And I admit I am new and presently know virturally very little about skimmers. My question - if money were factored out of concern and functionality is the sole criterion, would (could) someone please rank order the top say 5 skimmers for me to think about buying? Thanks....

[d.french]

from what i've read on reviews, not personal opinion

better skimmers

bermuda rogue
aqua c remora
deltec which is expensive but awesome
lifereef hang on skimmers

below here are ok skimmers

red sea prizm skimmer
coralife skimmer
octopus
cpr bak pak

in sump skimmer are the way to go if you can do a sump.

[reeffreak]

Originally Posted by Asteroid

Hello All -

I read and re-read this thread trying to get a feel for what skimmer to get to hang on the back of my 55gallon glass aquarium (48" x 13" x 21") And I admit I am new and presently know virturally very little about skimmers. My question - if money were factored out of concern and functionality is the sole criterion, would (could) someone please rank order the top say 5 skimmers for me to think about buying? Thanks....

For HOB and money is no object,right?

Aqua C Remora Pro
Lifereef-the best IME,but I'm partial.
Coralife SS

Octopus and other skimmer companies make great in sump skimmers but never heard any good or bad about there hang-on models.

[McCrary]

Dude, french has been doing some research. The bermuda rogue is a good one that can definitely handle the load of a 55, so can the Deltec MCE600, the MCE300 could probably handle it unless you have some crazy bioload.

The AquaC Remora uses some dated technology and they can have performance issues based on the placement of the injector nozzle. This takes them off the list IMO. The Red Sea is probably less effective than the Seaclone. Coralife has overflow issues when used as a HOB and can dump like 5 gallons onto the floor for no reason, at also releases a massive amount of microbubbles.

If I didn't have a budget I would get the Deltec MCE600, but most people have budgets, so its up to you.

[d.french]

there is one hang on octopus skimmer that i've seen in action and is awesome i put link below.

http://thereefstop.com/index.php?_a=viewProd&review=read&productId=342#re ad_review

[ccCapt]

Originally Posted by fatman

The Octopus outperforms the Coralife, but not enough for the price difference even given the better materials. The Coralife is the only one in this category with a price that is justified by what it offers. It is not the best performer, but it offers the most value for the price asked. The OctoPus takes second place in value due to its better materials, the Turboflotor has the best pump placing it in third and the ASM is in last place value wise. The others mentioned aren't even being considered herein given their prices. There are no new points being brought out so why is this debate continuing? By me it is not! The End!

What are you talking about...lmao. The Octo NW200 is $200 and the comparable CSS 220 is $210. The is no comparison between these skimmer. The Octo simply is a better skimmer design wise, price wise, construction wise and pump wise...period. Obviously you have not used both to see the differences or you wouldn't make that statement.