Blue Ocean skimmer / cheap / works

[blasterman]

The Blue Ocean skimmer is basically a knock off of the older CPR bak pak and can be found on Ebay for $70 if you shop around. I got one because I need more aeration in my tank with skimming as a second priority. I personally don't like HOB skimmers that have the pump head located in tank, but I plan on moving the unit to a sump when I get around to it. Others may not care.

 

The Aquamaxx 1.5 has a similiar design and foot print but the pump is located in the skimmer and has better baffling to prevent micro bubbles. The Aqaumaxx is also next to impossible to find under $300, which I find excessive for a HOB skimmer.

 

All 3 skimmers have one basic limitation. They are terrible dry skimmers. Dry skimming requires a lot of head area for foam to rest and 'dry' out, and none of these skimmers have that. As wet skimmers though they do the trick and work fine.

 

Another problem with the Blue Ocean is it lacks any media to reduce micro bubbles. The CPR includes this shredded blue plastic to reduce micro bubbles and the Aquamaxx doesnt need it by design. Micro bubbles though are a big Issue with the Blue Ocean turning my tank into a hit tub of bubbles for it's 48 hours. After break in though my Blue Ocean only produces a tiny bit of microbubbles. Barely enough to be seen, and certainly not enough to bother corals. Aside from break in I consider it a non issue with the Blue Ocean. However, if you clean your skimmer the bubbles will return until enough DOCs build back up in the reaction chamber to eliminate the problem. A piece of white scotch brite pad taped over the outlet worked for me until the unit was broke in. You could also fill it with plastic bio balls if you have any lying around.

 

The Blue Ocean is a lot of skimmer for the money -  if you don't mind an in tank pump design. I've certainly used worse. I would easily argue it's the best < $100 skimmer capacity wise. My opinion is it's good up to about 50gallons, but beyond that diminishing returns set in, and if you want to really beat down nutrients should be looking for more efficient in sump designs anyways.