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Post by maineultraclassic on May 16, 2014 8:16:32 GMT -5
Got my 302 with the larger cup for 129.99 shipped by pm on 3reef to sca. had a minor blemish nothing stupid. That's a smoking deal............have to keep that in mind for the future. |
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Post by jasonandsarah on May 16, 2014 8:22:15 GMT -5
only problem with reef octopus is just the skimmer pump cost as much as the sca 302 my next skimmer is going to be a asm g6x! Yeah but sometimes it's worth the extra money for the pump. You kind of need a good pump for your skimmer to work:) I've had 3 impellers break already on the atman 2000! luckily I was still under warranty on all of them. Also have 1atman 2000 that won't work at all. Great skimmer for the price and I always recommend it, but I'm considering upgrading the pump now. |
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Post by chevy50sd on May 16, 2014 8:22:50 GMT -5
Now that ones is defiantly a bank breaker for me.
Thanks everyone for the input I guess now I need to do some research and make a decision.
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Post by gotareef on May 16, 2014 8:46:20 GMT -5
only problem with reef octopus is just the skimmer pump cost as much as the sca 302 my next skimmer is going to be a asm g6x! Yeah but sometimes it's worth the extra money for the pump. You kind of need a good pump for your skimmer to work:) I've had 3 impellers break already on the atman 2000! luckily I was still under warranty on all of them. Also have 1atman 2000 that won't work at all. Great skimmer for the price and I always recommend it, but I'm considering upgrading the pump now. again the reason im partial to asm skimmers, sedra pumps are great! I think its just you  -- a couple months and your leds have issues, your skimmer, more issues....... also I think its just the atman2000 with issues I havent herd of many issues with the atman2500 (pump thats on the sca303) but these are also the reasons bubble magus dosnt use there pumps anymore |
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Post by jasonandsarah on May 16, 2014 8:47:27 GMT -5
Yeah but sometimes it's worth the extra money for the pump. You kind of need a good pump for your skimmer to work:) I've had 3 impellers break already on the atman 2000! luckily I was still under warranty on all of them. Also have 1atman 2000 that won't work at all. Great skimmer for the price and I always recommend it, but I'm considering upgrading the pump now. again the reason im partial to asm skimmers, sedra pumps are great! I think its just you -- a couple months and your leds have issues, your skimmer, more issues....... also I think its just the atman2000 with issues I havent herd of many issues with the atman2500 (pump thats on the sca303) It could be! Lol But no really I'm almost positive the impellers broke this winter when the power would go out. The impeller aren't exactly built with quality in mind. Every time it was the white pieces on the ends of the magnet they'd just pop off. The pump that's broke had the broken impeller for a few hours before I noticed it and I think it burned the pump out from running like this? Sorry to say but the leds definitely weren't my fault I had never even opened them until you told me to, witch was way after I found the problem. Only two things I've had trouble with on my tank and the same person recommended both of them but hey $hit happens. |
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Post by gotareef on May 16, 2014 9:01:28 GMT -5
what pump are you going with? bubble mag switched to a sp2000, also sicce pumps are nice but pricey!
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Post by jasonandsarah on May 16, 2014 9:21:20 GMT -5
I really like this one and I'm almost positive it'll fit witch is something I have to keep in mind with the sca-302 since the pumps inside the skimmer. ASM Protein Skimmer Sedra 9000 Replacement Pump by ASM G Series Protein Skimmers www.amazon.com/dp/B001EHCF24/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_iZHDtb1AB4XP6Or this one.... I read they can be used for skimmers... Jebao DC-3000 Skimmer Return Pump with Controller 230 to 790 GPH, Red by Jebao www.amazon.com/dp/B00IIUOXZM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_CRHDtb1HG1ZNCLike I said before I'm just not 100% happy with the pump the skimmer works great and pulls some crazy skim, but sometimes I'll look in the skimmer and it'll be just very small bubbles at the top fuzzing like soda instead of the normal foam bubbles at the top it normally has? Also sc aquariums told me they get the impeller made just for them and the normal atman pumps come with a different impeller? Idk this to be fact but it's what they told me. So who knows if this "specially made" impeller is actually top quality or even made by the same manufacturer? |
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Post by BriMc on May 16, 2014 9:24:06 GMT -5
Here are so experiences of mine with skimmers and pumps
Euro reef / Reef dynamics / ASM with Sedra pumps impeller has a plastic sleeve over the magnet, over time the sleeve allows moisture to get in and the magnet swells causing the pump to stop working. cost to fix $24 to $45. I have three of these sitting in the basement due to this problem, one is a new pump that was water tested, dried, and then put on the shelf. The magnet swelled to the point on not being able to get it out of the housing. Now saying all the above the Sedra pumps ran for two+ years each with no issues.
SCA / Bubble Magus / anything that uses any model atman pumps. Keep a spare pump on hand it is not a question of will the pump go bad, it is the statement the pump will go bad. Again three Atman pumps in two years and four impellers (atman 2500). The mesh style impellers blow apart, the needle wheel pumps are better but the collar between the magnet and needle wheel are made of cheap plastic and break. The actual pump itself stops working also for no apparent reason. I am on my fourth pump which is an upgraded pump so far no issues.
Vertex skimmers using the resun pumps, these are older skimmers and these pumps are no longer supplied with the newer skimmers but Vertex customer service was horrible and they hid their heads in the sand and failed to address the problem. The pumps had metal screws on the impeller housing that rusted, and the pumps had a metal plate inside the case that was exposed to salt water and also rusted badly. Newer skimmers are better but the I was bitten once and now have a bad taste for Vertex.
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Post by speedyron on May 16, 2014 15:41:01 GMT -5
so wuts better about asm. i mean y u like them just curious rob i may get a new one soon
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on May 16, 2014 17:28:49 GMT -5
only problem with reef octopus is just the skimmer pump cost as much as the sca 302 my next skimmer is going to be a asm g6x! Yeah but sometimes it's worth the extra money for the pump. You kind of need a good pump for your skimmer to work:) I've had 3 impellers break already on the atman 2000! luckily I was still under warranty on all of them. Also have 1atman 2000 that won't work at all. Great skimmer for the price and I always recommend it, but I'm considering upgrading the pump now. The atman pumps are complete junk! I've had the same issues over and over again with them when eshopps supplied their skimmers with those pumps. Bubble blaster pumps do cost an arm and a leg but the customer service from coralvue is top notch. I've had them fix stuff almost a year after the 3 year warranty ran out. Sometimes your paying for more than just the cost of the unit. |
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Post by scoobnoob on May 16, 2014 17:53:13 GMT -5
Vertex 150
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Post by gotareef on May 17, 2014 8:17:27 GMT -5
so wuts better about asm. i mean y u like them just curious rob i may get a new one soon asm have been top of the line for close to 10 years. there are only a few aquarium products that have been around that long, never mind "top of the line" for that long. not the latest but still one of the greatest. proven and true... the asm g3 I have on my 180g I bought used from unity college. I have used it for a couple years now so it has been used atleast 4 years. the only problem I have to fix is the rubber gasket where the pump attaches to the skimmer isnt sitting right anymore so needs to be replaced. I have never had an issue with the pump... |
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Post by speedyron on May 17, 2014 9:57:00 GMT -5
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Post by gotareef on May 17, 2014 10:13:50 GMT -5
thats the skimmer i have on my tank right now  you can find them used for $100-$175. but buying used be prepared to get a new impeller for $40 but I will warn you some sedra pumps are loud, and if you dont keep the foam where the water comes out of the skimmer clean it will splash (can easily be moded... I did it on my asm mini-g) |
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Post by BriMc on May 17, 2014 20:20:04 GMT -5
I wouldn't call ASM a top of the line but a good, cheap skimmer. I don't think I have ever seen ASM skimmers even rated when top of the line skimmers have been rated. ASM's design is a knock off of the old euro reef skimmers and has had its share problems from inferior plastics being used in manufacturing which leads to the tabs that hold the skimmer neck to the body to break as well as the same for the collection cup to the skimmer neck. The skimmer bodies also have a tendency of clouding and/or crazing with hairline cracks, they also used O-rings that were leaching chemicals into tank water. Euro reef had an elbow on the water inlet that directed water downward to the bottom of the skimmer casing more dwell time cutting corners ASM did not have this feature causing the water in the ASM to be more like a vortex. Euro reef used a nice rubber grommet to seal the water inlet pipe to the skimmer body as where ASM used a cheap uniseal that was a PITA. But just like anything else the euro reef cs-5 back in the day was $225 to 250 as the comparable ASM G-1 was $125 to 150 and the ASM worked. Today the ASM is 249 and the euroreef, oops reef dynamics is 349 lol |
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-- a couple months and your leds have issues, your skimmer, more issues....... also I think its just the atman2000 with issues I havent herd of many issues with the atman2500 (pump thats on the sca303)
you can find them used for $100-$175. but buying used be prepared to get a new impeller for $40