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Super-quiet skimmer recommendations?

rygh

rygh

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I have a reef octopus with a bubble blaster.
It is not too bad, but seems to have a perfect resonance vibration that echoes in the walls.
Getting complaints from the family.

So anything that is SUPER quiet????
And a good skimmer of course.

I have a 240G display tank, +120G sump, so over 300G total.

I have heard good things about the RLSS R6-i, but that is too small, and no info on the R8-i
 
Sang maximus on rc selling a bk mini 180 if you are interested that's support query and nice skimmer.


But any DC pump skimmer is quieter.

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^ I would grab that in a heartbeat.

Have you tried placing a silicone pad underneath to dampen the vibration noise? OXO sells silicone drying mats that you can cut up for padding.
 
BK 180 is a bit small for my tank. What a deal though.

DC pumps sure seem quiet, yes. My return pumps are DC.
And the controllability is a plus.
Reliability though .... not so great.

I guess I should try some other noise reduction ideas first. I did try rubber pads. But I could suspend it.
 
rygh said:
BK 180 is a bit small for my tank. What a deal though.

DC pumps sure seem quiet, yes. My return pumps are DC.
And the controllability is a plus.
Reliability though .... not so great.

I guess I should try some other noise reduction ideas first. I did try rubber pads. But I could suspend it.
Click to expand...

Yup, the BK mini 180 is too small for your setup. I'm running a double cone 200 on my 190 it's a touch too big right now because I have a light bioload but should be fine once I fill it with fish!

Used DC BKs are are to find. But if you can find a used Vertex Alpha 200 (which is made by RE) for a very good price and condition, you can upgrade the pump to an RD3 skimmer pump.

If you can swing it, a Double Cone 250 would be perfect for it!





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Dave B said:
Nyos is what I have and unless you look at it for bubbles, you would not know its running.
Click to expand...
Which version?

Tempting, and a lot better on the budget than a BK.
Reviews seem to be mostly love / hate.
Reading carefully, I suspect subtle shipping damage on the pump mounts + bad support.
 
Also tempting to just replace the needle pump on my reef octopus with an RD3.
The body itself is fine. But matching flow/etc does not always work.
 
We have the vertex alpha 200. 240 display with 65 gallon frag tank plumbed in with about 60 gallons of water in the sump. It is super quiet and skims like a beast. It was worth the money.
 
Looks like I will get a Nyos Quantum 220.

Thanks for all the good advice!!

I was really thinking of getting a skimz sl253, but hit some concerns.
It seems at first there was a 250 model with high quality Askoll pumps, but
they replaced the needle pump with a rebranded Jaebo on the 253,
and there have been a lot of failures after around a year or so on those.
 
I have a Vertex alpha 170 on my 150 and I love it. Super quiet and pulls a lot of gunk.
I would avoid the Nyos skimmers... IMO - They feel really cheap and flimsy. They do a decent job at skimming but there are definitely better skimmers out there for the price.
 
Tmjvb said:
I have a Vertex alpha 170 on my 150 and I love it. Super quiet and pulls a lot of gunk.
I would avoid the Nyos skimmers... IMO - They feel really cheap and flimsy. They do a decent job at skimming but there are definitely better skimmers out there for the price.
Click to expand...

And I had 99% made up my mind. :mad:
:)

I will poke around more.
While I had heard great things about Vertex, "quiet" was never really emphasized (or complained about).
 
Yeah
I like my Alpha
Great skimmer.
I cant even hear it if my stand is open. As mentioned before very effective and pulls a ton of gunk
 
When was your Vertex made? From what I understand they used to be sourced by Royal Exclusiv, then Vertex found somewhere else to manufacture for cheaper (but the price cost to the consumer the same), not saying they're garbage mind you, just something to keep in mind. Mario has an older (Royal Exclusiv) model Vertex Alpha 300, but holy crap it's large, think he has it stored in a brute garbage can :D

If you want to stay on the more inexpensive side of things the Reef Octopus Regal DC skimmers. That said I couldn't give you any absolute experience, I have an old Bubble Master 250 with 2 Sicce pumps (original ones!) and while I don't get very much in the way of vibrational noises holy crap the sound of them sucking air... yikes!
 
Tmjvb said:
Yeah
I like my Alpha
Great skimmer.
I cant even hear it if my stand is open. As mentioned before very effective and pulls a ton of gunk
Click to expand...
I've got an alpha 170 too. I've been quite happy with it. It is quiet; it has such a low hum that I can't tell if it's running unless I look and see or if I turn it on/off.

@sfsuphysics, mine says royal exclusive on the lid.

@rygh, isn't your tank larger though? 240 gallons? You could get the alpha 200. According to @Vhuang168, you can switch out the AC pump that comes with it for a red dragon if you want to go DC too.
 
@sfsuphysics : Vertex pumps are a bit unknown. Supposedly the Alpha pumps are still re-branded red dragon,
but the old AC ones, not the fancy new DC ones. And there are complaints about getting replacements,
since they have switched production to mostly DC pumps.

@Flagg37: DT is 240, but I have some livestock in the 100G Fuge as well. Sounds very similar in size to Kim above.
So yes, Alpha 200. Although looking at rating, seems a bit on the edge.

If I go semi-DIY, I could put an RD3 or Skimz pump on my current skimmer.

I am so confused now.... :confused:
 
I still vote Alpha
The 200 would be more than enough for your tank size. They are very underrated when it comes to the volume they can handle. They have very large diameter necks.
Directly from slief on reef central:
The Alphas have a very large neck diameter and tend to be very inconsistent unless the load is very heavy. They are also very under rated in terms of the appropriate display sizing.
 
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