Super quiet skimmer and return pump

[Reef-Geek]

My eheim 1262 is loud too, it vibrates a lot probably due to the age.

I am looking for a quiet yet powerful skimmer too, was looking atSkimz Monzter SM203 DC but cannot find a Canadian dealer, any other suggestions for skimmer around $500?

[SpongeAl]

I too find the Eheim Compacts to be noisier then implied. Vibrates like nobodies business too. (I am using a little one for a phosphate reactor pump.)

My return pump is a little Sicce Syncra, it's pretty quiet, but the noisiest item in my system, again a little surprised at the noise. I am happy though, once I put walls on my stand I probably wont hear it at all, so it is not "loud" by any means.
I can easily recommend a Sicce over a Eheim, at least the smaller pumps, no experience with the big ones.

I have the OCTO 110 SS skimmer. It is an AC motor but this skimmer is for all intents and purposes dead silent. I must bend down and put my head a few feet away before I can hear it.
I'm VERY pleased with it as I was contemplating a DC skimmer but IMO a regular synchronous AC motor is more reliable then a offshore DC motor/controller combo. (Same for return pumps) In my situation a inexpensive DC motor is just unnecessary and an added liability.

I'm not against DC motors and controllers if they are "quality". For me though, in my snack bracket, all the skimmers and return pumps had Jaebao and that ilk in them. I've seen too many threads over the past few years of failed motors etc.