In search of the perfect skimmer.

[eyebedam]

Hello everyone my name is Jason & im a reefaholic. This is my first post but Ive been reading the skimmer thread. Its time for me to get a skimmer. Im leaning towards these 2.
1 ATI BubbleMaster 250
2 H&S External Skimmer Up To 225gal - A150-F2001
This will be on a 180 gal lightly loaded reef with a 60 gall sump which drops into a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub plumbed into my basement. I want the skimmer to be external & to be gravity fed. What are the pros & cons of the 2 skimmers im looking at. Im in Nash TN & all the people in my local reef club are drinking th e MRC juice that Andy is selling them but im not really fond of those skimmers.
Thanks
Jason:afro:

 

[crox99]

Ehi Jason

Welcome to MR.

 

[fritz]

You can't gravity feed the Bubblemaster. I bet that was easier than you though it'd be!

 

[jhale]

Jason welcome to MR

I owned the BM250 for a bit. I have to say it is a great skimmer and will pull out copious amounts of the nastiest skimmate ever. It will also flood whenever you feed the tank frozen food sending all that skimmate back into the water column :irked:. This was my experience and some others I saw on RC. The fix was to turn the skimmer off for an hour while you fed the tank. If this works with your schedule then it could be an awesome skimmer for you.

I've not owned an H&S myself, but I've seen them at fellow reefers homes. They always looked decent and I have not heard negative things about them the way I have MRC.

edit, i missed the external and gravity fed part :doh: forget the BM it will flood sooner or later and also I don't think it's made to be external anyway.
there's no way to plumb it. next!

 

[nycmat]

i would look up the BK mimi's here adverstised by one of the mr vendors. aquarium specialty is where i got mine and they are to be a step above the BM with less wattage. check it out it might be worth your time with minimal more amount of money

 

[cali_reef]

H&S A150 with the AB2001 is too small for a 180 gallon tank(340g total water per your post), unless you have only a pair of nemos and don't feed them and changes 30% of water every two weeks:lol2:. I am using a H&S A250 for a 150 gallon reef (with about 150 gallon net water), its will probably handle 340 gallons okay.

I have a BM250, it is the second worst skimmer I have played with. I would not recommend anyone buying one. Their body design sucks and the mesh wheel produce lots of bubbles but very inconsistently.

 

[jhale]

It can't be the worst skimmer I thought mine was great till it flooded.

Remember Pierce you got the older model, the newer ones have the gate valve which is a bit easier to adjust. unless yours has a gate valve mod.

 

[jackson6745]

Go with a beckett like an MRC (Barr Aquatic is a better choice) or be prepared to spend over 2G on a NWRC skimmer that can handle your bioload.

 

[Prefect]

Take a look at the DAS EX-3. Best bang for the buck IMO.

 

[jackson6745]

Take a look at the DAS EX-3. Best bang for the buck IMO.

It sucks

 

[jackson6745]

Pierce I have to see what you've done with the BM250. I thought it worked decent.

 

[ming]

hmm.. my BM250 works pretty well
And I don't have the overflow problem. My bubbles actually go down when I feed though for some reason.
I will admit, if the water level in the sump isn't level at all times, it has the potential to overflow easily. But just put a baffle before the pump to keep the level the same.

 

[150reef]

I have the newer version BM 250 with the gate valve, will hopefully be testing in a couple weeks.Hope it performs well for the money I paid.

 

[RGibson]

Pierce how many skimmer do you have and what kind are thay?

 

[loismustdie]

Pierce how many skimmer do you have and what kind are thay?

oh, did you just make this a very long thread. I've been there enough and can positively say before he even posts, that what he is going to say is true. Pierce has been a round for a long time and is a no nonsense guy. He's got the equipment in his house to back up anything he says with experience.

 

[cali_reef]

Pierce how many skimmer do you have and what kind are thay?

I HAD too many, still HAVE too many, I am at the point I need to make shelfs in my garage to hold some of these skimmers.



BTW, there is no "perfect" skimmer.

 

[dickenscd]

Your choice will be limited within needwheel skimmers if gravity feed is required.

All the other type of skimmers such as beckett or down draft need a seperate powerful pump.