Reef Octopus Elite lineup

[Skep18]

Anyone know or anyone on here from BRS know know if the RO Elite lineup will be added to the BRS site for sale? As I understand its supposed to be an improvement over the Regal line up. I know BRS doesn't just list all parts on their site but I didn't know if there was a reason they didn't offer this.

 

[bif24701]

That would be super nice.

I know they only chose to carry skimmers they personally believe have value. The Elite line has the same pump As the regal line but some minor improvements to the body and plumbing. It’s possible they didn’t see value in the extra cost for those features.

For serious though. The Super Reef Octopus line is IMO the best value. Number 1, the Bubble Blaster pump on these skimmers is one of the greatest pumps ever designed for a skimmer. They have proven them selves after many years to literally last forever. Digital internal board maintains the pumps peak performance, fault detection, and preventative safeties. Is very efficient, equal to that of the best DC skimmer pumps . Being that there is less part that could fail this is THE work horse for the pros!

A SRO-5/6000 External or Internal with the Bubble Blaster 5000 pump coat leas than the regal/elite but IMO is the better skimmer because the pump sucks more air, uses less power, less heat, and just as silent as a DC pump.
I have a SRO-5000 Int Cone on my 180g, 300g total system. I can’t find a better skimmer under 300% of mine’s cost. Real good pump.

The Varios is good too from what we all know now but it doesn’t have more than a decade of proof under its belt.

 

[CWR24]

I was curious myself.......they just don't carry them. When I asked late last year I think they may have said something about the price point on that particular skimmer.
So I got my RO Elite 150INT from Premium Aquatics.
Try to support BRS and get points as well, but often I want something and they don't have it in stock it seems......or in this case don't carry it.

 

[bif24701]

Well, let’s just hope they don’t ban you.

 

[rushbattle]

I suspect that BRS has to appease all of their suppliers. The Elite is a copy of the features of some other skimmers that were already out. But I did a huge amount of comparison, and per dollar the Elite 220-Int has the highest air intake of any skimmer in that price range or below. Actually it was the highest air injection per dollar of any skimmer I put into the spreadsheet, which was over 50 skimmers. I was bummed I couldn’t buy it from BRS.

Edit: The skimmer IS super nice. Good build quality, quiet, and has no problems for the first year.

 

[Skep18]

Thanks for real feedback on the elite.

I'm definitely looking for quiet operation as a priority. I debated the Nyos line but some of the issues some reviewers came up with kinda fell in line with it being a newer product. And while their ultimate resolution was good in most cases, it seemed like customer service may have been a bit difficult. Them being overseas (for me) as well was kinda a deterrent as far as fast support goes.

 

[JonJ]

I suspect that BRS has to appease all of their suppliers. The Elite is a copy of the features of some other skimmers that were already out. But I did a huge amount of comparison, and per dollar the Elite 220-Int has the highest air intake of any skimmer in that price range or below. Actually it was the highest air injection per dollar of any skimmer I put into the spreadsheet, which was over 50 skimmers. I was bummed I couldn’t buy it from BRS.

Edit: The skimmer IS super nice. Good build quality, quiet, and has no problems for the first year.

I have the 220 Elite and I love it. Dead quiet and I have not adjusted it one time in 6 months since I’ve been using it. It pulls out the nastiest skimmate I’ve seen.

 

[rushbattle]

Thanks for real feedback on the elite.

I'm definitely looking for quiet operation as a priority. I debated the Nyos line but some of the issues some reviewers came up with kinda fell in line with it being a newer product. And while their ultimate resolution was good in most cases, it seemed like customer service may have been a bit difficult. Them being overseas (for me) as well was kinda a deterrent as far as fast support goes.

Using the same metric I came up with (airflow/$) the NYOS lineup is quite poor. They have quiet skimmers because they use small pumps that draw little power therefore less air and water mixed together. I suspect that people love NYOS because they look nice, are quiet because they lack performance, and didn’t really need a 75-100 watt skimmer in the first place.

 

[rushbattle]

I have the 220 Elite and I love it. Dead quiet and I have not adjusted it one time in 6 months since I’ve been using it. It pulls out the nastiest skimmate I’ve seen.

I have the same experience. My only complaint is that the connection between the pump and the skimmer body isn’t decoupled with a silicone joint, like silicone tubing. I think I may DIY that feature some day.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply Verified Sponsor]

It's been some time since the Elite first came out, but when it launched the design was not unique to the skimmer and therefore didn't really fill any hole in our line-up. It's been on the market for a few years now, so it certainly would not hurt for us to re-evaluate it! I'll run it by @Zack@BRS and he can take the feedback in this thread into consideration as well.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply Verified Sponsor]

I suspect that BRS has to appease all of their suppliers. The Elite is a copy of the features of some other skimmers that were already out. But I did a huge amount of comparison, and per dollar the Elite 220-Int has the highest air intake of any skimmer in that price range or below. Actually it was the highest air injection per dollar of any skimmer I put into the spreadsheet, which was over 50 skimmers. I was bummed I couldn’t buy it from BRS.

Edit: The skimmer IS super nice. Good build quality, quiet, and has no problems for the first year.

Thankfully, our suppliers are pretty understanding of our onboarding process! Yes, it means that we may not carry every product from a supplier but it also means when we do carry something, we've personally tested it and stand behind it.

Your feedback is definitely intriguing - I just added the Elite's back to our queue of products to review. We'll see where they land

 

[bif24701]

I suspect that BRS has to appease all of their suppliers. The Elite is a copy of the features of some other skimmers that were already out. But I did a huge amount of comparison, and per dollar the Elite 220-Int has the highest air intake of any skimmer in that price range or below. Actually it was the highest air injection per dollar of any skimmer I put into the spreadsheet, which was over 50 skimmers. I was bummed I couldn’t buy it from BRS.

Edit: The skimmer IS super nice. Good build quality, quiet, and has no problems for the first year.

Did you some how miss the Super Reef Octopus line?

The SRO-5000 Int Cone with the Bubble Blaster 5000 draws 2100lph @45 Watts. This skimmer currently listed ~650$.
I actually have this skimmer and I would put the Bubble Blaster against any skimmer pump performance/cost. I’ll through the Varios-6S in there too. They are using the same motor as a DC-5000 pump for which has run flawlessly on one of my systems. They are both equally quiet and vibration free.


However being only 100$ more I would strongly consider/recommended the Elite line. The Varios pumps are really starting to prove their value and durability. I have a Varios-6 & -8 powering my reef now and have considered getting a Varios-6S as the back up to my B.B.-5000 pump. I would love to see how it would perform on my skimmer body which if I calculated correctly has just a bit more volume.

Reef Octopus BB and Varios-2,4,6(S) pumps are very underrated for performance and value.

The Elite line of skimmers is an awesome value considering that for just about 100$ more you get and really great looking skimmer, built-in float switch, DC pump control and best of all APEX Ready out of the box!

 

[rushbattle]

Did you some how miss the Super Reef Octopus line?

The SRO-5000 Int Cone with the Bubble Blaster 5000 draws 2100lph @45 Watts. This skimmer currently listed ~650$.
I actually have this skimmer and I would put the Bubble Blaster against any skimmer pump performance/cost. I’ll through the Varios-6S in there too. They are using the same motor as a DC-5000 pump for which has run flawlessly on one of my systems. They are both equally quiet and vibration free.


However being only 100$ more I would strongly consider/recommended the Elite line. The Varios pumps are really starting to prove their value and durability. I have a Varios-6 & -8 powering my reef now and have considered getting a Varios-6S as the back up to my B.B.-5000 pump. I would love to see how it would perform on my skimmer body which if I calculated correctly has just a bit more volume.

Reef Octopus BB and Varios-2,4,6(S) pumps are very underrated for performance and value.

The Elite line of skimmers is an awesome value considering that for just about 100$ more you get and really great looking skimmer, built-in float switch, DC pump control and best of all APEX Ready out of the box!

Apologies for any potential offense, but I was looking for quiet skimmers that lack a dominant resonance. I have heard a BB5000 and it has a distinct 120Hz hum. Very annoying to me personally. The Varios-6 isn't silent either, but it is a white noise rather than one with a distinct resonance. So I didn't consider A/C powered pumps for skimmers in general. I also needed control of the pump because I was installing it on a smaller system in anticipation of a larger one soon.