Euro-reef RC vs Turbo Flotor

[Armson]

I have been looking to acquire a ER skimmer for sometime now, I was hoping to get a good price on a used one but thanks to Kannan I have started to rethink the ER. This is going to be a long winded post so bare with me (or ignore it . If any of you saw Kannan's system before he took it down you would agree he was definitely doing something right. What really floored me was that on a system as heavily stocked as his he was only running a Turboflotor 1000 for that entire system. Now here is why that really bothers me the price tag on a TBFlotor is about 150 new the price tag on a ER is about 300. Now for about 100 bucks more you can get a ER Recirculation skimmer. So now we are up to 400 bucks. What it looks like to me is for the extra 100+ dollars you can turn your Euro reef into a glorified Turbo flotor. Everyone raves about there ER but are they really worth that kind of price? I have become a huge fan of Anthony Calfo (thanks to Craig selling me one of his books) in one of his posts on RC ( http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=554786 ) He does a great write up about the cost effectiveness of skimmers. I am curious does any one think that ER is just ripping off an old aquamedic design? Or is the Euro-reef really the best bang for the buck?

[dhoch]

Well I can't speak to euro-reef, but I did have a turbo-floter (I currently have an ASM G4... similar to euro-reef but cheaper).

 

I found that the turbo-floter did an "ok" job, but the ASM is hands down better (once I got the right size pump for it).

 

I was starting to get a hair algae problem when I had the turbo-floter, but now with the ASM it's definitly receeding and will be gone soon.

 

To me, in my own experience, I feel that the ASM is out performing my turbo floter.

 

Dave

[HowardofNOVA]

I had a Turbofloater1000 on my 30g tank and it did a nice job, but need to update the pump from the Rio to ? (Will get back to you on this?)

 

From what I've seen in Skimmers, ALL configerations are about the same. The BIG Differences is in

#1 Producing lots of bubbles

#2 Maintenance ease....allowing ease of cleaning which needs to be done at least monthly to allow best operations.

 

Chip had a DIY Downdraft Skimmer that has worked flawlessly for over 7 years on his 225g tank and we made one for my 75g that has done a great job for me with a MAG7 pump. I changing things around and are planning to use a MAG9.5 to produce even more bubbles....TURBO CHARGED!!!

 

All skimmers need to run for a couple of days to saturate the water before they really start cleaning the system. And keep in mind, MECHANICAL items are made for continuous repetition in what ever it is doing. Systems that work in one size tank, might not work in a larger/smaller system but for about the same size tank should be a good start. Try to see as many folks tanks of your size as you can before you invest. Quality you usually pay for only once!

Howard

[xeon]

Personally, I'm becoming a fan of ASM skimmers. Making it a recirculating skimmer is a mod you can pull off for less than $20. Drill a hole and plumb the pump intake back into the reaction tube. Then plumb your overflow into the body of the skimmer. IMO, I think the Euro-Reef "design" is an excellent skimmer. Of the skimmers I've used it seems to to be the most effective. The ASM is where you get the design and the bang for your buck. (IMO) www.asmskimmer.com