corallife super skimmer

[PodBoy]

Can anyone give me a low down on these.. I was thinking of possibly getting the css 220 for my tank. I have tried searching for info on thes. cant find a whole lot. There is a huge post here on RC but very diff. to follow because it is very large and doesnt always stay on topic.

Some said they were great others said they leak, some said yea they leaked but that was fixed. I would be using in sump. Id appreciate if anyone that has or is using one could give me little whats up.

Thanks in advance.

P.S looking for actual users, not what someone heard from there friends brothers girlfriends dads kids. If ya know what i mean.
Thanks

[Got Salt ?]

I have a Coralife Skimmer on my tank and I like it, easy to use and clean, no mess unless you forget to adjust the flow rate after adding water.

[Joshua1023]

I have a CSS on my 90. I use it as a backpack on my sump. One time I forgot to check the levels after a 20% water change and it started to overlow. Thankfully I set the whole unit in a rubbermaid container to isolate spillage if there ever was a problem. It ran great right out of the box, although it is a little touchy. I suggest to adjust it slowly over a period of a weekend, to find just the right level of bubbles for your tank. This will reduce the chance of it going nuts while your sleeping or at work or something. Also, although there is plenty of air intake straight out of the box, I found that a small valve inline on the air tubing opened all the way will increase the amount of usable micro-bubbles in the skimmer body, therefore increasing skimmate production. If I had it to do over again I'd buy another CSS in a minute. It's not the best performer in the category, but dollar amount to performance ratio the CSS is the best thing going. IMO HTH

(by the way I got mine brand new for a little under 100 bucks from That Fish Place)

[PodBoy]

thanks alot i appreciate it.

[Joshua1023]

Anytime, brother.:p

[MGB]

I've run a CSS 125 on my 50 gal for about a year now. Personally I wouldn't put this skimmer on anything bigger than perhaps a 75 gal. The CCS 220 uses the same pump as the 125, it just has bigger dimensions, chamber etc. The problem with these skimmers is not necessarily the design but the pump, they just don't generate enough bubbles in the chamber to be a really effective skimmer. I'd describe them as "not bad for the money" but there not serious skimmers, I guess you get what you pay for.

[Andy O]

Just ordered the 65 gallon one for a frag tank and am shipping it back. When I pulled it out of the box I saw that it uses a rio pump and I personally refuse to run a rio in my tank considering the potential in-tank destruction that they can cause should they fail and overheat. I know that this is not necessarily what you were asking but thought that I would throw this out there.

[Joshua1023]

The 220 does not use a Rio pump.

[jeffgp]

andy how much you want for that pump

i need another one for a project

[PodBoy]

Well this is why i am asking. I personally am not fond of Rio. I have heard many a story. True or not the stories come from some SOME truth.