Beckett Skimmers

[Mike S]

Now that my 315 gallon tank is up and running I've been doing some research on a few different forums on a larger skimmer. I've been reading up on several different cones by SRO, RLSS, Aquamaxx, JNS and Skimz. Like most things there are lots of opinions which can be hard to wade through. I have noticed a camp that is firmly in the corner of beckett skimmers and the general opinion seems to be that they should be considered for larger systems.

Has anyone run both cones and becketts and can say if there is a real advantages to either. A few knocks about becketts seems to be more maintenance, frequent adjustments and the need for more power hungry pumps although some people are saying DC pumps are an option. Any reality with these claims? I've started to look at the Mtc HSA1000.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[dnov99]

I ran a dual Beckett MRC on my system years ago and don't miss that piece of crap one bit!!!!

Tons of electricity to run, maintenance and it always used to "blow up" and flood my fish room!! Enough said.

I love my new Skimz more than my old bubble king!

 

[Mike S]

Thanks Darren, so if read between the lines I am a little I'm inclined to take it that your vote is no for the becketts.

Im thinking hard about the Skimz monster 252. Have you seen the Leopard 253 yet?

 

[dnov99]

Thanks Darren, so if read between the lines I am a little I'm inclined to take it that your vote is no for the becketts.

Im thinking hard about the Skimz monster 252. Have you seen the Leopard 253 yet?

LOL!! Yeah you could say that...

Ralph has one of the DC pump in sump skimmers and he loves it too. I will find out which model and let you know more info...

 

[Edwardw771]

I have a large reef octopus and liove it. Chris from CoralVue is a sponsor here if you have questions let me know.

 

[Mike S]

Thanks Ed, which model are you running? Ive been looking at the 5000INT. Although it might not be as polished as some of the more expensive skimmers, it seems to get very good reviews. Im just not sure if it is worth spending 200 or 300 more if it will only result in a maginal improvement in performance.

 

[spotter]

I ran a dual Beckett MRC on my system years ago and don't miss that piece of crap one bit!!!!

Tons of electricity to run, maintenance and it always used to "blow up" and flood my fish room!! Enough said.

I love my new Skimz more than my old bubble king!

This is an amazing statement because I know Darren really loved the bubble king. I had a few long discussions with Darren about skimmers when I was setting the tank up and he was all for Bubble King. The skimz seem to be very powerful and they appear to have a nice compact footprint if you are limited on space.

 

[Mike S]

I hear you Steve. I believe Skimz is who made my current skimmer, Warner MF201. That skimmer has served me very well over that past year. I was going to continue to run it, but it is undersized and I have some money burning a hole in my pocket from the sale of my vortechs. I figure I better take care of the upgrade now, before that money turns into fish. Darren's comments have solidified that I don't want to mess with an external or beckett skimmer. My main choices at the moment are the Skimz's, RLSS DB10i or 12i, or if I want to save some money the SRO 5000INT.

 

[spotter]

I just saw a used 5000int on one of the sites for under $400 shipped. I will look around for it.

 

[Mike S]

Thanks, if its the one on R2R I already sent the guy a pm about it and an waiting on a response.

 

[Daniel]

I ran a dual Beckett MRC on my system years ago and don't miss that piece of crap one bit!!!!

Tons of electricity to run, maintenance and it always used to "blow up" and flood my fish room!! Enough said.

I love my new Skimz more than my old bubble king!

I could not agree more with you on this Darren.
My Warner Marine MF251 Monster Kone skimmer is awesome. It is made by Skimz but with Jon Warner Specs.

 

[Mike S]

Daniel, what size tank is yoyr 251 on? Do you think that it easly handle a 315 gallon display. Unless the pumps are different I can see too much difference between the warners and the skimzs. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Daniel]

It is on my 180 gallon system. It is a little over kill for my system. I think it would be better fit for your size system than mine.

What is notably different about the Warner Marine cone skimmers is the blue-trimmed parts where the Skimz Monzter is all white, as well as a finger well in the top for getting a nice one-handed grip of the cup and lid. Perhaps the biggest functional addition to the Warner Marine cone skimmer is the vertical bubble technology (VBT) bubble plate which allows water to exit through the center of the bubble plate for decreasing turbulence.

1) VBT Bubble Plate
2) Custom Blue Color
3) Approximately 6 pieces are custom machined for Warner Marine including the gate valve knob and the transition piece to cylinder plate.

 

[dnov99]

Here is my monster Skimz, with 3 circulation pumps chopping the bubbles this thing pulls out some insane skimmate!! It's not built like a BK, but for $2000 less I don't need it built like a BK, as it performs much better which is all I care about...

 

[Daniel]

Here is mine

 

[redfishbluefish]

Here’s my two cents on becketted skimmers: I own three of them, two of which are MRC’s. These were the best skimmers I’ve owned as far as taking the crap out of the tank. However, I will agree with others that they are energy hogs and also sound like a jet engine….very loud. You can put a muffler on them, but even with this they are still noisy. I ran the MRC 2 and MRC 3 with a MAG 24. Both ran very well. And yes, at times they can be touchy. But you just set up a kill float to handle those few times they got nuts. I also have a kill float on the current cone skimmer I have.

Again, the best I’ve had as far as skimmate.

 

[Baxreefs]

Here’s my two cents on becketted skimmers: I own three of them, two of which are MRC’s. These were the best skimmers I’ve owned as far as taking the crap out of the tank. However, I will agree with others that they are energy hogs and also sound like a jet engine….very loud. You can put a muffler on them, but even with this they are still noisy. I ran the MRC 2 and MRC 3 with a MAG 24. Both ran very well. And yes, at times they can be touchy. But you just set up a kill float to handle those few times they got nuts. I also have a kill float on the current cone skimmer I have.

Again, the best I’ve had as far as skimmate.

I have to agree. I ran as much as 650 gallons on my MRC 4 R dual Beckett it took a while to balance but once I figured it out heart and soul of my reef for years.

My SRO 3000 Ext is a bit more finicky and bearly enough for my 300 g system

 

[Mike S]

Here is my monster Skimz, with 3 circulation pumps chopping the bubbles this thing pulls out some insane skimmate!! It's not built like a BK, but for $2000 less I don't need it built like a BK, as it performs much better which is all I care about...

Is that the 302 that runs 3 pumps?

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Mike S]

Daniel now that I look I see the difference in the bubble plate although the Skimz Leopard does seem to have an internal cone that appears to have the same intent. I'm kicking myself for not just getting the Warner 253 instead of the 201.

Here’s my two cents on becketted skimmers: I own three of them, two of which are MRC’s. These were the best skimmers I’ve owned as far as taking the crap out of the tank. However, I will agree with others that they are energy hogs and also sound like a jet engine….very loud. You can put a muffler on them, but even with this they are still noisy. I ran the MRC 2 and MRC 3 with a MAG 24. Both ran very well. And yes, at times they can be touchy. But you just set up a kill float to handle those few times they got nuts. I also have a kill float on the current cone skimmer I have.

Again, the best I’ve had as far as skimmate.

I have to agree. I ran as much as 650 gallons on my MRC 4 R dual Beckett it took a while to balance but once I figured it out heart and soul of my reef for years.

My SRO 3000 Ext is a bit more finicky and bearly enough for my 300 g system

What ultimately made you guys go away from the MRCs and do you ever think about going back? Once you dialed them in were they well behaved? With my work travel the thought of an external skimmer makes me nervous. My sump closet is carpeted so frequent skimmer cup overflows wouldn't be looked kindly upon.


@IMg

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[Daniel]

Mike Jon Warner gave them the OK to use that VTB bubble plate setup. I know this skimmer is to big for my tank. Would be killer on yours.