MSX200 Skimmer received! (pics included)

[bored4long]

The MSX200 was sitting on my porch last night. I've opened the box and taken pictures while inspecting and assembling it. I don't know when I will get a chance to fire this baby up, but here are some pix to wet your appetite.

As received in the box:

And fully assembled:

 

[bored4long]

PSK-2500 modded

PSK-2500 modded

Here are the pictures of the PSK-2500 and the mod job SWC did:

You can see that the pump cover was not completely aligned. The pump was water tested by SWC after their mods, so I guess that means it was tested with the cover on wrong. I hope that didn't add any stress to the ceramic shaft or shorten its life.

After I put it back together, I set the cover on correctly.

 

[bored4long]

Pump Mods

Pump Mods

Keeping in mind this is the first batch of modded pumps from SWC I'll show you the mod job. IMO, its pretty crappy. I'll go back and clean it all up, but straight from the store, I'd expect better quality. I'd say they were more concerned with quantity out the door than quality.

Drilled hole for air hose:

I'm not sure why this is all chewed up. I guess the dremeled it a bit to open up the intake?

Another view of this botched job:

Different angle of the dremel work:

I'll definitely go back and clean this up. Not sure if I should open it up any more than it is right now.

 

[bored4long]

Mesh Mod

Mesh Mod

Here is the mesh mod they did. From initial feedback, I think they realized people may want to redo the meshmod so they added 4 spare layers of enkamat. Sweet! I'll clean this up, but give it a shot as is first. I'll probably replace the zip ties with fishing line and perhaps add more holes to the wheel.

 

[bored4long]

I have one pic of the output pipe to give you an idea of how it works:

The skimmer cup is just pressure fit on the neck and sealed by a silicone o-ring.

This is the first skimmer I have ever owned, so my review or opinion on the quality should be taken with a grain of salt.

I feel the build quality of the skimmer body itself is great. I really expected a flimsy, weak body, but the plastic is plenty thick and very strong. The placement of the output and pump makes the skimmer unbalanced and it will tip over if just set on the ground. It needed to be propped up for the picture.

That's all for now.

 

[kdblove_99]

Looks good Mark,


Yeah for a brand new skimmer they should have taken more time and done those mod jobs better. Looks very shotty.

Skimmer itself looks great. I have seen a Octopus skimmer in person and they are built really well in my opinion.

Now give that bad boy a vinegar bath and fire it up. Wanna see some nasty skim

 

[P.Kelly]

What was the price for that bad boy?

 

[bored4long]

I hope to give it a vinegar bath when I get home from work tonight. I need to find a large tub or tote for it.

 

[mpoletti]

Nice purchase. I look forward to seeing your report on this.

 

[kdblove_99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11613838#post11613838 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by petes97
What was the price for that bad boy?

$349.99

 

[bored4long]

Sorry, Peter, I didn't see your post. Yep, $350. They were at $325 for a preorder, but I decided to wait until the first reviews. I knew that it would require some tweaking. I don't mind (as long as I don't break the dang thing).

 

[kdblove_99]

Cant wait either. Going on a 125 mark?

 

[bored4long]

It will go on a 120. Not sure what the total water volume will be at this point. Still haven't decided on the sump/fuge configuration.