best price on bubble master?

[tubsy3]

I am in the process of setting up my new 120g tank. And I am looking for a good skimmer. Does anyone know where I can get a bubble master at a good price? Whats the opinions on the bm160? Or should I just get the bm200? I hear lots of good stuff about the 200 but havent seen much of anything on the 160 model.

Thanks!

 

[ReeferMedic]

Just an fyi here about a very expensive product. Make sure you do some research on RC and other sites. I have no first hand experience, but haven't heard great things about their pumps.

 

[Reef55]

Just an fyi here about a very expensive product. Make sure you do some research on RC and other sites. I have no first hand experience, but haven't heard great things about their pumps.

That's an interesting comment... can you link us to where people have had bad experiences with the bubble master pumps (Sicce brand)? The DIY community on reefcentral is all over trying to source these pumps directly because of how well they work on the bubble master skimmers.

FYI, I own the BM200. I bought it from Aquarium Gallery in Hudson, NH. Works fantastic, hardly ever needs any tweaking.

 

[ReeferMedic]

That's an interesting comment... can you link us to where people have had bad experiences with the bubble master pumps (Sicce brand)? The DIY community on reefcentral is all over trying to source these pumps directly because of how well they work on the bubble master skimmers.

FYI, I own the BM200. I bought it from Aquarium Gallery in Hudson, NH. Works fantastic, hardly ever needs any tweaking.

It's mostly hearsay on my part Mark. I've had a couple of distributors(which I'd rather not name) make comments on poor performance for the money spent on these skimmers. I'll do some searching to see if I can find anything.

 

[Liam]

i found the pump works great once its running but i had a lot of instances where the pump would not restart without a lot of tinkering.
Still a good skimmer for the money IMO.
There are quite a few skimmers coming out in that price range that look pretty good. ATB and extreme for example.
You can also now pick up one of the Bubble King mini's for not too much more cash

 

[MichaelJ]

i found the pump works great once its running but i had a lot of instances where the pump would not restart without a lot of tinkering.
Still a good skimmer for the money IMO.
There are quite a few skimmers coming out in that price range that look pretty good. ATB and extreme for example.
You can also now pick up one of the Bubble King mini's for not too much more cash

One problem I had is the pump has a plastic/rubber grommet that goes into the housing and every now and then the pump come apart from the unit...Other than that it worked great. Nice big collection cup.

 

[Reefried]

I thought they were Eheim/ATI pumps? Maybe I'm mistaken though.

 

[Liam]

I thought they were Eheim/ATI pumps? Maybe I'm mistaken though.

the pumps Sicce pumps

 

[tubsy3]

Ended up gettin the bm200. I was deciding between the h&s A150 and the bm200 the guys said that the bm200 would outperform the A150 but I guess Ill jsut have to wait and see. It is going on a 120 so I think it will be good enough.

 

[MichaelJ]

Ended up gettin the bm200. I was deciding between the h&s A150 and the bm200 the guys said that the bm200 would outperform the A150 but I guess Ill jsut have to wait and see. It is going on a 120 so I think it will be good enough.

See if it has the mod kit... if it doesn't you can try ReefGeek (I believe) they were sending them out for free of charge.

 

[buddie]

all the new skimmers have the mod built on the skimmer body.

 

[tubsy3]

Whats this mod kit we are talking about? SUpposedly I am gettin the 4th generation bm200 which hopefully will not have any issues as someof the older models.

Performance wise though, how do you guys rate the bm200? I am hoping it will be much better than the euroreef 5-3 i have on my 46g. I thought that was a really good skimmer too. Just wondering how big a difference...

 

[MichaelJ]

Whats this mod kit we are talking about? SUpposedly I am gettin the 4th generation bm200 which hopefully will not have any issues as someof the older models.

Performance wise though, how do you guys rate the bm200? I am hoping it will be much better than the euroreef 5-3 i have on my 46g. I thought that was a really good skimmer too. Just wondering how big a difference...

I don't know about the Euroreef.... but I liked the BM200.... I drilled the collection cup to drain to a 5gl bucket. I think the mod kits now are different then the old ones. It was an O ring with a gate valve. You'll like this skimmer.

 

[tubsy3]

I don't know about the Euroreef.... but I liked the BM200.... I drilled the collection cup to drain to a 5gl bucket. I think the mod kits now are different then the old ones. It was an O ring with a gate valve. You'll like this skimmer.

Sweet I can't wait!

 

[tubsy3]

Btw do you have any pics of how you drilled the collection cup to drain to the 5g? I was thinking of doing some kind of mod like that but have no exp with it and since you know what you're doing I rather ask you than turn my exp skimmer into swiss cheese lol.

 

[MichaelJ]

Btw do you have any pics of how you drilled the collection cup to drain to the 5g? I was thinking of doing some kind of mod like that but have no exp with it and since you know what you're doing I rather ask you than turn my exp skimmer into swiss cheese lol.

No one said I know what I'm doing.. , I took my dremel and used a sand bit 1/2'' , real slow..... once I got a 1/2'' hole drilled I put a double barb in the hole, glued it in and used a 1/2'' holse to a 5gl bucket.... just do it real slow. I'm sure someone will chime in with a smoother way of doing this I would hope.

 

[Nemo555]

Hey Chris,
Wow Bubble master skimmer!!. Finally decided to set up the tank huh? I thought Your Euro reef skimmer was great. After seeing it in action, I like it so much that I bought a new one. Does your still working well after a year? do you have to clean it often?
Those colorful LPS are all grown up right?

 

[Reef55]

Whats this mod kit we are talking about? SUpposedly I am gettin the 4th generation bm200 which hopefully will not have any issues as someof the older models.

Performance wise though, how do you guys rate the bm200? I am hoping it will be much better than the euroreef 5-3 i have on my 46g. I thought that was a really good skimmer too. Just wondering how big a difference...

I had a 5-3 on my wife's 40 gallon acrylic. I have a BM200 on my 125. There is no comparison between these two skimmers... the BM is much better at skimming. You are in for a pleasant suprise

 

[tubsy3]

Hey Chris,
Wow Bubble master skimmer!!. Finally decided to set up the tank huh? I thought Your Euro reef skimmer was great. After seeing it in action, I like it so much that I bought a new one. Does your still working well after a year? do you have to clean it often?
Those colorful LPS are all grown up right?

Hey man how have you been? Yea I decided to finally start buying the rest of the stuff I needed lol. My ER is still running well. THe problem I have is in my sump design. It leaks so the water level isnt consistent and I think it messes with my skimmer. But the skimmer is still working fine. I never have to adjust it or anything I jsut leave it on all the time and dont touch it other than to clean it up haha.

 

[bigchippa]

I replaced my euro reef with the bm 250 and love this skimmer. It pulls out a ton of crap! These pics are just after I switched them out. It only took a couple of days to make itself right at home. The sicce pumps are great - super efficient and they pull an unreal amount of air. The air pre-filter set up is great. It lets the pumps draw air freely for longer where other skimmers would build up crud and reduce air flow. You will love it.