Best protein skimmers for 2022-2023

874298323 inactive · Dec 18, 2022

I have a 90 gallon FOWLR moving up to a 300 gallon mixed reef. It’s a very costly endeavor. I still need to decide on lighting and sump. But my Eshopes S200 is giving me fits here lately I can’t seem to get it adjusted properly, and keep it there. Every 3 or so days it just pukes and puts all of the skim mate back in the sump. I have cleaned it replaced the pump with a new one to just have it puke again. So I am going to buy a new skimmer I am not worried about cost but do not want to have to replace again in 2 years. I have been looking at the reef octopus, bashsea, and bubble magnus skimmers but can’t decide. I don’t know a lot about bashsea, and don’t have any friends who have used them. Please help me with information and your feedback on these three for large mixed reef tanks.

Thank you in advance.

lagatbezan · Dec 18, 2022

Reef octopus or lifereef gets my vote.
I run both my my 300g. Reef octopus pulls out more junk but the lifereef requires zero maintenance.

mogood · Jan 3, 2023

Kevin.V said:
I have a 90 gallon FOWLR moving up to a 300 gallon mixed reef. It’s a very costly endeavor. I still need to decide on lighting and sump. But my Eshopes S200 is giving me fits here lately I can’t seem to get it adjusted properly, and keep it there. Every 3 or so days it just pukes and puts all of the skim mate back in the sump. I have cleaned it replaced the pump with a new one to just have it puke again. So I am going to buy a new skimmer I am not worried about cost but do not want to have to replace again in 2 years. I have been looking at the reef octopus, bashsea, and bubble magnus skimmers but can’t decide. I don’t know a lot about bashsea, and don’t have any friends who have used them. Please help me with information and your feedback on these three for large mixed reef tanks.

Thank you in advance.

That eshopes are very hard to tune I have one 4 years and it always having problems every water change would overflow never could get it right

ShepherdReefer · Jan 3, 2023

We purchased a used RedSea RSK900; wow, this skimmer has done a great job. Time will tell.

dedragon · Jan 3, 2023

eshopps have always been pretty finicky for me as well.

ultra reef skimmers I would say have been the best new additions the last couple of years, super stable skimmers for medium sized tanks and built like a brick sh-thouse

bushdoc · Jan 3, 2023

Definitely do not recommend Bashsea, had one, takes lots of spaces, requires separate, powerfull pump and needs frequent maintenance.
Royal Exclusiv is superb, albeit comes with a price of Maserati.Very quiet, controllable DC pump, large collection cup, high quality.

Kalinina · Jan 3, 2023

I had a Dalua GW-22 on my 270 gallon. Love it! Nice quality, and skims great. Completely silent. It has a DC pump, so easy to dial in. I just took it off last week and replaced it with a Bubble Magus Curve 9 Elite so I could run ozone. It has a Sicce AC pump. Started skimming immediately. Easy to dial in and quiet. I’m surprised how much I like the Curve. The only reason I took off the Dalua is because The GW series doesn’t have a port for ozone. I would be completely happy with either of them.

1ocean · Jan 3, 2023

I have a reef octopus on mine for a year now, Works great. I had a few other brands but so far this one the best.. but who knows what new stuff will come out this year...

CK00020 · Jan 3, 2023

I have a 6-30 bashsea it works good with next to no maintenance, but it’s a power hog. I have a sicce 7 running full out all the time, that’s a bigger pump than most systems return.

SpyC · Jan 3, 2023

Love my ultra reef skimmer. I normally went for a budget skimmer but that did not go in my favor when setting up a new tank and decided to splurge. Thrilled I did.

Kalibur2 · Jan 3, 2023

Ultra reef has been great. Best skimmer I have owned. Silent is an understatement and skimming is on point

hoffmeyerz · Jan 3, 2023

I haven't used any other brands so I can't really say as a comparison but my Lifereef skimmer is great. It really is almost total set it and forget it. I added a co2 scrubber and optical sensor in the cup to shut it off when full and those were simple to add. It is a bit of a bigger footprint though.

spsick · Jan 3, 2023

Kalibur2 said:
Ultra reef has been great. Best skimmer I have owned. Silent is an understatement and skimming is on point

Which model do you have?

Kalibur2 · Jan 3, 2023

spsick said:
Which model do you have?

Akula UKS-180 Protein Skimmer

If true craftsmanship and build quality are your top priorities when selecting a protein skimmer for your aquarium, you can’t do better than an Ultra Reef. The moment you hold an Ultra Reef Skimmer in your hands, you know you’re holding something of lasting quality and performance. Akula...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

dedragon · Jan 3, 2023

I have the 160 from akula myself

spsick · Jan 13, 2023

@Kalibur2 @dedragon

What size tank are you running those on? Can’t decide between the 2 for my 75g sps tank. Currently running a BK mini 160 that’s sized perfectly. The uks 160 looks similar pump specs on paper but the body is smaller.

Kalibur2 · Jan 21, 2023

spsick said:
@Kalibur2 @dedragon

What size tank are you running those on? Can’t decide between the 2 for my 75g sps tank. Currently running a BK mini 160 that’s sized perfectly. The uks 160 looks similar pump specs on paper but the body is smaller.

My tank is 150 gallons with 25 gallon sump.

Mark Gray · Jan 23, 2023

Love my Deltec it's easy to adjust it just runs I do turn the cleaner knob and I do have a skim mate locker.

V A R I A N T · Jan 23, 2023

I have a Deltec 1000ix with neck cleaner; best skimmer I have owned. The emergency overflow feature is a nice touch.

1000 Series In Sump Protein Skimmers – Deltec USA (deltecdirectusa.com)