Deltec AP600...any good?

Fishfreak218 · 09/24/2007, 07:02 PM

Hey,
I am looking into a skimmer for my 45g. SPS tank and was wondering if any of you guys have this skimmer? I want a skimmer that is totally plug and play... no mesh mods or any of that crap.. just a skimmer that skims decently out of the box.
Thank you for your input
-Josh

Fishfreak218 · 09/25/2007, 02:15 PM

anyone?

HBtank · 09/25/2007, 02:39 PM

Look into the DAS EX-1, it is a clone of the APF-600 and costs 250 dollars. So it would actually be a step above the AP-600 and much cheaper.

I use one and love it. It is plug and play.

There is a thread on it here and it has gotten great reviews.

glassbox-design · 09/25/2007, 02:49 PM

the deltecs are newer versions so to speak. DAS are still great skimmers out of the box... but you have to go through pet-o-rama and receive no customer service. Check the deltec forums and you will see how great they treat their customers.

if you're trying to save money, DAS is the way to go. if you dont want any issues and/or headaches, i'd go with deltec.

jmo.

hahnmeister · 09/25/2007, 02:55 PM

Or H&S... A110 or A150. FWIW, its a dead easy skimmer to have made as well. ORCA (www.protein-skimmer.com) is a cost effective means of doing so.

HBtank · 09/25/2007, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Flint&Eric
the deltecs are newer versions so to speak. DAS are still great skimmers out of the box... but you have to go through pet-o-rama and receive no customer service. Check the deltec forums and you will see how great they treat their customers.

if you're trying to save money, DAS is the way to go. if you dont want any issues and/or headaches, i'd go with deltec.

jmo.

It seems from recent reviews they have resolved many of the previous concerns.

I think stating that someone should expect issues/headaches is not correct.

In fact, just check out the DAS thread, I have not seen a single complaint in a long time, and if so it was not beyond not recieving an e-mail with tracking information or pet-o-rama being out of stock due to the increased demand.

As for "no customer service", Well as I said above, it seems no one has had an issue great enough to even demand seeking it out. And in an old thread in another forum, the one issue I have seen was resolved and the person was sent a new skimmer. It just took a long time, and was before they seemingly improved their standards for shipping etc.. but that is still far beyond "no customer service". Yopu can also get the EX-1 at Orca, and they responed to every question I had etc..

Just my observations as I have watched this skimmer become much more popular. It seems the original concerns I even had have dissapeared, even with many more people using them.

Anyways, I do agree that Deltec has better customer service if needed, but I guess I just think a well made product really should not need it to begin with.... And really in both cases is should not be a huge factor in the decision.

Fishfreak218 · 09/25/2007, 04:05 PM

bump

kdblove_99 · 09/25/2007, 04:50 PM

DAS EX1 for sure can you bet this skimmer for $250? NO way!

I ordered my DAS on tuesday from petorama and chose 2 day air it was here thursday!

Fishfreak218 · 09/25/2007, 07:02 PM

any more opinions?

treny · 09/25/2007, 08:40 PM

for the money I would go with the EX-1. but if cost is not a prob then go deltec they are very nice skimmers. the H&S are nice too But I like the Deltec but I do have a EX-3 under my tank..lol

Fishfreak218 · 09/26/2007, 02:28 PM

thanks treny
anyone else?

USC-fan · 09/26/2007, 03:05 PM

I would go with the DAS ex-1 also.

I would even get the H&S with the single AB2001 before the deltec.

DeltecRules · 09/26/2007, 04:02 PM

I would go with the AP600. I had one for a year running without any issues always pulling out dark crap all the time. The deltec pumps are modified beyond what DAS does to there aquabee pumps. The deltec pumps are matched with the body of there skimmer for top performance. Doug's awesome customer service is top notch from Deltec I highly recommend deltec.

I like to skim wet

Try reading this thread about DAS skimmers.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/...er-thread.html

Fishfreak218 · 09/26/2007, 06:03 PM

thanks for that thread!! wow thats alot of skimmate

uhuru · 09/26/2007, 06:19 PM

I thought the performance between the das pump and deltec pump were the same, that's what I've read on here multiple times...

HBtank · 09/26/2007, 06:26 PM

Acutally the club thread here is much better, that manhattanreefs thread is way out of date and has evidence of the only manufacturing defect I have ever seen with DAS skimmers. "DeltecRULES" loves to point it out in every DAS thread

I think he seems to be just a little threatened by the DAS "deltec clones" I wonder why?? lol

Here is the much better thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...&highlight=DAS

Oh, and here is my DAS EX-1 in action (skimming wet of course, all one day or less, first pic was only hours If I remember, last pic was around a day or so) I was not scared to use the flash and good lighting either

I never noticed, but comapring the sets of pictures side to side, the DAS even looks BETTER built to me...

hahnmeister · 09/26/2007, 06:39 PM

Both the DAS and Deltec pumps pull 500lph of air. If there is a difference, its with the amount of water or the wattage... and its not that much. The only thing I can think of is that the Deltec Aquabees process the same air with less water turbulence... to know for sure, one could compare the VA and wattages from both pumps... the one with a higher wattage/VA is moving more water.

FWIW, I like the DAS because you can mesh/threadwheel mod it and get 700+lph from it easily with even less water turbulence. Now, I dont know about you, but Id rather play around with modding the $100 DAS than the $250 Deltec, esp if my end result is the same.

uhuru · 09/26/2007, 08:10 PM

Quote:

I was not scared to use the flash and good lighting either

trmiv · 09/26/2007, 08:16 PM

I used to own an AP600. I liked it a lot as a skimmer, but I would never buy another one. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent skimmer, I just think it is way overpriced, especially for a 45g tank. As you get into the larger tanks 250-500 gallons, the economics of a Deltec make more sense, but for the smaller tanks I think there are skimmers that will perform close to the same for a much much lower price point. Look into the DAS as others have mentioned, Tunze 9010 is a good bet as well, and also some of the Octopus skimmers.

jman77 · 09/26/2007, 08:47 PM

"I used to own an AP600. I liked it a lot as a skimmer, but I would never buy another one."

ditto....

jefft321 · 09/26/2007, 10:14 PM

Is the pump and impeller for the Deltec that much more superior? How do they justify the cost difference?

treny · 09/27/2007, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jefft321
Is the pump and impeller for the Deltec that much more superior? How do they justify the cost difference?

I don't think so.. looks about the same. the deltec cuts out the inside of the pump so noone else can use their needle wheel. the NW it self is only trimed alittle more then the H&S and DAS NW. I have seen both run and can't tell the diff beteen the euro reef and the deltec or DAS skimmers. The only thing I like about the deltec is it's plug up and go skimming, not alot of adjusting to do on it.

treny · 09/27/2007, 05:12 AM

How do they justify the cost difference? [/B][/QUOTE]

It's German!lol

jman77 · 09/27/2007, 06:14 AM

"How do they justify the cost difference?"

Elf Magic.... they have mini elves that magically change the stock Aquabee pumps to be superior to regular AB pump

USC-fan · 09/27/2007, 09:04 AM

Guys he was asking about the deltec AP600...It does not use the AB 2001 like the DAS EX-1. It uses the smaller AB 2000.

09/24/2007, 07:02 PM	#1
Fishfreak218 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: West Palm Beach Florida Posts: 1,412	Deltec AP600...any good? Hey, I am looking into a skimmer for my 45g. SPS tank and was wondering if any of you guys have this skimmer? I want a skimmer that is totally plug and play... no mesh mods or any of that crap.. just a skimmer that skims decently out of the box. Thank you for your input -Josh __________________ -30g. Oceanic Cube Cuttlefish Reef -90g. Mixed Reef -14g Biocube FW planted tank -10g. frag tank (soon) Current Tank Info: 90g. Reef, 30g. Cube cuttlefish reef

09/25/2007, 02:15 PM	#2
Fishfreak218 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: West Palm Beach Florida Posts: 1,412	anyone? __________________ -30g. Oceanic Cube Cuttlefish Reef -90g. Mixed Reef -14g Biocube FW planted tank -10g. frag tank (soon) Current Tank Info: 90g. Reef, 30g. Cube cuttlefish reef

09/25/2007, 02:39 PM	#3
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	Look into the DAS EX-1, it is a clone of the APF-600 and costs 250 dollars. So it would actually be a step above the AP-600 and much cheaper. I use one and love it. It is plug and play. There is a thread on it here and it has gotten great reviews. __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA

09/25/2007, 02:49 PM	#4
glassbox-design Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: SF Posts: 3,041	the deltecs are newer versions so to speak. DAS are still great skimmers out of the box... but you have to go through pet-o-rama and receive no customer service. Check the deltec forums and you will see how great they treat their customers. if you're trying to save money, DAS is the way to go. if you dont want any issues and/or headaches, i'd go with deltec. jmo. __________________ GLASSBOXDESIGN the modern reef blog LEDs are a 50,000 hr investment. Choose wisely. Current Tank Info: ...a new glassbox is coming

09/25/2007, 04:05 PM	#7
Fishfreak218 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: West Palm Beach Florida Posts: 1,412	bump __________________ -30g. Oceanic Cube Cuttlefish Reef -90g. Mixed Reef -14g Biocube FW planted tank -10g. frag tank (soon) Current Tank Info: 90g. Reef, 30g. Cube cuttlefish reef

09/25/2007, 02:55 PM	#5
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Or H&S... A110 or A150. FWIW, its a dead easy skimmer to have made as well. ORCA (www.protein-skimmer.com) is a cost effective means of doing so.

09/25/2007, 04:50 PM	#8
kdblove_99 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Frederick,CO Posts: 8,683	DAS EX1 for sure can you bet this skimmer for $250? NO way! I ordered my DAS on tuesday from petorama and chose 2 day air it was here thursday!

09/25/2007, 07:02 PM	#9
Fishfreak218 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: West Palm Beach Florida Posts: 1,412	any more opinions? __________________ -30g. Oceanic Cube Cuttlefish Reef -90g. Mixed Reef -14g Biocube FW planted tank -10g. frag tank (soon) Current Tank Info: 90g. Reef, 30g. Cube cuttlefish reef

09/25/2007, 08:40 PM	#10
treny Moved On Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 148	for the money I would go with the EX-1. but if cost is not a prob then go deltec they are very nice skimmers. the H&S are nice too But I like the Deltec but I do have a EX-3 under my tank..lol

09/26/2007, 02:28 PM	#11
Fishfreak218 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: West Palm Beach Florida Posts: 1,412	thanks treny anyone else? __________________ -30g. Oceanic Cube Cuttlefish Reef -90g. Mixed Reef -14g Biocube FW planted tank -10g. frag tank (soon) Current Tank Info: 90g. Reef, 30g. Cube cuttlefish reef

09/26/2007, 03:05 PM	#12
USC-fan Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,626	I would go with the DAS ex-1 also. I would even get the H&S with the single AB2001 before the deltec.

09/26/2007, 04:02 PM	#13
DeltecRules Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Homer Glen IL. Posts: 1,552	I would go with the AP600. I had one for a year running without any issues always pulling out dark crap all the time. The deltec pumps are modified beyond what DAS does to there aquabee pumps. The deltec pumps are matched with the body of there skimmer for top performance. Doug's awesome customer service is top notch from Deltec I highly recommend deltec. I like to skim wet Try reading this thread about DAS skimmers. http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/...er-thread.html

09/26/2007, 06:03 PM	#14
Fishfreak218 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: West Palm Beach Florida Posts: 1,412	thanks for that thread!! wow thats alot of skimmate __________________ -30g. Oceanic Cube Cuttlefish Reef -90g. Mixed Reef -14g Biocube FW planted tank -10g. frag tank (soon) Current Tank Info: 90g. Reef, 30g. Cube cuttlefish reef

09/26/2007, 06:19 PM	#15
uhuru Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Columbus Posts: 2,949	I thought the performance between the das pump and deltec pump were the same, that's what I've read on here multiple times... __________________ August 2011 TOTM

09/26/2007, 06:26 PM	#16
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	Acutally the club thread here is much better, that manhattanreefs thread is way out of date and has evidence of the only manufacturing defect I have ever seen with DAS skimmers. "DeltecRULES" loves to point it out in every DAS thread I think he seems to be just a little threatened by the DAS "deltec clones" I wonder why?? lol Here is the much better thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...&highlight=DAS Oh, and here is my DAS EX-1 in action (skimming wet of course, all one day or less, first pic was only hours If I remember, last pic was around a day or so) I was not scared to use the flash and good lighting either I never noticed, but comapring the sets of pictures side to side, the DAS even looks BETTER built to me... __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA Last edited by HBtank; 09/26/2007 at 06:45 PM.

09/26/2007, 06:39 PM	#17
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Both the DAS and Deltec pumps pull 500lph of air. If there is a difference, its with the amount of water or the wattage... and its not that much. The only thing I can think of is that the Deltec Aquabees process the same air with less water turbulence... to know for sure, one could compare the VA and wattages from both pumps... the one with a higher wattage/VA is moving more water. FWIW, I like the DAS because you can mesh/threadwheel mod it and get 700+lph from it easily with even less water turbulence. Now, I dont know about you, but Id rather play around with modding the $100 DAS than the $250 Deltec, esp if my end result is the same.

09/26/2007, 08:16 PM	#19
trmiv Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,082	I used to own an AP600. I liked it a lot as a skimmer, but I would never buy another one. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent skimmer, I just think it is way overpriced, especially for a 45g tank. As you get into the larger tanks 250-500 gallons, the economics of a Deltec make more sense, but for the smaller tanks I think there are skimmers that will perform close to the same for a much much lower price point. Look into the DAS as others have mentioned, Tunze 9010 is a good bet as well, and also some of the Octopus skimmers. __________________ Current tank: Red Sea Reefer 350 Deluxe, Avast Marine Pegleg 180 skimmer, Gyre 150, Eheim 1262 return

09/26/2007, 08:47 PM	#20
jman77 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Palm Beach, Florida Posts: 2,391	"I used to own an AP600. I liked it a lot as a skimmer, but I would never buy another one." ditto....

09/26/2007, 10:14 PM	#21
jefft321 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Rocky River Posts: 650	Is the pump and impeller for the Deltec that much more superior? How do they justify the cost difference?

09/27/2007, 05:12 AM	#23
treny Moved On Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 148	How do they justify the cost difference? [/B][/QUOTE] It's German!lol

09/27/2007, 06:14 AM	#24
jman77 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Palm Beach, Florida Posts: 2,391	"How do they justify the cost difference?" Elf Magic.... they have mini elves that magically change the stock Aquabee pumps to be superior to regular AB pump

09/27/2007, 09:04 AM	#25
USC-fan Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,626	Guys he was asking about the deltec AP600...It does not use the AB 2001 like the DAS EX-1. It uses the smaller AB 2000.