BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST, NON-HOB for a 150g?
'Best' is a mixed bag... you can have a skimmer that is too good, IME, and strip the tank of all its nutrients... leaving you with that pastel look.
IMO, a custom 5' tall, 6" diameter skimmer with a bubble plate and about 800lph of air and a cone shape reducer would be the 'best' for a 150g. This skimmer could strip too much out though. I think its possible that a skimmer that is too effective can undermine the ultimate goal here: pretty corals.
That being said, perhaps the best isnt really the best...
My ranking of 'best' for a 150g would be something like...
1. ATB Nano/Small (sorry, Ill pick them over a BK even)
2. BK deluxe 200
4. Those new 'extreme' octos with the Sicce pumps, considering the price, these are most likely my top pick. They are the design of the BK deluxes, but for much less.
http://www.marinesolutionsinc.com/ca...ds8hm9vln649b3
Ill stop there. I think you would be a fool to look at many others considering the low cost of the last one. Those are the same pumps that Tunze uses after all, but why pay for one? Will the ATB outperform it, most likely, IME/IMO due to the cone shape, but other than that and the BK deluxe (if you want the real deal), those skimmers are hard to pass on.