Need protein skimmer

[Wes888]

These protein skimmer thing always have newer and better thing going on. What's a good one nowadays? I need an in-sump one. I have 200-300 gallon of water volume in the system.

I read a lot good things about bubble king. What so good about it? Why is it that make it so good other than good construction? I'm sure I won't be paying that much for a skimmer thou.

 

[BL1]

The biggest part of a skimmer that makes one better then another is the pump. Better skimmers come with bigger, more efficient, and reliable pumps. Construction is also important, better skimmers will have cleaner acrylic work as well as smoothers seams in areas like the cone.

 

[Wes888]

What about the different "technology" that different skimmer uses? So many and so confusing. Don't know what to choose.

 

[BL1]

Not sure I understand what you mean by technology

 

[Wes888]

Like "Internal Cone", Venturi, Downdraft, etc.

 

[BL1]

The purpose of the cone is as the bubbles travel up the skimmer, there is less area that the bubbles need to fill before making it into the collection cup. Therefore, in theory, with a similar rated skimmer and an identical pump the cone skimmer should be more efficient at removing the crap.

For other stuff, I found this page Skimmers
Don't read into that too much though, some of the info is outdated. Most hobbiest skimmers are shorter than 24 inches but, that page says they need to be 2 feet to work.

 

[Wes888]

Just finished reading it. I'm more confuse than ever. lol

 

[BL1]

Haha well when I was looking I was pretty limited in the size skimmer I could fit in my sump so I was looking at the downdraft skimmers since their footprint is usually smaller than cone skimmers of equal capacity. The reason I didn't choose it is because it requires a stronger pump so you're using more power with it and every review I read about them stated they are very loud compared to cone skimmers.

 

[Wes888]

You know what? By reading the reviews, they all look great. Everyone says the skimmer they bought are the best... sigh... I'm gonna probably just randomly pick one that's about $500 and rated about 300g and hope for the best.

Since my fish room is in the garage and don't care about foot print or noise, there are pretty much no criteria for me to narrow down anything.

 

[Wes888]

This look like a clone of some brand name and under $300. Looks very reasonable. I think i'll get this one. Bubble Magus BM-220A Protein Skimmer Brand New | eBay

 

[Zissou]

I have a bubble magus (nac3+) and I love it. I wouldn't think twice about buying another one from them.

What makes bubble KING expensive are the pumps. Supposed to be some of the best in the world. On that note, Vertex Alphas use the same pumps and are cheaper (although taller).