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Red Sea Berlin X2 Turbo Protein Skimmer
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Berlin Skimmers X2 Venturi by Red Sea. Berlin X2 Protein Skimmer by Rea Sea: Re-designed Berlin protein skimmers available in X2 Turbo & X2 Venturi models to meet the skimming needs of saltwater aquarium hobbyists
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Searched Red Sea Berlin X2 Turbo Protein Skimmer in Reviews
Older model, but still works fine. 
| Installation and Operation |
I purchased a Red Sea Berlin skimmer in 1996 and used it for a few years. I've recently set up another reef tank and out of the shed it came. The skimmer is just as I remembered it...tempermental! The model I own has a dial on the pump that adjusts the water flow and an air tube with an adjustment to regulate the air input. These two have to be in harmony or the skimmer will not function properly. I've also noted that many people complain about the pump not restarting after a shut down. I've noticed that if you have too much air, or not enough flow, the pump won't come back on. This being said, I've never had a real problem with mine working right. Of course, I've always used mine on 55 gallon reefs, not the 250 gallon tanks it is supposed to be rated for. As with many skimmers, the internal tubes must be cleaned in order for it to stay at peak performance...I clean mine weekly and would say that if this sounds like a hassle, you better get a different skimmer!
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| Performance vs. Expectations |
This skimmer has always performed as I've expected...it removes the brown stinky stuff its supposed to! I have to admit, it is a bit more work to maintain than I thought it would be. This being said, the only other skimmers I've used were cheaper and smaller (and yes, my first one had a wooden air stone).
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| Value for money |
When I bought this skimmer, it was considered a great skimmer, now I understand there are better options on the market for your money.
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| Customer Support |
Never had to contact customer support, but I'm not the kind of guy who would. If I can't figure out how to get a product to work right on my own...its going back to the store!
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| Liked about it |
I like the versatilaty of the skimmer, I've used it in sump, external, and could even hang it on the back with some modifications. Cleaning is easy, with a quick twist of the cup, the inner tube and collection cup can be removed and cleaned. It does the job, pulling a lot of DOC from my tank (again, only a 55 gallon reef)
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| Didn't like |
I'm not really happy with the amount of tinkering it takes to get the water flow/air input just right. I have noticed that the skimmer will leak right where the collection cup meets the top of the skimmer, when the water level in the sump gets too high. It's caused me to have to shut down the skimmer everytime I shut down my main pump for feeding. I could probably elevate the skimmer some to fix this.
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| Overall rating: |
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3.5 |
| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
| Would consider buying it again: |
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3.0 |
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Got the job done
| Installation and Operation |
We used this protein skimmer on a 90 gallon. We used it as an internal skimmer sitting in our sump and did not experience any problems. We bought it used and had to look up the instructions online to figure it out, but once we read a bit and watched a few videos, it was pretty easy to get going. dialing it in to the right setting wasn't as easy as others, but once we got it working it pulled a lot of skim out! We were pleased with this skimmer and the only reason we got another one was because we moved to a larger tank.
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| Performance vs. Expectations |
This skimmer performed exactly as we expected it to. We had not been running any kind of skimmer when we bought it, so we were surprised to see everything that came out of our tank. It definitely works better if you take the time to clean it occasionally, maybe once a month. We skipped a few months and really noticed a difference once it was cleaned.
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| Value for money |
I am glad that we bought this skimmer used, because I don't think it is worth $170 or more. I know if I were going to be spending almost $200 on a skimmer I would shop around and probably would not end up getting this skimmer again. I think you can get a better skimmer for around the same price.
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| Customer Support |
We never had to deal directly with customer support, but we did use the website. We were able to find the manual and instructions online which was great because we had never set up a skimmer before and weren't exactly sure what we were doing at first! So having the instructions available online was VERY nice!
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| Liked about it |
Worked well. Pulled a decent amount of skim.
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| Didn't like |
even though it was rated for over 200 gallons, it would not have worked at all on a tank that size. we were pleased with it on our 90 gallon, but there is no way we would have used it on anything larger. it must be cleaned regularly to keep up with the tank.
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| Overall rating: |
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2.5 |
| Overall satisfaction: |
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3.0 |
| Would consider buying it again: |
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2.0 |
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Never Again
| General |
This was the first skimmer I ever owned and the worst. When I bought this skimmer I really didn't even know what skimmers were for so I didn't realize how bad it was. After talking to a few people who told me how skimmers were supposed to work I called the manufacturer (since my store warenty was expired). I didn't feel as if they cared at all they just kept telling me it needed to be adjusted properly. I can honestly say I had it for a yr and never collected a single cup of skim mate. Shortly after tossing this skimmer I bought seaclone and although this is not a review on the seaclone I will say it worked much better than the redsea skimmer. |
| Liked about it |
Nothing
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| Didn't like |
Just didnt work
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| Overall rating: |
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1.0 |
| Overall satisfaction: |
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1.0 |
| Would consider buying it again: |
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1.0 |
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Save your pennies!
| Installation and Operation |
HA, doesn't work very well as is. I've been given many over the years because my friends go out an buy better ones.
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| Performance vs. Expectations |
If you change out the pump, put a 3/4' venturi down line of the pump at watch it on an hourly basis, then it is an okay skimmer.
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| Liked about it |
No micro bubbles escape.
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| Didn't like |
Its ability to do its job.....
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| Overall rating: |
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1.0 |
| Overall satisfaction: |
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1.0 |
| Would consider buying it again: |
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1.0 |
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Poor Performer
| General |
I ran this skimmer for a VERY short time on my first system. It was the first skimmer I owned and I will never own one again. The pump would rarely restart within a reasonable amount of time. The impellar kept breaking, even after multiple replacements. I would never buy this skimmer again! |
| Liked about it |
It kinda skimmed something...
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| Didn't like |
Almost everything about it, poor pump, venturi, skimmate quality.
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| Overall rating: |
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1.0 |
| Overall satisfaction: |
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1.0 |
| Would consider buying it again: |
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1.0 |
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Not so good
| Liked about it |
skims well when running
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| Didn't like |
Used as an in sump installation, the pump will often not restart when the power fails (like a thrown breaker). When you try to restart, the cheap feeling plastic parts start to come apart. Would not recomment, and if you live close to me in NC you can have mine for $25 (about what its worth). Granted I do have a tight installation which make working on it near impossible.
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| Overall rating: |
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1.0 |
| Overall satisfaction: |
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1.0 |
| Would consider buying it again: |
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1.0 |
By Paul Horton May 18, 2009
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internal use: spec14 spec20 spec25 spec26 spec27 spec31 spec35 spec36
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