Help us develop the skimmer you want

Aqua-Digital · #1 02-08-2012, 11:36 PM

Firstly we are proud to announce that Aqua Digital Inc have invested heavily in bringing to you a truly Canadian ONLY marketed skimmer!

We have learnt a lot from Canreef members feedback in what they want from a skimmer and we have already applied this to the new Bubble Magus skimmers we will bring out shortly

BUT - We have gone one step further!

We wanted to bring you a premium line of skimmers based on everything you asked for, and this is your chance to help us finalise the design.

So news so far - everyone loved the Skimz body of their skimmers but we felt it was lacking in the pump, taking into account there is no point re inventing a perfectly good wheel, we have decided to pick the cream of the Skimz range and have them modified to ours and your criterias.

So the first change will be the pump. But which pump? We want cost effectiveness balanced with performance, and the only two on the market that we believe can bring this is both Aqua Bee and Sicce (the new range)

But please give us your feedback on your preffered pump out of these two, both positive and negative, please only base your comments on the latest models especially in regards to Sicce. (the PSK2500 is no longer an option) we are looking at the 600 - 1000 - 1200 high air draw. For Aquabee it will be the all new ceramic bearing 2001 and 3000

lockrookie · #2 02-09-2012, 12:22 AM

one of my peevs is they post lilters only not gallons as well i hate converting lol ok im whining but hey its all good.

it would be interestng to see a skimmer that will handle ozone hookup/with filtration for ozone air export in the collection self cleaning rinses itelf down the drain ok now im dreaming. i have a few ideas but i just cant put them into words which may not even work anyways.

Ryan · #3 02-09-2012, 12:47 AM

Accurate ratings for tanks. If you say its rated for a 90 gallon reef tank it should handle a 90 gallon reef tank.

Also a dependable pump that will restart in the even the pump gets turned off without having to fiddle with it. My #1 peeve about my Vertex.

Aqua-Digital · #4 02-09-2012, 01:14 AM

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 · #5 02-09-2012, 01:31 AM

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 · #6 02-09-2012, 02:19 AM

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 · #7 02-09-2012, 02:27 AM

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 · #8 02-09-2012, 02:30 AM

Quote:

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 · #9 02-09-2012, 02:44 AM

Quote:

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

Aqua-Digital · #10 02-09-2012, 03:06 AM

Quote:

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.