super sensitive protein skimmer

[nemofish2217]

my coralife ss 125 is still super sensitive, and I'm not getting consistent skimmate at all. Sometimes the bubbles will get really frothy at the top of the tube and other times they are just really fast forming and just bubble over everywhere really fast. I don't know why this skimmer is behaving so neurotically. Does anyone have any suggestions? The skimmer has a clean airline for the injection, and the pump is sitting on the bottom of the sump which is about 6" or so deep. i'm stumped...

[Andrew]

How long have you had it? It takes awhile to get coralife skimmers broken in. Remember it can take up to a week for a skimmer to fully break in to the point where it will start producing. I've heard of a lot of people having problems getting theirs broken in but I never had a problem with mine. Just lower the water level in the skimmer body and slowly raise it as it breaks in. Adding chemicals and additives will also throw off your skimmer.

[sassafrass]

Very few coralife products are worth the money spent on them , I know I have purchased many when first starting out . They must have a great price point for retailers because IMO they are pure crap for consumers. Many folks here will say otherwise , I have one question for them , Have you tried any other brands of skimmers? You can get them to work , just not well .

[nemofish2217]

I would prefer either a small euro-reef or the ASM mini (this is for a 65 gal tank) but people seemed to have said good things about the coralife super skimmers, and it was for a good price. the skimmer has been running for a couple of weeks now... i just don't like how sporadically it works. Sometimes I'll get good foam other times not so much....

so, i think i might switch to the ASM mini... good choice?

[GSMguy]

What's your budget? The Asm is not exactly cutting edge.

Look into the octo extreme160 or the bubble magnus 100.

[Jflip2002]

I had a Coralife 125 on my 60g, and it sucked. Either it didnt skim, or it overflowed. Id definitely just look into a new skimmer, its not the greatest skimmer around. If you can afford a nicer one, like Nick suggested, Id go that route. The Extreme160 will be a beast compared to what you have now.

[Andrew]

I loved my CCS and stand behind it as a good product. Also try doing a fishing line mod to the impeller. Helps out a little bit. Mine as well give it a try before dropping money on a new skimmer. Heck, I even hacked off my cup and enlarged it so I didn't have to dump it as often:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f390/Evanish4/fishline.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f390/Evanish4/Picture-004skimm1.jpg

[GSMguy]

Such a great product it requires copious mods and ghetto rigging right Andrew? ;)

[Jflip2002]

Lol. Nick is just one of those snobby skimmer elitists ;)

[Zebodog]

The CSS may not be the best performing skimmer on the market and it can be finicky but it's far from the worst and with a couple of simple mods can be made to work very well for its price. I had one on my 65g for a year prior to upgrading.

First, water level must remain consistent.
Second, these skimmers do take a while to "break in." It took mine about 5 weeks to get really dialed in.
The best $15 I spent was on a gate valve.
Finally - make sure the output is unrestricted. Even the slightest back pressure will cause the bubble level to fluctuate.

If your on a tight budget this skimmer is a good value.

[xJake]

I've had a similar problem with the 125. It sometimes happens if the pump is pulling too much air (it will "surge" back and forth). Try putting a needle valve on the airline to reduce the airflow, or for a more temporary solution you can tie a knot in the line and tighten/loosen to adjust your airflow as needed. Also, as mentioned above, your sump's water level has to be stable for it to work properly.

[Andrew]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14397901#post14397901 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
Such a great product it requires copious mods and ghetto rigging right Andrew? ;)

Thus is why I started making my own skimmers lol. For the price the, CSS really aren't that bad. I do believe the price of them increased a pretty good amount since I owned mine.

[Jflip2002]

Wow, those are pricey. I havent checked the prices since I owned mine. Theyre around the same price as the Vertex 100, which looks to be a nicer skimmer.

[mg426]

CSS = JUNK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nemofish2217]

i was thinking about this skimmer...any thoughts? I just have time to try to mod and caress this skimmer....

http://www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus-nw-110-br-needle-wheel-protein-br-skimmer-750.html

[tkeracer619]

the octos are good. 10000 times better then the css

[GSMguy]

that's another that needs some modding, did you check out that BUbble magnus?

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14399399#post14399399 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tkeracer619
the octos are good. 10000 times better then the css

While the build quality is much better they still have a subpar pump and poor needle wheel design resulting in low bubble density.

[Jflip2002]

I havent had experience with it.. But the Vertex is supposed to mimic the Euro Reef nicely...

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2944&osCsid=3e8766291853f99c5dc51da446599e87

For the money, youre not going to get a world beater. Its not going to be a bubble king, or a cone... But Im certain there are better options out there than the CSS

[fasteddie99]

I have a CSS 65 on my 55gal tank. I am a newbie and didnt know any better when looking for a skimmer. :) It was what my LFS recommended:) . Anyhow, mine acted up a few times and over flowed when it was new and was dissapointed at first. But once I figured out how to adjust it properly it has worked fairly good since. But it is like everyone else said, there are probably much better products out there and work much better, I never owned anything else so I have nothing to compare it to.

I am on the market for another skimmer and will look into the suggestions in this thread. I need a HOB skimmer though so I may end up getting another 65 CSS and just doubling up on the skimmers.

[tkeracer619]

The new octos come with a pinwheel. IME they don't need modding.

Not sure if that one is a new model with pinwheel or not, you can ask them about it or order from bulkreefsupply.com

I would go with the 150 model if you could fit it.



<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14399568#post14399568 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fasteddie99
so I may end up getting another 65 CSS and just doubling up on the skimmers.

Don't do that. There are several HOB skimmers that are plenty better.

[stanlalee]

very finnicky, thats just how the skimmer is BUT I disagree with anyone who says it doesn't actually skim. if your skimmer compartment has water fluctuations you have to adjust it every few hours but when its dialed in it works okay. not super fabulous but good enough. I kept a 100g with sps and clams with 4 anthias and 2 tangs and never had water quality issues on every two week 15g water change schedule and I only used the CL125. I wouldn't recommend it because its a pain (mine is collecting dust right now) and the airline port on the pump strainer has to be dremmeled out as much as possible to keep it from salt clogging. dont do that or clean it often at least every couple months it lets you know its clogged by overflowing. that was the only mod i did besides a solid output drain pipe instead of the supplied hose.

[nemofish2217]

here's what i think i might end up going with.... am i going to be happy with this compared to the coralife? this is the new pinwheel...

[GSMguy]

No link.

[fasteddie99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14401137#post14401137 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nemofish2217
here's what i think i might end up going with.... am i going to be happy with this compared to the coralife? this is the new pinwheel...

very nice

[nemofish2217]

def thought i put the link in..... oops

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Protein-Skimmers-Octopus-Needlewheel-Skimmers/c101_105/p581/OCT-NW-110-Octopus-Needlewheel-Skimmer/product_info.html

[tkeracer619]

sure, its a great skimmer, much better then the css. If you can fit it get the 150.