Do high end skimmers work more efficiently?

[Scott.h]

For those of you who broke down and paid double what you needed to, let's be realistic. Does it pull more junk?

I'm not tanking about quality of build, craftsmanship, being hung up on a specific brand, the country it's manufactured in, or overall attractiveness of the product. Or even the cost per watt to run them. Obviously you will get all of that from paying more. So let's leave that out of the debate.

If a skimmer "X", which cost $800, is rated for a heavy bio load at 200 gallons, and skimmer "Y" is $400 rated for the same heavy load, will it take longer to pull the same amount of junk if both are properly tuned?

@randyBRS @Ryanbrs I know you guys have a tank set up to measure this with multiple skimmers. The could be a good "investigates" episode. But maybe you could weigh in too

 

[Gweeds1980]

I love my V2 skim 1500... just works. Minimum maintenance, cheap to buy and pulls loads of gunk out. You can really see it ramp up after feeding. I did consider upgrading and my LFS was pushing a vertex alpha 250... at nearly £1000 it was a hell of an investment and even seeing one working, they couldn't convince me the performance was worth it. I'd want to see at least 4 times as much gunk pulled out to justify the price. From what I saw it pulled out the same.

 

[Gweeds1980]

For reference, purchasing that skimmer would have been 50% of what I'd already spent in total setting up... including tank and stand! Whereas I bought my V2 1500 second hand for £50.

 

[moseley75]

Following.
I just purchased a new skimmer for just over $200. I could have paid less but this was the one that was rater for the largest bio load that would fit in my sump.
My system holds 39 gal and the skimmer is rated for 50 gal with a heavy bio load or 90 gal with a light load.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I say no real difference, with the exception of your wallet being a bit lighter.

My anecdotal experience is that the volume of water / air increases the amount of skimmate it pulls out.....and I believe it's these numbers that manufacturers use to determine the ratings for that skimmer. The best skimmer I owned (and still own but don't use) was a becketted MRC.....pulled out loads of gunk....but realize it ran on a MAG 24 and sounded like a jet engine as is sucked in air. The only reason I'm not still using it is the energy usage (I think 285 watts) and the noise. If I had a remote fish room, I'd still be using it but with a lower energy DC pump. This beast of a skimmer was replaced with an SWC 160 and the MRC was re-purposed:

I wish I could find it, but there was a article about skimmer efficiency that stated (I believe) that they only remove about 30% of the stuff they could remove.

 

[greg 45]

High end top dollar has no true meaning in this hobby. Just because a company has the highest price tag doesn't mean that it's the best item out there. Not saying knock off are better either. I always bought the newest fad and never had good results with these items. There are just so many ways to reinvent the wheel and this is true in this here also. This is just my opinion .

 

[Scott.h]

I'm in the market for another skimmer. My reef dynamics pump is done. The proper pump is a few pennies. I don't have a problem paying more for a higher end skimmer. The bottom line is that I have too many fish in too small of a tank. Salt isn't cheap. Changing large amounts of water isn't convenient. And if spending $500 for a vertex, deltec, or whatever, will pull faster then my 2 reef octopus classics (which have been an awesome value btw) in my other systems then so be it. I'm not one to take my buddies to the basement to brag about my skimmer, when it's covered in salt creep. I want value for the dollar when it comes to removing dark stuff. I want the absolute biggest skimmer I can fit, and I want to know it's worth it's weight in waste removal!

 

[Scott.h]

I say no real difference, with the exception of your wallet being a bit lighter.

My anecdotal experience is that the volume of water / air increases the amount of skimmate it pulls out.....and I believe it's these numbers that manufacturers use to determine the ratings for that skimmer. The best skimmer I owned (and still own but don't use) was a becketted MRC.....pulled out loads of gunk....but realize it ran on a MAG 24 and sounded like a jet engine as is sucked in air. The only reason I'm not still using it is the energy usage (I think 285 watts) and the noise. If I had a remote fish room, I'd still be using it but with a lower energy DC pump. This beast of a skimmer was replaced with an SWC 160 and the MRC was re-purposed:

I wish I could find it, but there was a article about skimmer efficiency that stated (I believe) that they only remove about 30% of the stuff they could remove.

That's awesome lol. I actually use a mag drive 24 as a return pump on the system that needs this skimmer. It's in the basement but sometimes I have to go move it a touch so I can't focus on the tv upstairs.

 

[najer]

I just started using a skimmer on my 550 litre water volume system, bought a Nyos 160.
I paid a bit more than some skimmers that are available for it but it is DC 16 volts and virtually silent and pulls out loads!
You pay your money and make your choices, hopefully it will be consistent and reliable.

 

[tcarter1936]

I think your main consideration should be adjustability.DC pump!!!
My simplicity dc skimmer is awesome and so easy to adjust.
You can spend all day but just getting a decent skimmer that you can actually dial in is huge.

 

[Txdragonslayer]

I think the higher end skimmers are providing higher end pump too, which lasts for a lot longer. (Theoretically) I know some bubble king owners going 10 plus years with no malfunction, or at least very minor ones. I think for long term peace of mind, u buy good quality products or else u spend 2 times as much replacing lower end gear twice as often.

 

[bif24701]

There was a study done on skimmer efficiency and the most effective skimmers where only 5-10% at best more effective/efficient than the lest expensive ones. Literally the conclusion was "bubbles are bubbles" direct quote. So when pricing skimmers you are not buying more effectiveness but build quality, features, ease of use, and stuff like that. Save your money and buy a good Reef Octopus. I buy a skimmer based on the pump because that's were the work is done and if anything fails that's what it will be. So good pumps cost more $$$, how good does it need to be? The new Varios pump based Regal skimmers are really good and cost is reasonable.

 

[Acanholic]

I just started using a skimmer on my 550 litre water volume system, bought a Nyos 160.
I paid a bit more than some skimmers that are available for it but it is DC 16 volts and virtually silent and pulls out loads!
You pay your money and make your choices, hopefully it will be consistent and reliable.

I have a Tunze. Wonderful skimmer. But seen a Nyos working. WOW. Pulls out a big amount of waste.

 

[Scott.h]

I think the higher end skimmers are providing higher end pump too, which lasts for a lot longer. (Theoretically) I know some bubble king owners going 10 plus years with no malfunction, or at least very minor ones. I think for long term peace of mind, u buy good quality products or else u spend 2 times as much replacing lower end gear twice as often.

There was a study done on skimmer efficiency and the most effective skimmers where only 5-10% at best more effective/efficient than the lest expensive ones. Literally the conclusion was "bubbles are bubbles" direct quote. So when pricing skimmers you are not buying more effectiveness but build quality, features, ease of use, and stuff like that. Save your money and buy a good Reef Octopus. I buy a skimmer based on the pump because that's were the work is done and if anything fails that's what it will be. So good pumps cost more $$$, how good does it need to be? The new Varios pump based Regal skimmers are really good and cost is reasonable.

Those are good points. Quality of pump plays a big roll. I have no doubt paying more for a better pump means longer lifespan. I also Ike the ability to fully break down a skimmer and buy replacement parts.

Are bubbles really just bubbles? Can you put on any pinwheel pump rated at "x" or are these machines really precisely tuned for bubble size to match all variables involved, hence collecting more debris.

Another thing that could logically come in the play is that when you put the pump inside the body it's stealing area away from bubbles.

 

[Dennco2000]

My only advice, going bigger is always better. Not just for better waste removal but in the long run many of us will upgrade down the road hence "now you are buying a bigger one anyway" If I only practiced what I preached......

 

[Scott.h]

Here's an example. An old, yet well known skimmer. I put a cheap pump on it to get me by. The pump is rated at about 500 gallons per hour. As you can see, lots of bubbles. If you look in the collection cup this is after exactly one week of use. Now the $200 skimmer that I used to have on the same system, with the approximate same size collection cup would be half-full after a week. Could it be because the other scanner pulled more water out with the garbage? The debris is noticeably darker. It's hard to say unless it was a controlled experiment.

 

[tnyr5]

The articles were written by my friend Ken Feldman, and can be easily found by googling his name plus the word "skimmer".

 

[redfishbluefish]

Thanks @tnyr5 .....that's the papers I was talking about.

I believe this answers the OP's question......"the least expensive skimmer (the Precision Marine ES100) offers the greatest rate of TOC removal.":




From THIS Fledman paper.

 

[bif24701]

"Bubbles is bubbles"

 

[Bigtickets]

A few of these have been discontinued. Don't know what the replacements are.