Help me pick a skimmer

JF2381 · Oct 30, 2011

I'm trying to decide on an under $300 skimmer for my 90g fowlr.

I am thinking about one of the following three.
I'm looking for some personal experiences or even a suggestions of better "under $300" skimmer than the ones listed below.

Bubble Magus BM-NAC7 Cone $289.00

Footprint: 9.2" x 8.5"x 19.6"
Rated for 130-185gal.
Features the Atman ph2500 pump
Very low power consumption at 28W
Cylinder body is Max 9"
Recommended water level is 9.5"-11

Sea Side Aquatics CS1 $299.99

Needle wheel protein skimmer
Reactor room: Cone
Pump: Sicce Syncra PSK-600
Pump power: 110V, 60Hz
Capability: 150G Water
Air intake: 420L/H
Product size: 9.5â€ * 8â€ * 20â€

SWC 160 Xtreme Cone $275.00
Pump: Atman 2500 Pump
Power Consumption: 28w
Rated for 100-150gal.
Footprint 9*7*20.58â€
Air intake 650lph
Cone Body

Thanks,
Jose

sucker_fish · Oct 30, 2011

I would go with the bubble magus or the SWC, thats just because im not a fan of the sicce pumps though.

Kyle Wrigley · Oct 30, 2011

The new Cad Lights skimmers have impressed me. They are also on sale right now.

CAD Lights 2nd Generation Conic Protein skimmers (TIA-1150)

Features:
*Perfectly insulated to feature silent operations, only 5 Decibels of audible sound.
*High quality water pumps for long lasting high performance, minimal vibrations and silent operation.
*Flex-Plastic injection molded pin-wheel impellers for extended life and designed for high volume air draw.
*Liquid extruded Cell-Cast Acrylic body, Solid seamless with no joints. Extra thick Acrylic construction.
*Attractive Semi-gloss Porcelain color Acrylic.
*Newest built-in micro-bubble trapping mechanisms eliminates the micro-bubbles in the exhaust.
*Laser cut bubble plate dramatically reduces turbulence and improves direction of foam production.
*Easily disassembles completely for simple maintenance and cleaning.
*Each Conic skimmer come already fully assembled for simple installation the moment it arrives!
* 1 Year Warranty covers the entire skimmer from top to bottom (including pump, impeller, fittings etc).
*Dimensions: 9.75" x 6.5" x 18.5"
*GPH: 375GPH
*Wattage: 20W
Load recommendations:
Light bio-load (150G)
Medium bio-load (120G)
Heavy bio-load (90G)

CoralBandit · Oct 30, 2011

Probably Magnus from that list but I've never used it personally. I have the new line if reef octopus on my 90 full reef and am very happy.

Salty Dog · Oct 30, 2011

I have a huge Bubble King Ext 300 on my main system and a SWC on my 70 frag and the SWC is no joke

Saltgator · Oct 30, 2011

SWC all the way!!!! Purchased one in April and couldn't be happier. It has and still pulls a full cup every 3-4 days of all kinds of stuff. I have it on my 125 mixed reef with a med-high bio and couldn't be happier. BTW, mine has a modded prop too. GL

JF2381 · Oct 30, 2011

There is a store that has the magnus and the swc on sale. I think I'm going to take a drive to check them out.

Saltgator - what mod do you have on the prop?

salty dog - I have an ATB 840 on my reef with high load and I love the beast but I can't justify spending the high money for a fowlr.

Kyle - for that price it is worth giving it a try. If I can't decide on one of the 3 choices I'm going to consider that one.

SAZAMA · Oct 30, 2011

swc has my vote

lps1212 · Oct 30, 2011

I agree with most of you and would say go with the SwC bro out of the 3 choices that would be the money item or you could step it up a notch and get a SRO 1000

WrasseSandwich · Oct 30, 2011

lps1212 said:
you could step it up a notch and get a SRO 1000

+1

I'm running the SRO XP1000SSS on my 75g reef and couldn't be happier

Starblenny · Oct 30, 2011

Bubble Magus. I have a NAC-6 and loving it. Can't go wrong with SWC though, I was eying them for months till I saw the Bubble Magus. The factor for me was that I could keep more corals with it...

Saltgator · Oct 30, 2011

Sent a PM

tike · Oct 30, 2011

SWC cone is the schnitt!

mojo · Oct 30, 2011

the sea side aquatics CS1 hands down. the newer 2 sicce pumps are great. The psk 600 and the 1000. Both work very well and are the same design as the tunze hydrofoamers. the sea side aquatics even has a pad under the pump to help with any vibration to keep the skimmer quiet. They are pretty new to market yet but anyone who has one I am sure will be able to say nothing but good about them. No issues like some have had with the atman pumps or the old psk 2500 pumps.

the octo xs 160 uses the same psk 600 pump. unless you are running deeper water in your sump I would get the cs1.

Mojo~

JF2381 · Oct 30, 2011

I need this thing to be silent since the tank is in my main living area of the house. Right now I have it running that you can't even tell it is running. I would like to keep it that way.

Mojo - I saw the cs1 that you had for sale but I was too late.

mojo · Oct 30, 2011

yea to be totally honest I should of kept it. I am using my ol back up at the moment. The cs1 and cs2 are really great. I was really suprised at how nice it really was for the price. and the extra pad to keep it silent.

JF2381 · Oct 30, 2011

The CS1 and the magus look identical in design. Is the pump the only difference?
How do you adjust the water level? Is it anything like the ATB?

turfster26 · Oct 30, 2011

Don't rule out Reef Dynamics: INS100 Protein Skimmer Rated Up To 300 Gallons . Jeff has been in the protein skimmer business for years. I have the INS80 on my 60gl Cube and it is awesome.

One of the most overlooked skimmers on the market imho.

HTH

mojo · Oct 30, 2011

The bm nac 7 and the cs1 are very similar. They have a different neck design and a better pump. They are built by the same company just built a little nicer. They are built to sea side aquatics specs. It has the same neck design as the atb.