BK 300ext or Reeflo Orca Dart?

[Nick A]

I've finally narrowed down my choices for once, and hope to get it as a b-day gift to myself....haha. It could change with the BK supermarines coming out later on. I actually don't feel guilty for wanting to save(about 5-6 months) and drop 2 g's on a skimmer after reading how a guy on the zeovit forums saved up 3 years for his. I would put the money to a car but I'm thinking my bro might give in and buy that s2000 hes been dreaming of and give me his old car roud:.

 

[Bebo77]

dude.. try the dart skimmer.. is thousands less...

 

[EyeReef]

reefflo dart skimmer? Is this new?
But I did see Steve's BK in person..and I might say thats a mighty skimmer

 

[Nick A]

Heres the Reeflo skimmer: http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...&Product_Code=SQ-OCT-PK&Category_Code=reefflo. I'm guessing its the BK's look thats got me hooked more than the Orca, lol. Check out this skimmate pic from a BK I found at the zeo forums...its absolutely nasty:

I don't know...its like a BMW M6 vs a Corvette. Both are nice cars that perform well, its just that one costs a whole lot more than the other. Then again I'm more of a Beamer fan than a Chevy, hah.

 

[EyeReef]

Hopefully REEFER714 will chime in..hes the skimmer pro and can tell you from his own experiences with the skimmer

 

[ReefTankSupply]

reefer714 is too busy these days...and so i will let you know nick, that Steve and i have a custom built reeflo orca skimmer brand new for sale, It is a beast. I can do a great deal on it for you because I need to move it fast. If you have the money, I am sure its nice to have Ferrari instead of a Corvette right?

But I do think for the money, the reeflo will skim the crap out of your tank AND allow you to have thousand or so other dollars to spend on corals or fish etc.

Of course if you are rich, and money is no object, you always get the big brand name. But what I learned in this hobby is, bigger isnt always better, and brand names are not always better than non brand names.

G

 

[Xycron]

Looks like a perfectly good waste of money to me

Probably 14$ of plastic on that thing and a pump.

 

[ReefTankSupply]

you talkin about the reeflo orca or the BK? lol

plastic is expensive as hell these days, nothing cheap about it for sure.

 

[Nick A]

Oh yeah, a while ago I was checking out prices on 12" dia. acrylic tubing in order to see if I could make my own Dart NW powered skimmer. Only problem is that I need to find that cone shaped thing before the collection cup.

 

[reefer714]

Hello Nick, i was super busy lately with all the training and prepping for my unit for the next deployment (i can't go)....

IMO, BK skimmer is great but cost too much. If you have the money and willing to spend BK is way to go. I love it cuz it run very cool(no heat), quiet, and efficient.

Dart Needle wheel is also a beast, more cost effective.

 

[reefer714]

Dart needle wheel

BK400ext

 

[reefer714]

Sorry guys i have been busy lately. This is going to be the last week and i should get back to normal schedule. My training plan somehow got extended. It was suppose to be 2 weeks long.

 

[Xycron]

you talkin about the reeflo orca or the BK? lol

plastic is expensive as hell these days, nothing cheap about it for sure.

The 90$(130$ retail) skimmer that is made to go with my tank, i made an exact replica of it. Cost me 12$ in parts at the acrylic store. Plus a pump of coarse. Only difference you can tell is a different shade in color. You could probably built that thing for less then 60$.

 

[ReefTankSupply]

The 90$(130$ retail) skimmer that is made to go with my tank, i made an exact replica of it. Cost me 12$ in parts at the acrylic store. Plus a pump of coarse. Only difference you can tell is a different shade in color. You could probably built that thing for less then 60$.

Sorry, I have to disagree, and I know reefer714 will as well.

We have priced out all the parts, and to make same quality and size, no way in hell can you do it that cheap.

Your $90 or $130 skimmer or whatever it is, you cannot compare that to what we are talking about here.

As you get into larger diameter acrylic tubes, the costs increase exponentially.

Plus the bayonet couplers, all the work to creat the cone (hand made)... you cannot compare your skimmer that you replicated to a BK or to a Dart one. Like comparing apples to oranges.

 

[Xycron]

obviously its not going to be the same for every hand made part, but most hand made plastic pieces do not cost much to get made.
large diameter, along with small, you ussaly jsut pay by the foot, i admit, i haven't actually looked into large diameter(I've seen it htough, just never looked at prices because i had no reason for it), but i think i paid 1.60$ a foot for min, i twas a small diamter though, 3.75 inches.

I'd also be interested in knowing the difference between "quality" acryilic and ones that aren't quality.

 

[ReefTankSupply]

go check out 9-12in diameter tubes and let me know the cost lol..

And with these skimmers, you should have cast acrylic, and good quality, if you want a reliable and heavy duty skimmer that will last.

 

[Xycron]

why would anything else not last? It's not like its holding a super high pressure here or anything.

It also just make sense. Maybe not for that much of a market up, but you have to admit there has to be a massive markup price on these either way or they wouldn't make any money, its not like they can mass produce these things and sell them to everyone, they dont have a huge market.

 

[reefer714]

I try not to explode on you but sorry you are an Air head (Xycose). I agree that BK did mark up the price. But that is Business. You are comparing a professional made Protein skimmer that well known for the best of the best to your plastic skimmer.

FYI/education, BK is a custom made protein skimmer. Everything is being done by CNC.... The Red Dragon pump also known as the Laguna pond pump which being bought by Royal Exklusive and HEAVILY modify to fit a larger impeller (NW). They totally change the pump from the volute to NW and the Titan impeller....

The Skimmer body, collection cup and the injection chamber is made out of 1/4" wall cast Acrylic, The box made out 1/2" thick white sch.80. Not to mention there are man hours involve, Machine (CNC) being use and shipping to the state.

I made the custom dart NW skimmer cost well over $1300.

Talking about BK don't have a huge market. You are really a narrow minded person. You need to do some more research before you embarrass yourself.

 

[Xycron]

I know its buisness, I'm not saying they shouldn't, if i owned the business i sure would, or else there'd be no point since you wouldn't make any money.

Having a "huge" market is pretty general i guess, depends on what your comparing it to, other skimmers, other products in general, and such, but unless im missing a large group of people who want to buy these skimmers imo its a small market.

For shipping, and man hours and such, I wasn't saying the price isn't in anyway justified. My point was it could be made for much less.

I do admit, I had no idea the BK skimmers have a custom made pump, I was actually talking about the Reeflo one in the link,but I would still say the same thing about both skimmers.

OK, so making one exactly the same with 1/4 inch cast acrylic might not cost as drastically less, but why does it even need close to 1/4 inch and 1/2 cast acrylic? Does this improve performance in anyway? Is it going to fall apart with less then that? My fish tank is 1/4 inch.

 

[reefer714]

1/4" thickness on the cast acrylic for long lasting and the ability to hold 12-15g of water in the chamber. 1/2" sch.80 on the box to be able to hold the weigh that the protein skimmer sit on. You are looking at 80-100lbs with the skimmer is full of water. BTW, i am base on my BK400ext. Why do people paid more for that skimmer? Cuz of the quality and the ability to handle such large tank while using 68w