Help us develop the skimmer you want

[Aqua-Digital]

Great feedback, for now we are talking pumps out of the two listed.

I will touch on other stuff later, however we are looking at providing a unit for everyone, more funky features and the price will go up and then everyone will say "its too expensive, I only want to spend 2 shillings and sixpence"

But for now lets talk pumps

Aquabee
Vs
Sicce

we are also talking the latest ceramic bearing hot starters not the hope for the best after a service models of yester-year.

[Aqua-Digital]

well I guess I should put my hat in the ring first

Aqua Bee - rock solid pump, been around for years, no reported issues since advancing into ceramic bearings ditching the old stainless steel shaft and rubber jobbies. Will give you lenghty service.

Sicce - Has had huge advances and trusted by many leading names now. The new pumps seem to come with great feedback and Ralph from Sicce USA offers great client care.

Both come in about the same price.

[RuGlu6]

What i look in the skimmer is
1- Must be silent
2-At least 1200 L of Air per hour (not interested in anything less then that)
3-Easy to clean i.e. no tools to get collection cup off, no brashes to wash, just bare hands.
4-must be reliable
5-easy to disassemble
In turms of the pump i would like to see Bubble Blaster pumps (I dont know if this is true but, some one said that they have same hardware as Red Dragon and Sicce pumps). Suposedly they restart OK, and have calcium build up proof shafts AND they are affordable.
Bubble Blaster HY 5000S will deliver 2000 (!!!) L of air per hour and only cost $225 USD and free shipping in USA with relatively small foot print so it can be used in the cone skimmer that is Just 24 inches tall and 14" wide.
I give my 10 stars to the Bubble magus Hero design a skimmer for less then $500
And 10 stars to Bubble Blaster HY 5000S pump. a pump for $225

here is the Coral Vue info on bubble Blaster pumps.

[MarkoD]

i dont know if anyone else cares about this. but the biggest thing i liked about my euro reef was that the skimmer cup screwed on with what looked like a large union fitting. To get it off i could just unscrew it and slide it out sideways, it required no room above the skimmer.

[RuGlu6]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

i dont know if anyone else cares about this. but the biggest thing i liked about my euro reef was that the skimmer cup screwed on with what looked like a large union fitting. To get it off i could just unscrew it and slide it out sideways, it required no room above the skimmer.

On my skimmer i just lift the cup and nothing to unscrew, also no room above required to lift.

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by RuGlu6

On my skimmer i just lift the cup and nothing to unscrew, also no room above required to lift.

yeah my new one lifts up but room is required for you to lift it. you cant lift it if there is only a little bit of space between the top of the cup and the bottom of the tank

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

i dont know if anyone else cares about this. but the biggest thing i liked about my euro reef was that the skimmer cup screwed on with what looked like a large union fitting. To get it off i could just unscrew it and slide it out sideways, it required no room above the skimmer.

That is something I loved about my ER250 too. The newer skimmers have the rubber seals so you have to gently ease the cup up and when it comes free, it sometimes spills if its full. The slight twist and its off for the ER design was better IME.

[Twinn]

What I'm looking for in a skimmer is something like the Super Reef Octopus XP1000 Space Saver SRO XP1000SSS. (This is the skimmer I am currently looking at)

Good reliable quiet pump
Easy to remove lid (ER is still the best)
Air Intake Silencer
Easy to clean
Solid body construction

[steve fedyk]

Quite pump
A big enough neck to fit my hand in to clean the body
Muffler or air filter to make the skimmer quite
A drain in the collection cup
External pump with quick connect for cleaning
A gate valve for adjusting the skimmers water level

I like how the vertex skimmer necks come off for cleaning.

[Aqua-Digital]

Originally Posted by RuGlu6

10 stars to Bubble Blaster HY 5000S pump. a pump for $225

Only problem here is that the consumer in the main now only wishes to spend about that amount on the whole skimmer not just a pump

So for that alone we have to rule it out.

In reards to the BM Hero, that got voted out a while back as an old design on another thread we ran, the Curve has replaced it which we are already bringing in The curve body is probably the most OEM'd body at present! However the quality is visually different to that of the Skimz body, and as such our modified curve will form our entry level skimmer as of May.