What makes a skimmer good or not

AI Hydra
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Top Shelf Aquatics
150 mixed reef mostly sps few lps 180 total volume like to stay round 600
 
Deltec
You may be able to find a used Bubble King within your budget. Or ATB. Those are my top choices for an SPS tank. I own one of each. :) The nice thing about BK is that the skimmers are rated realistically - just buy one that's rated for 150-180 gallons and you're golden. ATB I would go over-rated.
 
Nutramar Foods
Stay away from Deltec skimmers. They work great at first, enough time to write a great review. Then things go down south and parts are impossible to get. No presence in the USA. It's absolutely maddening. I have two MCE skimmers with recurring cracking of the pump impellers. Replacement takes months since getting support to return your call is painful. Can't get parts from anywhere else. Now it's discontinued and I'm SOL. Both skimmers are sitting on a shelf causing me stomach acid every time I walk pass them. [emoji37]
 
If your running an SPS dominant tank always get bigger then what's recommended. I have a 29 gallon tank with a skimmer that's rated up to 75 gallons and have been very happy with it.
 
erk said:
Construction quality, air draw, bubble size, reaction time, required water depth, easiness to maintain, easiness to dial in, amount of sound produced, how long it takes to break in(this is probably the same for most skimmers), will it overflow after a WC, your future fish load.
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This is Spot on. As far as quality. look for things like "titanium screws" so they do not rust. They should be used and do not cost that much more. Look for the thickness of the Acrylic. Lots of skimmers use thin acrylic and the body cracks. Pump size and pinwheel size need to be properly matched to he skimmer body.
 
Yes reef octopus must use thin plastic cause mine is all cracked up after three years and rusty pump don't think I'll ever buy another or recommend them
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
bnguyen714 said:
Stay away from Deltec skimmers. They work great at first, enough time to write a great review. Then things go down south and parts are impossible to get. No presence in the USA. It's absolutely maddening. I have two MCE skimmers with recurring cracking of the pump impellers. Replacement takes months since getting support to return your call is painful. Can't get parts from anywhere else. Now it's discontinued and I'm SOL. Both skimmers are sitting on a shelf causing me stomach acid every time I walk pass them. [emoji37]
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Deltec is back in the USA and is even a sponsor of this forum for what it's worth. Try sending doug a pm and I'd bet he can get you squared away. Sorry though I know this is an atb thread
 
It is everything that makes a good skimmer, its about being balanced.. Air pull is nice if the skimmer is designed for it. I have had the opportunity to try different skimmers lately and allot of them are pulling lots of air, I mean lots of air but the neck is to small for the amount of air. What happens is they constantly need adjusting or they overflow.. So basically some skimmers pulling less air will out perform skimmers pulling twice the air.
Everyone is in a race to see how much air they can pull without designing the skimmer for it.


Really there is so much to the design: contact time, turbulence, pump etc..

I have tried so many skimmers lately and have had two that really out perform others. Aquamaxx coneS skimmers and RLSS skimmers.

There are other good skimmers if you want to spend the money which I like. Bubble king, Deltec and ATB. You can never go wrong with these.
 
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bnguyen714 said:
Stay away from Deltec skimmers. They work great at first, enough time to write a great review. Then things go down south and parts are impossible to get. No presence in the USA. It's absolutely maddening. I have two MCE skimmers with recurring cracking of the pump impellers. Replacement takes months since getting support to return your call is painful. Can't get parts from anywhere else. Now it's discontinued and I'm SOL. Both skimmers are sitting on a shelf causing me stomach acid every time I walk pass them. [emoji37]
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ncfishguy said:
Need a deltec dealer in the U.S.
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AH there is, Deltec is a sponsor here too..

I have had several Deltec skimmers and never a issue with them.
 
Deltec
shred5 said:
It is everything that makes a good skimmer, its about being balanced.. Air pull is nice if the skimmer is designed for it. I have had the opportunity to try different skimmers lately and allot of them are pulling lots of air, I mean lots of air but the neck is to small for the amount of air. What happens is they constantly need adjusting or they overflow.. So basically some skimmers pulling less air will out perform skimmers pulling twice the air.
Really there is so much to the design: contact time, turbulence, pump etc..

I have tried so many skimmers lately and have had two that really out perform others. Aquamaxx cone skimmers and RLSS skimmers.

There are other good skimmers if you want to spend the money which I like. Bubble king, Deltec and ATB. You can never go wrong with these.
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Thanks for the response Im going with rlss been Lookin at them do a few weeks Going with the 8i
 
shred5 said:
AH there is, Deltec is a sponsor here too..

I have had several Deltec skimmers and never a issue with them.
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Deltec and atb are great just lot of money at the moment
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Greetings!
BNguyen...I saw your comment above where you indicated you have had a problem getting parts for your Deltec skimmers. I need to resolve this for you ASAP. I am the new (and original) owner of Deltec USA. Unfortunately I have been responding to a lot of these issues due to the last ownership group failing miserably in the area of customer service. Fortunately, I have loads of parts. My cell phone # is 610-563-6585. Please call/text/PM me so I can help you get your skimmers up and running again.

Regards,
Doug
 
Tidal Gardens
bnguyen714 said:
Stay away from Deltec skimmers. They work great at first, enough time to write a great review. Then things go down south and parts are impossible to get. No presence in the USA. It's absolutely maddening. I have two MCE skimmers with recurring cracking of the pump impellers. Replacement takes months since getting support to return your call is painful. Can't get parts from anywhere else. Now it's discontinued and I'm SOL. Both skimmers are sitting on a shelf causing me stomach acid every time I walk pass them. [emoji37]
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^^^^^^^^[emoji4]
 
Deltec USA said:
Greetings!
BNguyen...I saw your comment above where you indicated you have had a problem getting parts for your Deltec skimmers. I need to resolve this for you ASAP. I am the new (and original) owner of Deltec USA. Unfortunately I have been responding to a lot of these issues due to the last ownership group failing miserably in the area of customer service. Fortunately, I have loads of parts. My cell phone # is 610-563-6585. Please call/text/PM me so I can help you get your skimmers up and running again.

Regards,
Doug
Click to expand...

Doug, thank you for the refreshing response! I will reach out to you sometime this week. I would love to get those skimmers working again.
 
AI Hydra

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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