Beckett Vrs Needlewheel

ryan_lalande · #1 03/29/2005, 08:50 PM

i just want to know what most people think, and there opinons on both

I dont know what to belive anymore i have heard good points for both sides.

i think most people say that the needlewheel is more efficent, but the beckett pulls alot more.

and then there is the electricity issue. which i find isnt an issue, as its a matter of 50 watts if you use a decent pump. the other issue would be initial cost as a needle wheel can be mroe then double a beckett. this i feel get sride of the electricity issue but thats just my opinion

the other thing i would like to know is what types of pumps people use on there becketts. its seems everyone is told to use massive pumps, but i am finding people getting pretty much the same results with smaller pumps. smaller as in 1000 - 1400 instead of the 2000 gph plus.

any opinons facts, links to skimmer comparsons would be fantastic.

thank you

sherm71tank · #2 03/29/2005, 09:09 PM

I personally am liking the combination of the beckett driven skimmer using a needlewheel recirculation pump. I don't like a skimmer that is driven by a needlewheel. If I had to pick either one or the other I would go with the beckett by far. They both have good points and combining them makes a great skimmer. I have a small beckett skimmer, about 24" total height that utilizes the box and the riser tube. I run the Dolphin DP-800 pump to drive the beckett and it works great for this small of a beckett. I use a diy sedra needlewheel 9000 for my recirc pump. It is true especially on any larger skimmers that you get better performance on the becketts with larger pressure rated pumps. I ran mine with a 1700 gph pump and the air intake was substantially more but I couldn't justify it ( as far as electrical consumption and heat added to my tank ) because as it is my beckett skimmer only really produces much skimmate after I feed the tank or add something to it for just a few hours. This tells me that it is keeping up with the load just fine without the larger pump.

samsfishnchips · #3 03/29/2005, 10:01 PM

they both have their strong points

needlewhel skimmers, much plug-n-play

beckett have more options of hooking up, therefore not plug-n-play,

both perform good, but I have concluded based on good feedback, and my personal experience that becketts shine on wet skimmate

I currently use a MR-2 with a single beckett driven by a genx pcx-55 and I can wet skim like crazy, and properly set up, it stays constant without any adjustments, and by they way anyone running a beckett do yourself and run a pre-filter like socks etc, will keep sump and beckett clean

sam

tampa-reefer · #4 03/29/2005, 10:43 PM

I would say a NW skimmer is a good pick for smaller setup's. I wouldnt use a beckett skimmer on say a...20gallon. But a Beckett skimmer is the winner for the larger setups. Ive used NW skimmers now for a good while. Ive gone down the list of NW skimmers. But the recent switch to Beckett skimmers has made me forget the NW altogether.
I just dont like how turbulant (some) Beckett skimmers are.

Horace · #5 03/29/2005, 11:28 PM

Seems to me from what I have read that the needle wheel or a needle wheel recirculater is the way to go these days. More efficeient (run on about 500gph) and they pull the gunk as good or better. Not sure about large tanks...like 200gal+ but I hear nothing but good things about the NW.

tampa-reefer · #6 03/29/2005, 11:35 PM

Dont get me wrong I love NW skimmers.
But with a larger tank, you would need more than one recirculating pump, and a hefty diameter pipe. So you would need plenty of wattage to power that sucker also. But every tank is different, and everybody is different. I have used plenty of skimmers and I like to "overskim" my tanks. I just like the amount of skimmate I get from the beckett compared to my EuroReef. But ive never seen a BubbleKing in action though....

sherm71tank · #7 03/29/2005, 11:41 PM

I have to agree with you tampa-reefer. I ran a sedra 9000 NW skimmer alone for a while to check it out. It worked "fine" I guess but there is simply no comparison to the amount of skimmate removed in a much shorter amount of time with the beckett.

Whaledriver · #8 03/30/2005, 12:13 AM

Look into "contact time" and go for a 2 minute average. The time the water spends in the skimmer. The 2 minute time is the time it take to get all the differant proteins into the foam
This would lead me to a recirculating skimmer for smaller tanks. That being said you want to control water flow through the skimmer and the amount of air seperately. This allows you to get the best mix.

Becketts and needlewheels both make foam and its probly pointless to say one is better at this than the other at makeing foam for our use.

The problems with Becketts is that there is a certain point where there is to much flow for smaller tanks to make them practicle. If you can size one out for your size tank and a 2 minute contact time then the differance is moot.

sherm71tank · #9 03/30/2005, 12:32 AM

I think that 2 minute contact is not applicable in modern skimmer designs and was more pointed at the air stone skimmers.

bergzy · #10 03/30/2005, 12:42 AM

ahhh,

then endless debate of which is better!

imo, at this point of technolgy and quality of construction...it is really hard to say which is better than the other.

each design has their strengths with the weaknesses being pretty close to nil.

it seems to come down to the usual common denominator...$$$!

it appears to me that needlewheels, as mentioned before, are very efficient and very effective. the higher end ones (deltec etc) also seem very labor intensive to make and appear to look like a space shuttle launch item. quite an impressive conversation piece none the less.

becketts are, well, noisy and plain (for those who like fish equipment anyway)...nothing too thrilling to look at...no multiple , extremely high end, expensive and exotic pumps, no self cleaning brushes (as far as i know) for the tower and injector ports...really just a few tubes of varying diameter for input and output. too simple for some people.

ah! back to the real deal. performance! which skims the best! everyone will have their opinion and to a certain degree, everyone is correct. needle wheels are efficient and becketts are effective. one uses less electricity, one more electricity. one is quiet, the other almost as loud as star jones on her wedding day. one is complicated with a lot of neato moving parts...A LOT of moving parts, the other, essentially none (i consider the pump to drive the beckett as a separate piece of equipment because it is easily changed if desired). one looks like an engineering marvel, the other visually puts you to sleep. one is really expensive, the other usually less than half for the same sized tank volume.

get what your heart tells you and what your wallet allows you. it is hard to go wrong that way.

(psst...i am a beckett kinda guy!

)

tampa-reefer · #11 03/30/2005, 12:57 AM

We will debate this till the day aquariums are illegal to have.

ryan_lalande · #12 03/30/2005, 01:00 AM

bergzy

that last reply by bergzy imo sums it up wonderfully.

i agree a small tank with a beckett would be rediculus. i also think a small tank with a bubblew king or deltec is rediculus. there are plenty of lower ends nw skimmers that can handle smaller tanks 50 gallon and less tanks.

a large system, 100 gallon plus id go beckett as long as you can handle the noise. thats my opinion

tampa-reefer · #13 03/30/2005, 01:07 AM

Theres alot of ways to reduce the noise. I cant even hear mine, built a air muffler (carbon/foam filter).

srfndoc · #14 03/30/2005, 03:14 PM

Mine is silent as well with the builtin silencer on the becket housing.

causeofhim · #15 03/31/2005, 05:36 PM

OK. I love the idea of a becket. I'm setting up a 125 gal and was aiming towards a new ASM or Euroreef, but my wife will kill me if she sees the $ tag.

All of you becket believers who have a DIY post a link or plans on what has worked for you. I want to give it a shot.