I'm real excited about my new skimmer from Bubble-Magus and felt we needed a club of our own like some of the other brands have. I saw a thread like this on another forum, but unfortunately it was closed down for schilling before I could post into it. I read all 79 pages and really wanted to start on here. Feel free to share your experiences with anything Bubble-Magus.
I just recently got a Bubble-Magus BM-180A Cone Skimmer and I love it. I upgraded from a Vertex IN-100 which rocked, but couldn't hold a candle to the new one. My main reason I upgraded is because I wanted more fish. I have an 80 gallon and felt I was at capacity with the Vertex and 7 fish(4 decent sized, 3 smaller). I'm hoping to keep 10 total now, possibly 11. I know this skimmer can handle it. It is rated 130-210 gallons.
Within 15 minutes of getting it home, it was up and running, assembly was a piece of cake. BUT read the instructions as there are a couple things in there that can damage your skimmer if you do not follow them. Construction is top notch, feels solid. The collection cup is probably 2/3 bigger than the Vertex was.The footprint on this skimmer is barely bigger than the vertex because the pump is underneath the skimmer, rather than to the side.
And the pump, Atman 3000 is absolutely silent. The vertex was quieter than a number of skimmers I have seen, but still the Atman beat it. It took a couple days to break in, but after the break-in, it took about 2 days to get the amount of skimmate in the second pic below. First pic is of it just after I put it in my sump.
If I had to find one con, it would be the drain pipe. While I understand it is so I can hook it up to an external bucket for excess skimmate, I wish it had also come with the option to cap it right at the bottom of the skimmer cup. Just my .02
In short, while I really liked my Vertex, I absolutely love my new Bubble Magus.
I'm hoping to try out their dosers one of these days, and I will add my opinion on those in here, too...
I just recently got a Bubble-Magus BM-180A Cone Skimmer and I love it. I upgraded from a Vertex IN-100 which rocked, but couldn't hold a candle to the new one. My main reason I upgraded is because I wanted more fish. I have an 80 gallon and felt I was at capacity with the Vertex and 7 fish(4 decent sized, 3 smaller). I'm hoping to keep 10 total now, possibly 11. I know this skimmer can handle it. It is rated 130-210 gallons.
Within 15 minutes of getting it home, it was up and running, assembly was a piece of cake. BUT read the instructions as there are a couple things in there that can damage your skimmer if you do not follow them. Construction is top notch, feels solid. The collection cup is probably 2/3 bigger than the Vertex was.The footprint on this skimmer is barely bigger than the vertex because the pump is underneath the skimmer, rather than to the side.
And the pump, Atman 3000 is absolutely silent. The vertex was quieter than a number of skimmers I have seen, but still the Atman beat it. It took a couple days to break in, but after the break-in, it took about 2 days to get the amount of skimmate in the second pic below. First pic is of it just after I put it in my sump.
If I had to find one con, it would be the drain pipe. While I understand it is so I can hook it up to an external bucket for excess skimmate, I wish it had also come with the option to cap it right at the bottom of the skimmer cup. Just my .02
In short, while I really liked my Vertex, I absolutely love my new Bubble Magus.
I'm hoping to try out their dosers one of these days, and I will add my opinion on those in here, too...

