Go Aquariums DC Skimmers

[dnh828]

I think I might try this skimmer out, as I was looking for some cheapy version of the DC skimmers that are out currently. No one has reviewed this, anywhere, so I would be testing this out. If its a total lemon amazon would take it back what do you think?

You can see the G3000, which I was thinking of using for my 140+30 reef aquarium: Amazon Protein Skimmer

 

[dnh828]

I might end up regretting it but I bought this. Very very little information on this, I hope amazon will take it back if its a lemon.

I have a 140+30 gallon lightly stocked (currently) tank, with a bunch of mature rock and a very big anemone. I have a pair of breeding maroon clownfish, a sailfin tang (about 4-5" or so) and a niger trigger (3.5" or so). I will probably eventually trade the niger trigger to someone who wants him for free, and then fill the rest up with reef safe fish, inverts, etc.

I will add some pictures of my current skimmer, but I'm using an RL175 that I got used but with a recently replaced pump. Overall that pump works great for my current stocking, but probably won't cut it once the tank is more full. The mature live rock is doing the majority of the work but I have to run the skimmer fairly wet in order to pull enough out. I wanted a skimmer that was DC and tuneable, so I could play with the settings more and run it dryer.

I really closely considered getting the reef octopus elite or even a vertex alpha, but the price tags on those things hurt. The warranties and reliability might make them solid investments for the long term, but I have a lot of amazon credit from the holidays/credit card rewards and wanted to give this a try. It will be here Wednesday and I will update the thread with some first impressions once it gets here.

Anyone know of a good way to measure air intake on a skimmer? I'd love to test the claimed air intake values (that's probably running the DC pump on full, which would likely turn the skimmer into a fountain).

 

[dukduk]

Let us know

 

[dnh828]

Review Part 1

Review Part 1

Alright, this is part 1 of 3 of the skimmer review: Build quality.

This is a full resolution archive of all of the original photos: http://1drv.ms/1B3y0A1

When the box arrived it looked really lackluster. Black and white graphics, plain, with a big dent in the middle.

I opened it up, and was satisfied with the way it was taped and wrapped in Foam. Right on top were some fairly detailed and nice assembly instructions. I wasn't expecting grammatically correct instructions, but perhaps my expectations were too low.

The acrylic on this skimmer is very, very thick. It reminds me of the old ETSS skimmers, very sturdy feeling and fairly heavy.

You can completely disassemble the skimmer by removing the four screws along the bottom. This separates the upper body from the base which includes the motor base, motor and bubble plate assembly. The bubble assembly also comes apart, you can get to every little nook and cranny.

The motor is isolated with some rubber washers and the skimmer has some rubber feet. Hopefully that will help with noise, which we will get to later.

The air silencer is very big, much bigger than the air silencers I have used in the past. The cup also is quarter turn disconnect! I wasn't expecting that, and it is most welcome.

The pump itself is very interesting. I was expecting a jebao rebranded pump in there, but this is something different. Extremely heavy, reminds me of a mag or eheim pump but slightly heavier for its size. The impeller advertises a zirconium axis, and the impeller does feel fairly solid. About the same as other nicer impellers I've held, but note I've never had any of the titanium super primo impellers in my possession.

Note this pump is NOT controllable. I know if it would have been or not, the description on Amazon is lacking.

The discharge system is different than anything I have seen. It has a screw type adjustment so it seems like it is very fine tunable and should hold its level well. You can choke the opening completely off or have it completely open, and small turns in the outlet make extremely small changes.

The skimmer came with a spare impeller (I'm guessing that's net a good thing, though it makes me wonder about the durability). I also have a spare gasket for the skimmer head and bunch of spare screws. I had to do a double take and make sure I had assembled everything.


So far, I'm blown away. This is a build quality and feature set I would not expect from a skimmer this cheap. I'll be plugging it in soon and running it for a while, and will update on noise and performance after its been running a while.

 

[Gorgok]

Having the silencer bolted to the cup seems like a really silly thing. I at least like to take my cups cap with me when i clean the cup out... Easy enough to fix im sure though.

 

[dnh828]

Yeah the silencer screwing on to the top is weird. It's definitely screwed on, not just a peg it hangs on. Now, one solution (I think their intended solution) is that you leave the lid next to the skimmer and just detach the cup. I honestly may replace the silencer, I'm doing a test currently and the noise is a bit more than what I had hoped. Probably quiet enough for most set ups but it is in the living room. This is a brand new pump so I'm seeing if it breaks in a bit. I'll post a video of it running once it has run for a bit and I feel like I can see if its going to quiet down.

 

[Tarkin]

any updates?

Later

 

[ty1368]

Protein skimmer update?

Protein skimmer update?

How is the protein skimmer running?

 

[masterbeavis]

Interested too

 

[minireef30]

Updates when you can please.

 

[Mackjr74]

Has this skimmer worked out for anyone?

 

[ScubaShane]

I just ordered one too. Needed somthing inexpensive for a temporary holding tank.

 

[brownsps]

I ran this skimmer for a few months. For the price on amazon its pretty tough to beat, but now they are not sold there and price isn't that great. The skimmers have two flaws. The ventilation is poor and the venturi air nipple is to small, clogs to easily. Fortunately these are easy fixes. For the vent holes in the lid, just boar them out with a dremel, for the air nipple's, replace them with a 1/4" od nipple and your good to go. The skimmer will pull 60-65scfh of air vs 50scfh and the wattage goes from 70w to 60w on the G4000. I would do this with all the models they have as it will make the performance much much better with a more stable performance.

 

[ScubaShane]

Ive been running my G1000 on a 90g for over two months now. I don't have any issues as described above or see it necessary for any mods. I get nice thick and smelly skimate. My air nipple is 1\4". It gets plenty of air. The internal water height is very easily adjustable. Im very satisfied with this skimmer for the price. Its still early so we'll see how the pump holds up.