? Octopus Skimmer

[hammerhed7]

I was recently looking for a new skimmer for my fish only tank, and was trying to decide between the ASM G3, and the Octo NW200, I have heard good things about the Octo, and thought I decided to buy one, then I heard Octo recently changed the pumps they were using with a lower quality pump. My question is: is the Octo still the best choice with the new pump. I also heard Octo is coming out with an "extreme" line of skimmers, will this be worth the wait?
all opinions welcome.
Thanks

 

[mojo46825]

MY octo was great. I did upgrade to the new ETSS Sump buddy 40. It is working really well. as far as them switching pumps I am not sure. But the octopus slimmer are a good bang for the buck skimmer for sure. I would vote octopus if those were my two choses. Otherwise I am happy wiht my new skimmer but I have only had it less than a week.

 

[joncat24]

the new extreme skimmers will be out in 2 weeks. They use Sicce pumps, which are some of the best. And the new design looks very promising. The extrem 160 is selling for 275 but that is cheap compared to the ati's that iit is copied from. look's like they will sell out very quickly though

 

[hammerhed7]

are the extreme's going to be recirc only? And are the current pumps being used still worth the purchase?

 

[joncat24]

the extreme line uses sicce pumps. They are awesome pumps. The older pumps that got the new style pumps had a few problems , but that is all worked out now from what I understand.
The nw 150 and 200 are great skimmers and will beat any other skimmer in the same price range by far. The recircs are a little pricier but IMO they are well worth the money.
The extreme 160 has the bottom mounted pump so you lose no sump room as with the side mounted pumps.
Depending on tank size and bioload which one is right for you, but I would definitley go Octo if I were you. The same size in an ASM wil cost 50% more and do half as good a job.
By the way, the extreme skimmers are not recirc skimmers

 

[hammerhed7]

Thanks for the help Jon, I know I have talked with you before about these skimmer, I am looking for a good skimmer for my 220 fish only, I like that the octo has a larger body size than the asm, and the price is great too. I may hold out for an extreme, but if not a nw200 should be fine for me, my tank is not overstocked and I have no plans to make it a reef, I just need to get rid of my CSS220.

 

[hammerhed7]

Hey Joncat, I found a limited amount of info on the xtreme 160, any idea what tank capacity they recommend for it?, also will the extreme 200 also have the pump under the skimmer? The only pics I could find showed the bottom mount on the 160, and no pump on the 200. Any idea of capacity, footprint etc on these?
Thanks,
Jim

 

[peter1215]

hammerhed
did you get to order the octpus 200? I'm also looking to upgrade my skimmer on my 210 and was considering octopus. I like that they can be used in sump or external.

 

[joncat24]

the 200 and up will not have the pumps mouinted under like the 160. The tank ratings are not released yet but I would guess that the 200 will have a 300 gal system with ease.

 

[1tang2nemo]

hammerhed what did you go with and not to hijack this thread but has anyone gotten any of the xtreme's with the sicce pump yet?

 

[peter1215]

Originally Posted by mojo46825
MY octo was great. I did upgrade to the new ETSS Sump buddy 40. It is working really well. as far as them switching pumps I am not sure. But the octopus slimmer are a good bang for the buck skimmer for sure. I would vote octopus if those were my two choses. Otherwise I am happy wiht my new skimmer but I have only had it less than a week.
Mojo
i just sent you a pm. thx
Peter

 

[mojo46825]

pm sent

 

[peter1215]

Originally Posted by Hammerhed7
I was recently looking for a new skimmer for my fish only tank, and was trying to decide between the ASM G3, and the Octo NW200, I have heard good things about the Octo, and thought I decided to buy one, then I heard Octo recently changed the pumps they were using with a lower quality pump. My question is: is the Octo still the best choice with the new pump. I also heard Octo is coming out with an "extreme" line of skimmers, will this be worth the wait?
all opinions welcome.
Thanks
Hammerhead
be carefull when choosing who you purchase an Octopus skimmer from as the online company that is selling the "Extreme NW 200 " is really selling a skimmer made by SWC, not Octopus so it does not carry the Octo warranty. it clearly has the SWC label on the skimmer. This is the skimmer with the sicce pump, not the Octo 200. The real Octopus Extreme 200 is the CV-EXT(or INT) PS-200. dont get me wrong, the SWC may be good skimmers but i know nothing of them . The Octo's actually cost less. Send me a pm or email if you want to know where to get the Octo extreme.. I'm planning on odering one through my reefers club soon.

 

[joncat24]

the swc skimmers are made at the same place, just relabeled for sale.
The swc skimmers at marine solutions are the ones I am referring to. they have the sicce pumps and marine soltuions is the greatest to deal with as far as customer service. Any questions, call Rob there , and he will be more than happy to answer your questions.

 

[hammerhed7]

I have not ordered anything yet, I am waiting to see the footprint sizes of the extreme skimmers and their tank size ratings, I will most likely go with the largest extreme skimmer I can fit in my sump.

 

[peter1215]

Originally Posted by joncat24
the swc skimmers are made at the same place, just relabeled for sale.
The swc skimmers at marine solutions are the ones I am referring to. they have the sicce pumps and marine soltuions is the greatest to deal with as far as customer service. Any questions, call Rob there , and he will be more than happy to answer your questions.
Joncat / Hammerhead
I noticed the Octopus Extreme series sold at other online stores is different than the ones sold at Marine Solutions. Premium Aquatics and Aqua Cave have the Extreme CV-EXT(or INT) PS_200 series. I called both stores and they said SWC skimmers are not under warranty by Octopus so they do not carry that line. In addition , Marine solutions wasnt able to confirm if their extreme series can be used externally so you may want to look into that if your not planning to use it in sump. Dont get me wrong, Im not bashing the SKC skimmers but the shipment hasnt even arrived so i was not able to get much info from the salesperson. The fact that other stores claim SKC are not really Octopus skimmers concerns me abit .

 

[joncat24]

The SWC skimmers from marine solutions are the only ones that will have the Sicce pumps. The octopus skimmers use octopus pumps and that is why the SWC skimmers are better,IMO
The SWC skimmers are warranted through SWC and Sicce for the pumps.
The only difference in the bodies of the skimmers is the label

 

[peter1215]

Originally Posted by joncat24
The SWC skimmers from marine solutions are the only ones that will have the Sicce pumps. The octopus skimmers use octopus pumps and that is why the SWC skimmers are better,IMO
The SWC skimmers are warranted through SWC and Sicce for the pumps.
The only difference in the bodies of the skimmers is the label
So youre saying that SWC skimmers are made by completey different company and have nothing to to do with Octopus....thanks for clearing this up because many people seem to think that the SWC skimmers advertised by Marine Solutions are made by Octopus . Now how can you be so sure the ones made by SKC will be so much bettor if they havent even arrived and there are no reviews out there? are you familiar with any prioir skimmers made by SKC? I have never heard of them(SKC) and feel more comfortable with an Octopus extreme even w/o the sicce pump.

 

[mojo46825]

hmmm, Kinda glad I got my sump buddy.

I am sure these will both work great. It not like it some miracle skimmer the will revolutionize how we run our tanks. At least I dont see it. Nice looking skimmers. I am an octopus fan and now have my etss skimmer and it too is a great performer. The new design of these venturi skimmer is nice with the pump underneath. I will give them that.

 

[hammerhed7]

still unable to find info on the footprint, tank rating etc.