your choice in protein skimmer

Fragtastic Reef · Feb 21, 2011

No there is big differences between the 2 brands and are not the same. Removable bubble plate is the biggest one. Octo dont have it SWC does.

jwalker · Feb 21, 2011

nixer said:
thats a new one. to me. as long as i have ever known both companies distribute and rebrand the octopus skimmers. which is not made in australia.

reef octopus protein skimmers are from australia but manufactured in china, they are two different comapanies.......google it...

WhoDey · Feb 21, 2011

Vertex IN series, great value and better results, plus they are built like tanks. I am running the IN-180 gen II and love it.

nixer · Feb 21, 2011

jwalker said:
reef octopus protein skimmers are from australia but manufactured in china, they are two different comapanies.......google it...

yes 2 different distributors just like i said!
either way both swc and coralvue are both DISTRBUTORS.
i dont need to google it i know they are made in china just like i said and your trying to argue the fact with me.
swc doesnt make skimmers at all! neither does coralvue they are distributors!

RogerWilco357 · Feb 21, 2011

I like the Royal Exlcusive's Alpha series skimmers they seem to work well I currently use the Alpha170 and 200 both work well ..

greg0385 · Feb 21, 2011

how about replacing pumps or upgrading the pumps. is the octo or swc have the better of the two pumps? or are they the same. thanks to all the replies so far.

greg0385 · Feb 21, 2011

swannyson7 · Feb 21, 2011

greg0385 said:
how about replacing pumps or upgrading the pumps. is the octo or swc have the better of the two pumps? or are they the same. thanks to all the replies so far.

I'm running an Octopus Extreme 200 on my 180. It originally had a Sicce pump which worked well. If your looking for cheap upgrades to the pump, you can swap out the pinwheel for a white lightning from reef filtration, the red devil pinwheel, or a mesh mod to pull more air. For the ultimate upgrade to the skimmer, you can go the route that I did... I replaced the pump with a bubble blaster BBY3000 and added a gate valve for fine tuning. Now it's skimming like something that would cost twice as much!

greg0385 · Feb 21, 2011

great idea, any idea how much the upgrade cost? and the amount it improved your skimmer

WesF · Feb 21, 2011

Fragtastic Reef said:
No there is big differences between the 2 brands and are not the same. Removable bubble plate is the biggest one. Octo dont have it SWC does.

My SRO 5000 has a removable bubble plate.

swannyson7 · Feb 21, 2011

greg0385 said:
great idea, any idea how much the upgrade cost? and the amount it improved your skimmer

I believe the pump ran about $175, but it made a huge difference. It was like having a brand new skimmer, and I was able to run my sump level quite a bit lower. It gave me a bit more piece of mind in the case of power outtages when the sump level rises a bit.

krazyonetime · Feb 21, 2011

SWC 250a or whatever model size works for your tank as long as it has the Askoll !

greg0385 · Feb 21, 2011

krazyonetime said:
SWC 250a or whatever model size works for your tank as long as it has the Askoll !

guess i need to google Askoll, because i have no idea what that is.

m and m · Feb 21, 2011

I love my BK and will stay with BK.

Fragtastic Reef · Feb 22, 2011

WesF said:
My SRO 5000 has a removable bubble plate.

The SRO XP5000I ??

I have the SRO XP3000I and it dont have a removable plate. Unless the 5000 version is different, which it might be. I talked to coralvue on that maybe they switched it now??!

WesF · Feb 22, 2011

It's the regular SRO 5000 internal. Not the XP. I got it about 14 months ago.

swannyson7 · Feb 22, 2011

greg0385 said:
guess i need to google Askoll, because i have no idea what that is.

An Askoll is a pump that blows away a lot of the competition. Some of the SWC & Octopus skimmers run Sicce PSK-2500s which are known to have start up issues. I believe SWC uses a different venturi on the Sicce pumps which prevents the reverse rotation issue, but not sure about start up problems

luke33 · Feb 22, 2011

For a 150g i think you would be fine with the XP 3000 or SWC230 Cone. The build quality will be similar and performance would be good on either or. The differences is the xp 3000 uses a bubble blaster pump and the swc230 cone uses an askoll. The 230 cone will break down completely meaning everything comes apart from the body. The XP will need to be in 5-6" water and the 230 will need to be in 7-10" water level. Just choose whichever makes you happy : )

As far as SWC and Coralvue goes all kinds of rumors i see in this thread. To make it simple, they use to both be made in the same china factory. Now they are made in different china factories. We'll just leave it at that.