Aquamedic 5000 Shorty2 vs Deltec AP850?

[Ga Liverpool]

Im on the lookout for a new skimmer as i dont feel my downdraft skimmer is doing all it could.

Ive narrowed it down to the above 2, favouring the Aquamedic because of the cost (Deltec have just added ANOTHER GBP £50.00 to the price of the AP850 for no reason over here!) but i dont know enough people who use the Aquamedic skimmer.

I went to 2 shops today, 1 was running the Aquamedic on a decent sized tank that was pulling alot of c**p out, then went to another shop that had an AP850 on its fresh import of live rock tank that wasnt doing too much although ive heard these are great skimmers.

Any comments on either, preferably the Aquamedic as this little skimmer has impressed me in the shop.

Cheers

Ga

[nyfireman3097]

I have the turbo flotor 1000 on my 125 and LOVE IT works awesome i thought about goin wit the shorty myself for when i upgrade due to the enormus workhorse my 1000 is
Nick

[Aged Salt]

Hi Gary, the skimmer's visual productivity is depend on nutrient availabilty, pinwheel & skimmer cleaniness & whether the pump is efficient for that skimmer & "dialed-in" to it's "sweet-spot" Bob

[Ga Liverpool]

Thanks Bob, i realise that but just wondered why everyone seems to rave on about the Deltec AP850 when the Aquamedic also uses a dedicated pinwheel pump and feed pump and is cheaper (well here in the UK anyway) than Deltec yet never seems to get a mention

Ga

[nyfireman3097]

Well delted is more for its name i love the tf 1000 like i said ir pulls out ALOT of crap when its in there i know of 5 others that have this skimmer and luv it also
Nick

[Aged Salt]

Gary, if they are equally rated, go with your first choice. The key to efficient skimming is keeping those pinwheels free of collecting detritus, etc. & the skimmer cup clean. A couple of tips on pinwheel skimmers that have helped me: 1) turn-off the skimmer for 10min daily while allowing the feed-pump to circulate through the skimmer. This frees debris from the pinwheels, as does restarting the pinwheels against the current of the feeding pump. 2) Once a wk.. aspirate the recirculating pumps airline with warm RODI to remove any salt, debris collecting from within the airline. HTH, Bob

[nyfireman3097]

yes that is important the RODI water part i have had my skimmer not workin for a couple of day due to a clog in the air line
nick

[Ga Liverpool]

Thanks for the tips Bob and Nick, looks like ill be going down the AquaMedic route then, I hate getting ripped off and adding £50.00 to the price of a skimmer which is what Deltec UK have done for no reason is just that!!

[john]

Hi,
I have ran a Deltec 1060s skimmer for around 2 years, in my opinion it worked well but the build quality was crap. Basically is started to fall apart ( i had to glue bits back together) and the Aqua-bee pumps are a total waste of space (cheap and nasty) The tank im running at the moment i have a Deltec Mce600 and a turbo-flotor percula skimmer running. If i had to choose one to keep using it would be the Aqua-medic. ( the Deltec to me is a cheap plastic box with a very cheap pump fitted)

John......
P.S as you say about the Deltec prices, i bought the 1060s skimmer 2 years ago. When i sold it i lost next to nothing, the price had gone up that much. I payed about £450 for it. What are they now £630 thats before the new price hike.

John..........

[moonpod]

You know, these things are funny, because what's well built and what isn't is so subjective. Aquamedic units have been available in the US for quite some time and while I think the turboflotor 1000 is a pretty darn good deal (you can find 'em for really cheap if you search around), personally I've not been that impressed with the functionality or the build quality of it or any other aquamedic product--Pacific Aqua Farms always has a few of the large skimmers around the warehouse--you get a lot of skimmer for the price, but I dunno....not that well designed/built IMO. The oceanrunners look like rebadged cheap chinese pumps to me. On the other hand I've been very happy with my Deltec AP702. Go figure. Just goes to show that it's all just very subjective.

[nyfireman3097]

i have the TF 1000 and luc it moon i had 2 othewrs before and they did nt com[are and i have other in th hobby for over 20 years and they uuse the TF 100 now on 220g tanks and luv then so i say go with the shorty its worth its weight in gold
Nick