SC 150 skimmer review pics

[jason2459]

Mine just started to break in now and producing a nice foam head. I have it set at about 2.5 right now and in about 8-9in of water. Will need to measure to make sure. I have it in a section of my sump with a 12in baffle and resting on a container that is about 3-4in tall.

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[moondoggy4]

I have a 33 gallon tank with 10 gallons in the sump I am looking for a backup skimmer been waiting two months on my skimmer pump, so I am running a Tunze 9002 for now. 4 fish, Chalice and Zoa/'s. I was wondering which skimmer the 65 or the 150? Thanks in advance

[mic209]

Originally Posted by moondoggy4

I have a 33 gallon tank with 10 gallons in the sump I am looking for a backup skimmer been waiting two months on my skimmer pump, so I am running a Tunze 9002 for now. 4 fish, Chalice and Zoa/'s. I was wondering which skimmer the 65 or the 150? Thanks in advance

I have about the same water volume, and I'm wondering the same.

[collie man]

I would go with the 65. I have a 50 gallon with18 gallon sump. Its way overkill for mebut I like it. It would barely skim on your tank I bet. Imo go with th 65

[moondoggy4]

Thanks collie man for the input I would agree the 65 sounds like a better fit.

[jason2459]

Fairly pleased with the 150 so far. It's still producing a decent foam head. I did get it measured and ittis raised up about 4in so its in about 8in of water. The dial is turn to slightly past 2 going towards 3. I pulled out my air meter too and the atman 2500 is pulling between 12-14scfh.



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[collie man]

No worries moondoggy4 mine has really suprised me I would definately pull the trigger on that SC65 if I were you.

[jcolletteiii]

What are you guys who bought the SC65 entering for your offers? $70? Any lower? Just curious. What about the 150 - what are you offering for that one? Was going to go with a SWC-120 for my cube build, but it appears that this is quite similar, with a similar capacity, and the larger size will not fit in my sump...

collie man - you say you have a 50 gal display and 18 gal sump - CadLights artisan? Does the 150 fit in the skimmer chamber without a problem? Thanks!

[jason2459]

I offered and got $100 for the 150.

Took some pictures this morning. I just cleaned it out last night.







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[collie man]

jcolletteiii- Don't quote me on the 18 gallon sump size. It fits in perfectly but it took me an hour to get it just right. First i took the stand pipe off and skimmer cup and it slid right in. Inly problem was I couldnt get the stand pipe back in. I took it all out and tried to get it back in with the stand pipe to no avail. Finally after a few minutes of holding the skimmer precariously over my sump i took the stand pipe and T that goes into the skimmer off. After putting the skimmer in the sump I slid the stand pipe back into place into the body and she was golden!

Sorry for the long winded answer, i was proud of myself and my lady didnt care so i figure id tell ya'll.

-Jeremy

[allsps40]

Originally Posted by jason2459

Fairly pleased with the 150 so far. It's still producing a decent foam head. I did get it measured and ittis raised up about 4in so its in about 8in of water. The dial is turn to slightly past 2 going towards 3. I pulled out my air meter too and the atman 2500 is pulling between 12-14scfh.



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The 150 uses the 2000 pump, did you put the 2500 on it??

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by allsps40

The 150 uses the 2000 pump, did you put the 2500 on it??

Mine came with the 2500.

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[jcolletteiii]

Originally Posted by collie man

jcolletteiii- Don't quote me on the 18 gallon sump size. It fits in perfectly but it took me an hour to get it just right. First i took the stand pipe off and skimmer cup and it slid right in. Inly problem was I couldnt get the stand pipe back in. I took it all out and tried to get it back in with the stand pipe to no avail. Finally after a few minutes of holding the skimmer precariously over my sump i took the stand pipe and T that goes into the skimmer off. After putting the skimmer in the sump I slid the stand pipe back into place into the body and she was golden!

Sorry for the long winded answer, i was proud of myself and my lady didnt care so i figure id tell ya'll.

-Jeremy

Thanks! Picking up the tank and sump tonight, then I'll b able to order - think I'm going to go with the SC150 if it will fit. I'm supposed to be getting the CadLights 18g. sump - which has a skimmer compartment that is 7.5 x 15, so should fit, but I just want to make sure it's not the slightly smaller 16g. size, which it might not fit into. A hundred dollar cone skimmer, who'd'a thunk?

[allsps40]

Jason that is weird that it came with the larger pump. Let us know howw it works out in the SC150. jcolletteiii the 150 will not fit in a 7.5 inch sump needs at least 9 inches.

[jcolletteiii]

Originally Posted by allsps40

Jason that is weird that it came with the larger pump. Let us know howw it works out in the SC150. jcolletteiii the 150 will not fit in a 7.5 inch sump needs at least 9 inches.

You've got the model with the pump inside the skimmer body. The one with the pump below the skimmer (currently on fleabay) says it needs a footprint size of 7x10. Am assuming the model with the pump enclosed in the skimmer chamber is a bit bigger.

[jcolletteiii]

Interestingly, this model also has a blue drain installed in the skimmer cup - at least in the photos on fleabay.

[jason2459]

It's interesting to look at the OP's picture of the SC150 with the pump inside the cone.



vs.



Using the outpipe as a reference it looks like having the pump in the body style cuts down on some of contact time before it hits the neck which could be why it comes with the smaller 2000 pump. Plus the sc150 I got has a drain line in the skimmer cup.

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by jcolletteiii

You've got the model with the pump inside the skimmer body. The one with the pump below the skimmer (currently on fleabay) says it needs a footprint size of 7x10. Am assuming the model with the pump enclosed in the skimmer chamber is a bit bigger.

Looking at the pictures I don't think it's bigger but uses a smaller pump to fit into the body.

[mtnbiker44]

I'm liking what I'm hearing about this skimmer. I saw it on e-bay about 2 months ago but was leary about a good skimmer at this price but it looks like I might give it a try.
Thanks for all your feedback.

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by allsps40

Jason that is weird that it came with the larger pump. Let us know howw it works out in the SC150. jcolletteiii the 150 will not fit in a 7.5 inch sump needs at least 9 inches.

Strange that there seems to be two different models of the sc150. Almost like these should be more like 65, 100, 150 instead. I've been pleasently surprised by the 150 I got so far.

Pros:
Nice foam head and broke in with in a week is a good sign. I like the curved style of the bubble plate housing that you can see in the picture. almost like a pre-cone. I also like that the pump is outside but still underneith the cone. Allows for space saving but still very flexible to try out different pumps. Like I want to play with a bb-2000 I have. SUPER CHEAP!

Cons:
The adjustment is extremly touchy and just takes a tiny nudge to raise or lower the water. Will have to see longer term on the consistancy though. So far once set its been consistant. Materials are cheap, meaning the acrylic is thin, and could easily break. But after all it's only $100!! and like I said before I wont be playing football with it. I've never had a cone skimmer before but seems like the transition from the cone to the collection cup seems weird to me and seems like it could be a smoother transition.

[coolsurf]

Originally Posted by jcolletteiii

What are you guys who bought the SC65 entering for your offers? $70? Any lower? Just curious.

They accepted my offer of $60.00 last night. By what I am reading about the skimmer, I can't go wrong!

[moondoggy4]

coolsurf is that including shipping?

[symon_say]

Where are you getting hte SC150 i haven't been able to find then, could some one post a link or something

[Tabasco]

WOW! $60?? I thought I was getting good at $70. I am still happy though.

Update, I had paid too quick for my request to upgrade the pump to try to overdrive it. So it was shipped out before he could change it out. I am going to see how it performs and then if I want to try he said he will upgrade to the larger pump for $30, but I have a spare ph that is more powerful on hand that could work too that I might try.

I gave it a vinegar bath last night and got the 65 set up. I have it in about 10" of water and it was producing a nice consistant level of bubbles. I was impressed with how consistent it was. This morning though there is a bit of pulsing action and I am not sure what is causing it. Didn't have time to really investigate it before work. Any thoughts on what might be causing it? I am going to look at it thoroughly tonight and take it apart and put it back together to see what might be causing it.

Other than that my thoughts are consistant with most posters. Fairly delicate construction, but seems to work great. Putting out nice consistant small bubbles. Breaking in nicely. We will see in a couple days.

The 65 is smaller than I thought it would be though. I will update on performance, but just on looks I'd say it should be rated for 40gallons. I really wish the 150 would have fit in my sump, only off by .5". I have a 45 display with 12 gallons in the sump. Hopefully it lives up to it's 65 gallon rating.

[d0ughb0y]

Originally Posted by jason2459

Strange that there seems to be two different models of the sc150. Almost like these should be more like 65, 100, 150 instead. I've been pleasently surprised by the 150 I got so far.

Pros:
Nice foam head and broke in with in a week is a good sign. I like the curved style of the bubble plate housing that you can see in the picture. almost like a pre-cone. I also like that the pump is outside but still underneith the cone. Allows for space saving but still very flexible to try out different pumps. Like I want to play with a bb-2000 I have. SUPER CHEAP!

Cons:
The adjustment is extremly touchy and just takes a tiny nudge to raise or lower the water. Will have to see longer term on the consistancy though. So far once set its been consistant. Materials are cheap, meaning the acrylic is thin, and could easily break. But after all it's only $100!! and like I said before I wont be playing football with it. I've never had a cone skimmer before but seems like the transition from the cone to the collection cup seems weird to me and seems like it could be a smoother transition.

what is the actual height of the skimmer with the external pump? the ebay listing says 23", which is significantly higher than the 18" (I think) with the internal pump model.
18" will work for me, but I don't have enough room for a 23" high skimmer, that is why I was looking at the swc160 till I saw this thread.