ret talbot
Member
This thread deserves a little background.
"mie" posted a question over on the "New Hobbyist" board in a thread called "Quick Skimmer Brand Question". The question had to do with whether or not Octopus was a good brand of a skimmer. By the time I joined the conversation, the used Octopus skimmer “mie” was looking at was no longer available, and so I suggested "mie" look into a AquaC skimmer. "Stanlalee" jumped in, and the two of us began discussing skimmers. Not wanting to hijack the thread, I decided to move the discussion over here where I hope many more people will join the conversation.
Basically (and please correct me if I have it wrong), Stanlalee wonders if AquaC is "just sitting back on old merits" when it comes to their skimmers, as the technology employed is, essentially, 10 years old. I actually agree with Stanlalee's assessment--that the AquaC skimmer technology is a decade old, but, in many ways, I actually see that as a plus not a minus. When I conducted a series of interviews with Jason Kim (the president of AquaC) last year, he made it abundantly clear to me that he is of the school where if something works, don't mess around with it. IMO, the AquaC protein skimmer (Stamlalee and I were discussing the EV line in particular) is a reliable, well-built piece of equipment with excellent customer support behind it. While there have been some tweaks to it over the years, the core design (and spray-injection mechanism) remains essentially unchanged.
So what of all the advances in protein skimmers over the past decade? To be honest, I'm a little distrustful of the skimmer companies that always seem to be coming out with the next best thing. I'm jaded enough (and poor enough...lol) to not feel as if I need the newest skimming technology as soon as it hits the market. I know AquaC watches the competition very closely, and it is (I believe) a conscious choice to not constantly be tinkering with the core technology. As an AquaC customer, I do like the fact that the company has invested its money in quality products made in the United States and great customer support rather than chasing the newest fad. In short, I switched all my systems over to AquaC skimmers because I found the skimmers to be well-built, quiet, reliable, and great in terms of their size AND I find the company to be consistent over time, even though the core technology is a decade old. I fully admit that my New England, Yankee roots are probably at work here, as I tend to gravitate to tried and true across the board in all my purchases.
Now, I should reiterate what I said in the other thread--to wit: I am not claiming AquaC skimmers are the best skimmers on the market (whatever that means…lol). Every system is different, and everyone has their personal preferences. I am simply sharing publicly that I like AquaC skimmers for the reasons outlined above. In the previous thread, I also alluded to the EV outperforming other skimmers in its class. Jason would not have liked to have heard me say that because he doesn't like the "in their class" distinction given the profound lack of solid data. When I made that statement, I made it based on tests that I performed last spring in preparation for choosing which protein skimmer to use as an illustration in my new book. I hope to publish the full results of that study soon (but I need to get the book out first, as my primary obligation is to that publisher).
Without getting into too much detail, the study involved firing up five skimmers that all can go head-to-head with one another based on 1) performance and reliability, 2) price point, 3) ease of use, 4) size and noise, and 5) customer support. In those tests (which again served my needs of choosing which skimmer to illustrate in my book), the EV performed best (especially in terms of quality and quantity of skimmate). Again, it is essential to state that I am not claiming that the AquaC skimmers are the best skimmers on the market; I am simply sharing that I like them for the reasons stated, and if that helps someone in making their choice, then that's great. I should state, I suppose, that I don’t work for AquaC. In fact, I’d never run an AquaC skimmer on any system I owned prior to last spring.
Sooooo I hope this thread can become a place where, over the next few weeks and months (and years?!), we can continue the discussion regarding protein skimmers. The more information we can get out there, the better, right? So what are your experiences? What companies do you like best? Which technology has impressed you the most? I look forward to chatting.
"mie" posted a question over on the "New Hobbyist" board in a thread called "Quick Skimmer Brand Question". The question had to do with whether or not Octopus was a good brand of a skimmer. By the time I joined the conversation, the used Octopus skimmer “mie” was looking at was no longer available, and so I suggested "mie" look into a AquaC skimmer. "Stanlalee" jumped in, and the two of us began discussing skimmers. Not wanting to hijack the thread, I decided to move the discussion over here where I hope many more people will join the conversation.
Basically (and please correct me if I have it wrong), Stanlalee wonders if AquaC is "just sitting back on old merits" when it comes to their skimmers, as the technology employed is, essentially, 10 years old. I actually agree with Stanlalee's assessment--that the AquaC skimmer technology is a decade old, but, in many ways, I actually see that as a plus not a minus. When I conducted a series of interviews with Jason Kim (the president of AquaC) last year, he made it abundantly clear to me that he is of the school where if something works, don't mess around with it. IMO, the AquaC protein skimmer (Stamlalee and I were discussing the EV line in particular) is a reliable, well-built piece of equipment with excellent customer support behind it. While there have been some tweaks to it over the years, the core design (and spray-injection mechanism) remains essentially unchanged.
So what of all the advances in protein skimmers over the past decade? To be honest, I'm a little distrustful of the skimmer companies that always seem to be coming out with the next best thing. I'm jaded enough (and poor enough...lol) to not feel as if I need the newest skimming technology as soon as it hits the market. I know AquaC watches the competition very closely, and it is (I believe) a conscious choice to not constantly be tinkering with the core technology. As an AquaC customer, I do like the fact that the company has invested its money in quality products made in the United States and great customer support rather than chasing the newest fad. In short, I switched all my systems over to AquaC skimmers because I found the skimmers to be well-built, quiet, reliable, and great in terms of their size AND I find the company to be consistent over time, even though the core technology is a decade old. I fully admit that my New England, Yankee roots are probably at work here, as I tend to gravitate to tried and true across the board in all my purchases.
Now, I should reiterate what I said in the other thread--to wit: I am not claiming AquaC skimmers are the best skimmers on the market (whatever that means…lol). Every system is different, and everyone has their personal preferences. I am simply sharing publicly that I like AquaC skimmers for the reasons outlined above. In the previous thread, I also alluded to the EV outperforming other skimmers in its class. Jason would not have liked to have heard me say that because he doesn't like the "in their class" distinction given the profound lack of solid data. When I made that statement, I made it based on tests that I performed last spring in preparation for choosing which protein skimmer to use as an illustration in my new book. I hope to publish the full results of that study soon (but I need to get the book out first, as my primary obligation is to that publisher).
Without getting into too much detail, the study involved firing up five skimmers that all can go head-to-head with one another based on 1) performance and reliability, 2) price point, 3) ease of use, 4) size and noise, and 5) customer support. In those tests (which again served my needs of choosing which skimmer to illustrate in my book), the EV performed best (especially in terms of quality and quantity of skimmate). Again, it is essential to state that I am not claiming that the AquaC skimmers are the best skimmers on the market; I am simply sharing that I like them for the reasons stated, and if that helps someone in making their choice, then that's great. I should state, I suppose, that I don’t work for AquaC. In fact, I’d never run an AquaC skimmer on any system I owned prior to last spring.
Sooooo I hope this thread can become a place where, over the next few weeks and months (and years?!), we can continue the discussion regarding protein skimmers. The more information we can get out there, the better, right? So what are your experiences? What companies do you like best? Which technology has impressed you the most? I look forward to chatting.
) was a little concerned that I was too enthusiastic about technological advances...lol. 
