DC vs AC Skimmer... What are your thoughts?

[pecan2phat]

One thing I do prefer in the DC skimmers vs the AC is the slow start feature. Not all AC skimmers do this but I've had a few that are tuned perfectly but upon startup after a shutdown, it will always burp up a shot of water before settling down. Tuning is also more advantageous with the DC especially when the flow causes a "too violent" rise of bubbles, just my opinion.

 

[flyfisher2]

Still setting up this tank and getting back into the hobby but I’ve had several Deltec skimmers and calcium reactors and they’ve always performed great and lasted a long time.

The wife is giving me the 'ok' to look at a new skimmer. I'm smiling!

 

[flyfisher2]

One thing I do prefer in the DC skimmers vs the AC is the slow start feature. Not all AC skimmers do this but I've had a few that are tuned perfectly but upon startup after a shutdown, it will always burp up a shot of water before settling down. Tuning is also more advantageous with the DC especially when the flow causes a "too violent" rise of bubbles, just my opinion.

Thanks , appreciate the input. Seems that the positives outweigh the negatives based on the general consensus.

 

[flyfisher2]

Ok I’ll be gentle.

There are lots of older detailed threads on this topic with passionate opinions on both sides. In general what I take from it is that DC pumps are quieter and consume less energy, thus reducing contribution of heat energy into the tank. They are also easier to adjust in terms of flow, as opposed to AC pumps where you need to physically restrict the flow. The flip side is they are generally not as reliable as AC pumps for the price.

ive has an AC bubble king and it worked great. Never skipped a beat, but it poured heat into my tank, about 90W. I got a larger bubble king skimmer with a DC pump, and I’m using 28Ws. And it’s much quieter.

Seeing what you said about heat... The Reef Octopus is a monster skimming but it's 40 Watts have made my aquarium climb to 81.5F from 80.0

 

[Fish man]

Perhaps a little known but very good skimmer is AquaC . They use what they call their patented spray injector. It's kind of a modified venturi. You can pick your pump, ac or dc. I'm currently running mine on a Mag5 (ac). The cup has an overflow port that I have piped into a 1 gallon container so I don't have to worry about emptying it all the time. This skimmer was given to me used and is about 15 years old. It's set it and forget it with a gate valve. I maybe adjust it a couple times a year. They can be mounted in or out of sump. If you youtubeoogle it you'll find that everybody that has one loves it. Marine depot carries them. My circulation pump is DC which has worked flawlessly for about 3 years. I didn't hear any pump noise before but I recently went to a Herbie overflow and now all I hear is pump noise. After reading this thread It dawned on me I could go to a dc pump on my skimmer and get almost silent.

 

[flyfisher2]

Perhaps a little known but very good skimmer is AquaC . They use what they call their patented spray injector. It's kind of a modified venturi. You can pick your pump, ac or dc. I'm currently running mine on a Mag5 (ac). The cup has an overflow port that I have piped into a 1 gallon container so I don't have to worry about emptying it all the time. This skimmer was given to me used and is about 15 years old. It's set it and forget it with a gate valve. I maybe adjust it a couple times a year. They can be mounted in or out of sump. If you youtubeoogle it you'll find that everybody that has one loves it. Marine depot carries them. My circulation pump is DC which has worked flawlessly for about 3 years. I didn't hear any pump noise before but I recently went to a Herbie overflow and now all I hear is pump noise. After reading this thread It dawned on me I could go to a dc pump on my skimmer and get almost silent.

Will check them out now. Thanks

 

[hart24601]

I love DC skimmers when it comes to nano tanks. The tunze dc is fantastic since in nanos you can’t always make many adjustments and the small size is fickle to get it them running at all.

Other than that I have not been tempted by DC skimmers. Quality ac pumps lifespan are measured in decades and I can’t say that I have once wanted to mess with the pumps speed, imo it’s just not a big deal.