My Coral Box D500 finally arrived

[Webmanny]

Hey guys and gals,

This is my initial review of the Coral Box D500 skimmer. I just received it via DHL. It took a bit of time since it was out of stock, but it is finally here.

The packaging it top notch. Lots of foam, bubble tubes and protection. This thing is very well made. The plastic is thicker than other skimmers I've seen and feels much stronger.

I'll be hooking it up over the weekend and I'll post a formal review and experience here soon after I install it.

For now, I'll leave you with a quick picture I took after assembly.

 

[robthorn]

Pretty.

 

[bigzman]

Keep us posted..I hope they make a bigger one than the d700

 

[reefcrazy0821]

I don't think you will be disapointed at all. I have the D300 running on my 40b with 20L sump. Runs flawlessly, dead silent, pulls out good skimate, extremely easy to make adjusters... I have mine running in about 7.5" of water on speed 4 with the adjuster 3/4 of the way open. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask.

 

[Webmanny]

I don't think you will be disapointed at all. I have the D300 running on my 40b with 20L sump. Runs flawlessly, dead silent, pulls out good skimate, extremely easy to make adjusters... I have mine running in about 7.5" of water on speed 4 with the adjuster 3/4 of the way open. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask.

This is awesome news. Thank you for the feedback. Before I bought this one I was a bit concerned because I could not find any reviews on it, but I;m very happy to hear about your experience and I appreciate your offer for help. I will keep you all posted over the weekend.

 

[reefcrazy0821]

This is awesome news. Thank you for the feedback. Before I bought this one I was a bit concerned because I could not find any reviews on it, but I;m very happy to hear about your experience and I appreciate your offer for help. I will keep you all posted over the weekend.

No problem at all. I was also on the fence about it also due to the lack of reviews on it, but I'm not one bit upset about buying it.

 

[Webmanny]

Update:

Skimmer doing great. Awesome skimmate so far and still during break in period. Here are some pictures.

 

[Jade5051]

Update:

Skimmer doing great. Awesome skimmate so far and still during break in period. Here are some pictures.

Any update on the performance of this skimmer?

 

[Webmanny]

Hey there,

I'm super happy with the performance of this skimmer. It is still super quiet and pulling great skimate. I'm very glad I went with this one. Even thought it is oversized for my tank and there are a few hours a day where it does not produce skimate, it still pulls a very dark and thick skimate every day.

I highly recommend it. The thing I love the most about it, is the ease of adjustment, both on the pump and the skimmer itself.

 

[Jade5051]

Show us that nasty skimmate!?

 

[Travis1787]

Nice looking Skimmer

 

[Webmanny]

Hey guys,

This is a more recent picture of the skimate. Please note that this skimmer is way oversize for my tank and the reason I got it was because I plan to upgrade or rather combine two tanks into the existing sump and then it will be a better match.

The results of getting an oversize skimmer are very obvious.

• The skimmer pump can be dialed down and is not running at 100% capacity, which is good.
• The collection cup doesn't fill up as quick as my SCA301 did before. I empty my collection cup once a week instead of every other day. This is great, but the collection cup stinks really bad once I empty it.
• The skimmer does not produce skimate all day long. Since it doesn't have the bio load that it was built for, it only produces skimate for a few hours a day. Some will say this is bad, since it is wasting energy running while not producing skimate, but I don't think I care much.

My honest review so far is... I love this skimmer and I highly recommend it to anyone. This is the fourth skimmer I've owned and it is by far the best I have seen.

My list of skimmers I've owned in the past
HOB eBay Chinese skimmer = Piece of crap that worked for about 2 months well and then just stopped
Coralife Super Skimmer 65 HOB = Extremely large for the capacity, loud and not that efficient at producing skimate.
SCA-301 65 Gallon Protein Skimmer (in Sump) = Good skimmer, but not really built for 65 gallon tank. I had this on a 36 gallon and it was not powerful/efficient enough.
Coral Box D500 DC Skimmer (In Sump) = Great skimmer, adjustable pump, adjustable water flow gate, feeding setup, easy to assemble, super quiet and great price.

This is the collection cup 2 days after I cleaned it up.

 

[sfoister]

This is the only group of people on the planet that will salivate over a cup of fish poop.

This is your safe place.

 

[Webmanny]

LOL. True.

 

[d0ughb0y]

where did you buy and how much?
tnx.

 

[Webmanny]

I got it at Fish-Street and I think they go for $170 plus shipping, but you should check with a local fish store to see if they have them or something similar in stock. Shipping is kind of expensive and they take some time to ship it to you.

Having said that, I love this skimmer and it has performed flawlessly so far.

 

[fed.gallardo]

Hi, I just placed an order for one of these. I have a 75 Gallon with a 40 Gallon Sump. Cant wait as my previous skimmer is really difficult to keep tuned.

 

[Webmanny]

Hi, I just placed an order for one of these. I have a 75 Gallon with a 40 Gallon Sump. Cant wait as my previous skimmer is really difficult to keep tuned.

Oh you will love this one. You have pump flow control, air control and outflow control. This thing is awesome. I have nothing but good things to say about it.

Once you break it in and find that sweet spot, you won't have to touch it.

 

[fed.gallardo]

Did it come with a long hose off the collection cup

 

[Webmanny]

Did it come with a long hose off the collection cup

Maybe 24", but it comes with a little valve at the end of it, to which you can connect a normal RODI line and extend it. This is what I did and ran that line to an overflow container.