Difference between Octopus "regular" and Extreme skimmers?

MrSquid · #1 12/11/2007, 08:27 PM

Can someone fill me in on the differences between - say - an Octopus 200 needlewheel and the upcoming Octopus Extreme 200 besides the Sicce pump? (also considering Extreme 250)

Trying to pick a skimmer for a 125 reef. Mainly LPS and polyps, maybe some SPS. Shooting for a decent sized fish load - so I'm not afraid to go bigger on the skimmer if needed. Skimmer will be in the fuge, in the stand with a total of 28.5" in-stand height)

kdblove_99 · #2 12/11/2007, 09:58 PM

The pump has to be the biggest change i would say and also bubble plate

reefergeorge · #3 12/11/2007, 10:04 PM

There not out yet, so no one has any hands on experience.

MrSquid · #4 12/11/2007, 10:11 PM

And the bubble plate is for....reducing microbubbles before they pass back into the sump?

I know they're not out yet - just wondering if the manufacturer has put anything out there yet on them.

Rekonn · #5 12/11/2007, 10:49 PM

I have an Octopus NW150 which has a footprint of 10"x9". For the Xtreme NW160 model at least, they say the footprint is reduced 40% and the pump draws <30 watts as opposed to 38. If the performance is equal to or even a little better than their current model, with those space and power savings, that's a big deal. I have 10" of length in my sump devoted to the skimmer section. I'd love to take a couple inches away from that and have a bigger refugium.

MrSquid · #6 12/11/2007, 10:58 PM

Floated the price for the 250 past my wife and she didn't object - so it looks like that's where I'm leaning. (I like the dual Sicce pumps ... and she likes that a bigger skimmer can mean more critters)

The only thing I'm not nuts about is the small footprint on the Xtremes. If I go this route, I may end up securing it to a piece of plexi to try and get it more stable. (my fuge is a 40L, so I've got no prob devoting about a 1/4 of it to a fat skimmer)

reefergeorge · #7 12/13/2007, 06:42 PM

If you want more room. Get an external.
I use the octopus rps-2000, and it really helps to give me room to work.

MrSquid · #8 12/13/2007, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by reefergeorge
If you want more room. Get an external.
I use the octopus rps-2000, and it really helps to give me room to work.

Space isn't at too big of a premium - and I want to keep everything in the fuge in case there's a leak.

I really want to place my order for the Xtreme 250 but need to hear back from either Aquacave or Marine Solutions to find out if I'll be able to get the collection cup off if I put the 250 (24.75" high) in a stand with 28" of total top/bottom space.

Whoever I hear back from first gets the order.

kwjones · #9 12/13/2007, 07:49 PM

I got my shipment confirmation notice from Aquacave for a new Octopus Extreme 150 for my 75 gallon tank (replacing a Remora Pro w/ Mag 3). Should be here Saturday or Monday.

ryno212 · #10 12/13/2007, 08:08 PM

can you give me the link to the extremes on Aquacave, I can't find them on the site...thanks

are you sure you ordered the extreme, I just see the old ones on there

MrSquid · #11 12/13/2007, 08:18 PM

Kwjones - you got me all excited so I called Aquacave. The guy there said they may not even carry the Xtremes. I mentioned a post I saw online saying that they'd sent a shipping confirmation on an Xtreme 15o and he said "that is a PS-150, which is an upgrade from an older version". If you're expecting an Xtreme, you might want to double (and triple?) check to see that you're getting what you want.

I also called Marine Solutions Inc to see if they knew the overall height needed yet and he said he didn't. They aren't in-hand yet and he didn't know when they would be.

kwjones · #12 12/13/2007, 08:46 PM

Yeah, I had a regular NW-150 ordered, but they were on back order. I clicked the online chat button and talked to Chad. He said they were going to be on back order for another week or so and told me that Octopus was coming out with a new line up pretty soon. He said the INT-PS-150 was $40 more and about the same size as the NW-150, but it came with the bubble diffuser plate and an "improved needle wheel design." So I had him change my order. For $40 extra, I'm not expecting a Sicce pump like what SWC is using on their Xtreme skimmers, but I'm still pretty sure the skimmer will be better than my Remora Pro HOB skimmer.

I haven't been able to find the new skimmers on their site yet either, but the invoice and email confirmation both say I'm getting a PS-150.

luke33 · #13 12/13/2007, 09:37 PM

Aquacave is a coralvue dealer so hey won't get the actual extreme's with the sicce pump's. The marinesolutions extreme octo's are swc octo's and the big difference is the sicce pump's which pull 22-24lpm or 44-50scfh, they have much larger diameter neck's for handling that kind of air and a great looking bubble plate to eliminate micro's and to kill the turbulence and add to dwell time. The 250 will be pulling around 100scfh! You will need a large tank to run it (over 200g imo) The extreme's are supose to be 23" tall. If that is correct which i am near positive it is, 28" will be plenty of room. They are basically ko's of the bm skimmers, they look the same, but i like the bubble plate more on the octo's. THink about it, same pump, nearly the same dimensions and they are even called the same model's, the 160, 200 and 250, but are a few hundred less......BUT you can ONLY buy them at marine solutions as they are the only swc dealer out there with them right now.

dedfish · #14 12/13/2007, 11:39 PM

Also...there have been no confirmed external versions with sicce pumps.

ryno212 · #15 12/14/2007, 07:06 AM

hey Luke which model do you think would be good for a well stocked 120 gallon? the 200?

luke33 · #16 12/14/2007, 07:55 AM

Yes, the 200 with a heavy bioload would work well. This all depends on the extreme octo's to be truly what they say though. But i'm pretty confident they are going to be great skimmers.

kwjones · #17 12/17/2007, 01:14 PM

The INT-PS-150 I bought came with a standard OPT-2000 needle wheel pump.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/coralvue/INT-PS-150.jpg

luke33 · #18 12/17/2007, 01:45 PM

Yea, the new coralvue octo's design is better than the old design but there nothing compared to the extreme octo's by swc.

MrSquid · #19 12/17/2007, 04:49 PM

Has anyone seen any extra info on the Xtremes yet besides what's been on the Marine Solutions website?

Looking for the operating depth so I can get moving on building my 'fuge.