Need a low cost skimmer, Octopus NW 150 or Bubble-Magus 150?

[twinspanda]

Hi,
I need some skimmer recommendations for my new 75G tank with a 10G sump. I have narrowed down to two skimmers. Bubble-Magus BM150 (http://www.nuocean.com/skimmers/bubble-magus-bm100-115v-60hz.html) and Octopus NW 150 (http://www.aquacave.com/octopus-nw-150-needle-br-wheel-protein-skimmer-749.html) . I'm leaning towards the BM150 as it costs lower and comes with a pinwheel. But since I'm new to skimmers I would appreciated any comments! Thanks.

[tpenn187]

well i know from experience that they octopus nw 150 is a good skimmer. you can turn it into a beast with a few mods but i dont like the new funnel neck model. i think that either marine solutions has the older models or premiumaquatics.com. there has been a recent thread started about the bubble magus skimmers, i would check into them and see what they have to say so far.

[twinspanda]

Is the new Octopus better than the old model? Is modding a necessity for the Octopus 150? I would prefer not to do any mods.

Forgot to mention- efficiency is very important to me since I'm cheap and would like to save on electricity. Nuocean says the BM150 consumes 29watts per hour, and I can't seem to find the power consumption information on the Octopus.

[The0wn4g3]

I would also like to see which of these skimmers people prefer. I'm stuck in between the BM160 and the DNW-150, myself...

[Paulairduck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13121734#post13121734 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tpenn187
well i know from experience that they octopus nw 150 is a good skimmer. you can turn it into a beast with a few mods but i dont like the new funnel neck model. i think that either marine solutions has the older models or premiumaquatics.com. there has been a recent thread started about the bubble magus skimmers, i would check into them and see what they have to say so far.

what issues do have with the funnel neck?

[tpenn187]

i never said they have issues, i just said i dont like the new funnel neck. they are very cheap and i think it is a down grade in quality for them, also they have been known collect detritus on top of the funnel neck, i just am not a big fan of them IMO. but the intake elbo was a great improvement over the other models. so far the buble magus skimmers seem to be good perfomers out of the box. the aquabee pumps are pulling a lot of air and will blow the octopus pumps out of the water stock. the pinwheels are nice too, no maintence, unlike the octopus pumps that need to be meshed to perform well.

[twinspanda]

Will the BM150 be too much for my tank(only 75G total volume)? It's also more expensive hence i'm leaning more toward to BM100....

[twinspanda]

Oops just realized I put in the wrong model number in the subject, it should be BM100 vs Octopus 150..

[wattsupdoc]

I do believe the new octo is just getting a bad rap for some reason I dont understand. I guess people just resist change. It is IMO as good as it were before, maybe even a little better.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=13130678#post13130678

[shelburn61]

the BM definitely wins as far as the pump is concerned...

[rbonick]

I bought a BM 150 about two weeks ago. So far I would say it is the best skimmer I've owned. I'm running it on a 75 gallon reef tank
No experience with the octopus line.

[LexSkizzle]

I have the new NW150 running on my 55g with 20g sump at the moment, but I bought it specifically for my 75g build. My personal experience with this skimmer so far has been pretty good. I ran it for about two months without any mods and it performed very well. I just did two mods this weekend(venturi and mesh mod) only b/c of all the hype about the added performance I would get and boy were they right! In conclusion, the skimmer worked very well for me b4 the mods, but after the mods its completely another animal. I would like to do one last mod (gate valve) while Im feeling handy..lol.. Again, I didn't have to do any mods, but I was bored this weekend b/c of a hurrican and had some time to tweak my skimmer. Good luck!

[SteveK1979]

Re post from a HK forum.
BM150 and Octopus 150 head-to-head.

Octopus 150, being used in system for 3 months-
http://photos.hksaltfish.com/photos/p1010535.jpg
Octopus's chamber shot,
http://photos.hksaltfish.com/photos/p1010534.jpg

New BM150-
http://photos.hksaltfish.com/photos/p1010565.jpg
BM150 Chamber
http://photos.hksaltfish.com/photos/p1010547.jpg

As the picture shown, the Bubble Magus is producing much more bubbles than the Octopus. They are not even in the same league. BM150 wins.

[kodyboy]

I just received a bm100 and I am very impressed with the build quality and the performance is impressive as well. The whole body is milked out with fine bubbles and very little turbulence. For $140 shipped it is very hard to beat:)