Skimz skimmer club

[DamonG]

Originally Posted by itz frank

So, I received my skimmer last week from BRS and a leg was broken from delivery. Seems to be a relatively common issue.

BRS handled it well. I actually got this skimmer prior to leaving the next day on vacation. Three PMs later and another was in the mail. Their customer service is amazing.

A few days ago, I decided that I wanted to prepare to receive the new one and get my sump settled in. So, I built the skimmer and went to place it. This is when I realized that I would need to remove my sump because I didn't have enough clearance between my sump and stand to get it in place.

I finally did that part last night and the skimmer is wet and running.

My first impression was how well this thing is built compared to my SRO. My second impression was "Is this thing on?" Jesus is this thing quiet. I can hear my power heads over the skimmer. I can't hear the skimmer at all.

Well, I have my SM203 sitting in on 6" of water and not the 7" recommended. I have the gate all the way closed and air valve half way. After 6 hours of running I have 2mm of skim in the cup and I'm super happy.

My sump water level will be resolved as I'm going to order a skimz sump.

But I would encourage anyone on the fence about this skimmer to just do it. 6 hours in and I'm already happy.


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Share a picture of the beauty!

From note 5

[itz frank]

Originally Posted by DamonG

Share a picture of the beauty!

From note 5

Please ignore the ugliest sump ever. For an idea of how massive this thing is, check the 1 gallon magnesium bottle. Haha.



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[DamonG]

Originally Posted by itz frank

Please ignore the ugliest sump ever. For an idea of how massive this thing is, check the 1 gallon magnesium bottle. Haha.



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Lol, awesome dude! All that's needed is a little wipe down with vinegar.. Check out mine.. It's nothing special.. Function over form dude

Lol, most people, including myself when I first got the 201, and then the 251I have now(utterly insane big), don't realize how big these skimmers are.. And, like you said, how silent they really are.. And lastly, how fast they get to work!

From note 5

[itz frank]

Originally Posted by DamonG

Lol, awesome dude! All that's needed is a little wipe down with vinegar.. Check out mine.. It's nothing special.. Function over form dude

Lol, most people, including myself when I first got the 201, and then the 251I have now(utterly insane big), don't realize how big these skimmers are.. And, like you said, how silent they really are.. And lastly, how fast they get to work!

From note 5

I won't be cleaning it. I'm trying to figure out the largest skimz sump I can squeeze into my stand. Hoping to order by the end of the week.


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[DamonG]

Yes, they have very nice looking sumps also.. I find the look and build of their equipment very appealing also..

From note 5

[itz frank]

Originally Posted by DamonG

Yes, they have very nice looking sumps also.. I find the look and build of their equipment very appealing also..

From note 5

Agreed. I also like the twist end to raise and lower the water volume. Very easy and comes with probe holder and dosing tube.

My issue is that I have two siphon tubes and I don't think I can shoe horn a 30 into my cabinet.


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[ericarenee]

Here is My Sump tank the setup is the same but i moved the sump and Coral tank to another area because We are going to renovate the whole sump room



The skimmer running




The Sump



Refugium At start up

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...-no/16%2B-%2B1
few months back

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...-no/16%2B-%2B2

what is supports.. There is now a 75 Refugium under the tank moved from the above picture. Still in progress ..

[DamonG]

Originally Posted by itz frank

Agreed. I also like the twist end to raise and lower the water volume. Very easy and comes with probe holder and dosing tube.

My issue is that I have two siphon tubes and I don't think I can shoe horn a 30 into my cabinet.


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Lol, where there's a will, there's a way.. I built that stands honestly that high to get that cup on and off easily.. But I'm taking it that your doing the under the tank install? I haven't looked at their sumps in a little bit, but maybe a shorter length one?

But that does sound very, very cool indeed.. For sure!

From note 5

[itz frank]

Originally Posted by DamonG

Lol, where there's a will, there's a way.. I built that stands honestly that high to get that cup on and off easily.. But I'm taking it that your doing the under the tank install? I haven't looked at their sumps in a little bit, but maybe a shorter length one?

But that does sound very, very cool indeed.. For sure!

From note 5

Yes. It's in a under tank cabinet. My issue is that I'm 58" long but only 16" wide and there's a support brace in the center front and rear. I don't think I can make the turn with a sumpro up30 or larger but I need two drains. The up22 is only one drain.


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[DamonG]

Originally Posted by itz frank

Yes. It's in a under tank cabinet. My issue is that I'm 58" long but only 16" wide and there's a support brace in the center front and rear. I don't think I can make the turn with a sumpro up30 or larger but I need two drains. The up22 is only one drain.


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Ah, got ya.. I have had that experience before.. Hmmnnn.. The center brace isn't pocket screwed? Usually the front brace is pocket in, just for this reason, but then, I've had some stands that weren't(one of the annoying reasons I started building my own stands).. Hopefully there are pockets in there, and that will make it easy..

And the two drains can be worked around, I had a busy that basically teed two drains to a larger single pipe going to the filter sock..

But yes, that 16" width is tough indeed..

From note 5

[Notquiterite]

Just got my skimz sm163, assembling it now, excited

[Notquiterite]

So this may be a noob question, but I am not sure. When I turn off the skimmer, water shoots up from the venturi air tube and into the silencer. I don't remember my previous skimmer doing this. What is going on?

[itz frank]

Originally Posted by DamonG

Ah, got ya.. I have had that experience before.. Hmmnnn.. The center brace isn't pocket screwed? Usually the front brace is pocket in, just for this reason, but then, I've had some stands that weren't(one of the annoying reasons I started building my own stands).. Hopefully there are pockets in there, and that will make it easy..

And the two drains can be worked around, I had a busy that basically teed two drains to a larger single pipe going to the filter sock..

But yes, that 16" width is tough indeed..

From note 5

I can't go 2 to one because my drains are siphon and the second is an emergency drain for overflow. It would mess up the siphon.

I'll take a look but I don't think they're pocket screws. It actually will require me to remove two extra 2x4 as there are two in the center on the front and rear that don't really do anything. But now that I think about it, I need to look again.

If it is pocket screws, would there be an issue with removing the support while the stand is under full load?


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[itz frank]

This is after a day and a half of skimming on about 120 total water volume.


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[DamonG]

Originally Posted by itz frank

I can't go 2 to one because my drains are siphon and the second is an emergency drain for overflow. It would mess up the siphon.

I'll take a look but I don't think they're pocket screws. It actually will require me to remove two extra 2x4 as there are two in the center on the front and rear that don't really do anything. But now that I think about it, I need to look again.

If it is pocket screws, would there be an issue with removing the support while the stand is under full load?


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Oh.. Ok got you.. Hmmnnn(on the siphon).. I don't know enough about the bean style personally to make modification recommendations.. So you would know better than more on that one..

And well, I will say this on the middle supports.. If the stand was built good, no.. It won't matter from the dimensions you gave.. Because when I first did it with my prefabricated stand, actually I was so afraid, that I cut 2*4 to basically make a temporary replacement.. I slid that in there, but off to the side, got one side in, and worked it from there.. But, with the diy stands I build now, those things are like tanks, so there isn't a concern at all if I need to remove the center brace..

And your skim looks good production wise! It's going to get darker(and stink much, much more) as it fully seats in.. But looks good dude!

From note 5

[itz frank]

Again, amazing production from this thing. Didn't take a photo but the skin was 1/3 of the cup.


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[ReefChasing]

I setup my 201 on Thursday night. If it wasn't too big to fit into a 5 gallon bucket I was going to run it with some water and vinegar. Instead I just primed it with a little neck slime from my old skimmer. Can't believe how quiet this thing is. I love the precise gate control for water level in the neck. It's sitting in 7 inches of water and I already have about a 1/2 inch tea colored skim. Looking forward to seeing what it can pull a week from now!

[DamonG]

Originally Posted by itz frank

Again, amazing production from this thing. Didn't take a photo but the skin was 1/3 of the cup.


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Nice! They do indeed churn!

From note 5

[DamonG]

Originally Posted by ReefChasing

I setup my 201 on Thursday night. If it wasn't too big to fit into a 5 gallon bucket I was going to run it with some water and vinegar. Instead I just primed it with a little neck slime from my old skimmer. Can't believe how quiet this thing is. I love the precise gate control for water level in the neck. It's sitting in 7 inches of water and I already have about a 1/2 inch tea colored skim. Looking forward to seeing what it can pull a week from now!

Lol, it'll probably be full by then.. But awesome! Share a pic!

From note 5

[DamonG]

Lol, you guys inspired me.. This is three days.. I took my pellets off, so am running a bit dryer than I normally do..

From note 5

[ReefChasing]

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[DamonG]

Originally Posted by ReefChasing

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Looks awesome! Dark! How long did it take for it to start foaming for you with the skimmate neck trick?

From note 5

[ReefChasing]

Originally Posted by DamonG

Looks awesome! Dark! How long did it take for it to start foaming for you with the skimmate neck trick?

From note 5

The picture makes it look a lot darker than it really is. It's more like a green tea color. But I did open the air valve just a little more this morning and that helped it foam more in the neck. I'll take another picture when it looks like its starting to foam really good.

[Reef908]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to tune in this skimmer? I got the SM 161 to replace my SCA skimmer that dies and have tried getting this to pull skimmate for the last 2 weeks and can't get anything to pull. It's sitting in 8 inches of water. Can anyone with a similar model let me know where their gate and airline settings are? I have tried all different combos and nothing produces any good foam. My tanks nitrates have spiked and I need to get this worked out asap. I got this model since I am in the beginning phase of upgrading from my 75 gallon to a 180 or so. Can it be that it's too big for my current system?

[dendrite]

There are some good postings on skimmer adjustment several hundred posts earlier. Myself, I have a monster sm 203 . I started with the gate and airline wide open, then slowly closed the air until I first heard a change in pitch in the skimmer. Its fairly low and you have to listen for it, and repeat the process several times. It works out that the airline is about 75% closed for my skimmer. Next adjust the gate valve to bring the small uniform bubble level up to where you want it. For me it worked out that the smallest bubbles were at the bottom third of the neck with the ever larger bubbles rising higher into the cup area . Hope this helps