Bubble King has been a long standing force within the aquarium equipment realm, and they continue to improve on the performance of their legendy protein skimmers with various tweaks and overhauls. Their latest offering comes in the form of a DC controllable Bubble King Mini 200 skimmer, giving an already formidable protein skimmer a huge boost in flexibility and performance. This new version of the Mini 200 ditches the standard issue Red Dragon 1500 skimmer pump in favor of the Red Dragon 3 Speedy pump, which is a DC controllable pump that can be adjusted from 15 to 50 watts.
Performance wise, the controllable Mini 200 is rated for aquariums in the range of 500-1000 liters (131-263 gallons). This rating is the same as the regular Bubble King Mini 200, though the controllable model draws 200 lph air less than its non-controllable counterpart. Additionally, both Bubble King Mini 200s have the same exact dimensions.
So the big question now is, does the functionality of the controllable pump combined with a drop in air draw really warrant nearly a 100 euro increase? Our answer is an infatic yes. The sheer usefulness of the controllable pump is enough to justify just about any reasonable price increase. Users can ramp the water flow up and down as needed, utilize a feeding timer, and benefit from soft starts that prolong the overall life of the pump. There’s a big reason why nearly every skimmer manufacturer is using DC controllable pumps these days, and that is functionality.
