DAS skimmer club
- Thread starter keinreis
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Why take the chance then. Email DAS, actually I'll PM you one of the DAS reps. emails ... ask him if they still have stock. If they do, just order Direct, they shipped mine quick. I confirmed they had stock and then I ordered it on the Sunday or actually early Monday morning like 1 AM or so, and got it 3 days later on Wednesday. Check your PM.
It doesnt if ORCA can actually get the skimemrs in a timely manner. But if DAS has them in stock for immediate shipping and Orca still cant get them, why would you buy them through Orca ...
DAS and Pet O Rama are the same company. When you buy from Pet O Rama online you are getting the skimmer directly from the company that makes the skimmers.
Big_D
New member
I joined the club a month or so ago, I picked up a 6 month old DAS EX-3 from wiszmaster. It's seems to be a great skimmer, it's replacing an MRC MR2 on my 180 gallon tank. I came to the realization that I set my entire tank up to be as efficient and low heat as possible, yet I used a Beckett skimmer. 
I see quite a few posts about DAS's being quiet, well... mines not. After reading all of the posts regarding the air valves, I wonder if that may have a little to do with it. The only thing I didn't receive with the skimmer was the air valves. I made 3 PVC mufflers to try to quiet it down some (which it did) but they seemed to restrict the air some. I have since built some custom mounting brackets to bolt to the air tube holes and will try mounting 3 DIY mufflers similar to the Reeflo skimmer. Another option I was looking at was routing the airlines to the collection cup lid which should also clear up some of the smell this thing generates (I know, this is a good thing), but I'm having a hard time finding the silicone tubing.
Also, one of my pumps never restarts after shutting the skimmer down. It just chatters and vibrates until I blow into the air intake a few times to clear the cavitation. I just solve this by never shutting the pumps off to clean the cup, I just turn the supply way down with the ball valve so it won't overflow when the cup is off.
Well, I figured this thread could use a few more pics, so here's some of mine. The first one is with my 6 year old for size comparison and the others are after running it for about 3 weeks. It's just ghetto'd in right now though, I'm going to replumb the whole tank and put in a new sump that I put together (50gal breeder) so the skimmer will fit under the stand and I can finally mount the doors.
A shot of the tank:
Big D
I see quite a few posts about DAS's being quiet, well... mines not. After reading all of the posts regarding the air valves, I wonder if that may have a little to do with it. The only thing I didn't receive with the skimmer was the air valves. I made 3 PVC mufflers to try to quiet it down some (which it did) but they seemed to restrict the air some. I have since built some custom mounting brackets to bolt to the air tube holes and will try mounting 3 DIY mufflers similar to the Reeflo skimmer. Another option I was looking at was routing the airlines to the collection cup lid which should also clear up some of the smell this thing generates (I know, this is a good thing), but I'm having a hard time finding the silicone tubing.
Also, one of my pumps never restarts after shutting the skimmer down. It just chatters and vibrates until I blow into the air intake a few times to clear the cavitation. I just solve this by never shutting the pumps off to clean the cup, I just turn the supply way down with the ball valve so it won't overflow when the cup is off.
Well, I figured this thread could use a few more pics, so here's some of mine. The first one is with my 6 year old for size comparison and the others are after running it for about 3 weeks. It's just ghetto'd in right now though, I'm going to replumb the whole tank and put in a new sump that I put together (50gal breeder) so the skimmer will fit under the stand and I can finally mount the doors.
A shot of the tank:
Big D
GreenUku
New member
Right now that matters to me because I ordered from Orca at the earlier, cheaper price.
The only reason I went with Orca in the first place was that all of the reviews of their customer service on RC were really good and many of the reviews of Petorama's were pretty bad (especially packaging, lot's of DOA stuff, and difficulties returning/contacting).
Of course this was before all of the delays started...
ps. Nice setup CATIII. That is some nasty skimmate.
Big_D
New member
Thanks guys for the compliments...
The pumps were cleaned with Deltec exclean before he shipped it to me, so all I did was a 24 hour freshwater run prior to using it. Wiszmaster did a fantastic job cleaning the skimmer up before he sent it out, it looked almost new when it arrived. I guess I'm going to have to drain it and check out the pump. Where is the valve at? I'm assuming it's some sort of plastic piece that flips one way or the other?..
UCS-fan, are you running an EX-3?.. Just curious if whether mine is noisier than others. I know it's noticeably louder than my MR2 was, but I was running it with an Ocean Runner 6500 submersible. It was nothing more than a faint hum... and about 110W of heat.
Big D
The pumps were cleaned with Deltec exclean before he shipped it to me, so all I did was a 24 hour freshwater run prior to using it. Wiszmaster did a fantastic job cleaning the skimmer up before he sent it out, it looked almost new when it arrived. I guess I'm going to have to drain it and check out the pump. Where is the valve at? I'm assuming it's some sort of plastic piece that flips one way or the other?..
UCS-fan, are you running an EX-3?.. Just curious if whether mine is noisier than others. I know it's noticeably louder than my MR2 was, but I was running it with an Ocean Runner 6500 submersible. It was nothing more than a faint hum... and about 110W of heat.
Big D
HecticDialectic
New member
I'm convinced that it's not ORCA's fault at all... but rather Petorama playing games with business.
vickreyreef
New member
i just ordered one today <ex 1> I currently have a submersable skimmer...now I am going to an external unit...is this going to be hard to hook up for a noobie?
KEstep
Premium Member
I am sure that Petorama has their own stock.. I needed to order a replacement pump for a BX2 last week and I was told they did not have any ex pumps in stock so it was good I did not need one. Being said DAS ships to ORCA, not Petorama. Petorama is the retail side they do not supply to other retailers. That is DAS's job. I would also guess that Petorama has a lot of stock already and that is why there is no short supply for them.
Also to CATIII, every now and then I get a crappy pump that hangs everytime. There is not anything you can do about it that I have found out. The only fix for me was to order new pumps
Also to CATIII, every now and then I get a crappy pump that hangs everytime. There is not anything you can do about it that I have found out. The only fix for me was to order new pumps
Big_D
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10874425#post10874425 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KEstep
Also to CATIII, every now and then I get a crappy pump that hangs everytime. There is not anything you can do about it that I have found out. The only fix for me was to order new pumps
Thanks Kris... have you put many EX-3's on folks tanks? If so, were they noticably louder than the EX-1's or EX-2's.
I know it probably sounds like I'm wearing out the noise issue, but I'm just trying to get a handle on what to expect as far as noise long term and find out if there's anything I can do to quiet it down some. It'll be going under my stand, so I was looking for something fairly quiet.
I'll try to get the new mufflers on tonight and see what it does.
Big D
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I didnt say it was Orcas fault. But the only thing that matters to me is getting the skimmer. If I know they are in stock at the manufacturers warehouse and I know they ship quickly ... and I alos know that Orca may be getting a snow job from DAS and it may take them a while to get the skimmer to ship to me ... I'm buying from DAS / Pet o Rama directly. No offense to Orca but I want the skimmer. I'm not really interested in Orca getting their little share of the pie or what type of business games DAS plays with Orca. I just want my skimmer.
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