Recommendation for a quiet skimmer
- Thread starter sleepydoc
- Start date
sleepydoc
Team RC
There's another thread on the IceCap skimmers here. I posted this review there as well. Thanks to everyone for there suggestions!
So I've had my skimmer for a few weeks now and overall I'm very happy with it.
It's not quite as quiet as I had hoped. Several people had posted that it was virtually silent, and while it is definitely quiet, I wouldn't call it silent. I got a sound meter for my iPhone and it puts the sound level at 50-52 dB about a foot away from the skimmer. Compare that with 48-50dB for my Waveline DC 10000II pump and 60-65dB for my old Reef Octopus XS200 skimmer. The noise is a combination of a soft hum from the pump and a slight hiss from the air intake. Either way, it's a clear improvement over my last skimmer, and with the doors closed to the stand you can barely hear it, so it's quiet enough for me.
As others have commented, the construction is very good. It has a nice small footprint in the sump and definitely saves space over my last skimmer. (I attached a picture of it next to my old Reef Octopus skimmer below for comparison.) The skimmer cup has a silicone o-ring that gives a nice tight fit into the neck ring on the body. This is personal preference, but I prefer this to the screw-on attachment of the Vertex; if you have a hose draining the cup to a separate waste container, simply lifting off the cup is a lot easer than unscrewing it. It comes with a ½"(?) John Guest elbow attached for external collection as well as a piece of silicone tubing should you wish to use a separate collection container.
I ran it for 24 hrs in some vinegar water and then put it in my sump. The instructions say to wait a couple weeks before adjusting it, but it started making skimmate almost immediately for me. Currently it's making about a cup and a half of dark-tea colored skimmate a day. I haven't tried adjusting it to get thicker skimmate; perhaps someone else can comment on that. I've also found it to be much more consistent than my last skimmer. My old skimmer was rather touchy and would go out of adjustment pretty easily. This one has been rock solid.
It uses a Sicce PSK 600 that draws about 40W of power. It has a stock impeller, so replacement parts should be reasonably easy to get.
One of the things I wanted to do was to attach a float switch to the lid. There's about ⅞" between the outer wall of the cup and the deflector ring on the lid, so it's still too narrow to attach a regular float switch (~1" diameter float.) I haven't looked to see if I can find a smaller float, but I'll probably just use an external container anyway.
Overall, I'm very impressed with it and would definitely recommend it.
So I've had my skimmer for a few weeks now and overall I'm very happy with it.
It's not quite as quiet as I had hoped. Several people had posted that it was virtually silent, and while it is definitely quiet, I wouldn't call it silent. I got a sound meter for my iPhone and it puts the sound level at 50-52 dB about a foot away from the skimmer. Compare that with 48-50dB for my Waveline DC 10000II pump and 60-65dB for my old Reef Octopus XS200 skimmer. The noise is a combination of a soft hum from the pump and a slight hiss from the air intake. Either way, it's a clear improvement over my last skimmer, and with the doors closed to the stand you can barely hear it, so it's quiet enough for me.
As others have commented, the construction is very good. It has a nice small footprint in the sump and definitely saves space over my last skimmer. (I attached a picture of it next to my old Reef Octopus skimmer below for comparison.) The skimmer cup has a silicone o-ring that gives a nice tight fit into the neck ring on the body. This is personal preference, but I prefer this to the screw-on attachment of the Vertex; if you have a hose draining the cup to a separate waste container, simply lifting off the cup is a lot easer than unscrewing it. It comes with a ½"(?) John Guest elbow attached for external collection as well as a piece of silicone tubing should you wish to use a separate collection container.
I ran it for 24 hrs in some vinegar water and then put it in my sump. The instructions say to wait a couple weeks before adjusting it, but it started making skimmate almost immediately for me. Currently it's making about a cup and a half of dark-tea colored skimmate a day. I haven't tried adjusting it to get thicker skimmate; perhaps someone else can comment on that. I've also found it to be much more consistent than my last skimmer. My old skimmer was rather touchy and would go out of adjustment pretty easily. This one has been rock solid.
It uses a Sicce PSK 600 that draws about 40W of power. It has a stock impeller, so replacement parts should be reasonably easy to get.
One of the things I wanted to do was to attach a float switch to the lid. There's about ⅞" between the outer wall of the cup and the deflector ring on the lid, so it's still too narrow to attach a regular float switch (~1" diameter float.) I haven't looked to see if I can find a smaller float, but I'll probably just use an external container anyway.
Overall, I'm very impressed with it and would definitely recommend it.
moondoggy4
Team RC
I am glad you found a good skimmer. Have you looked into the SOS for your skimmer small footprint 50 bucks or so. They're are a couple of threads on them.
sleepydoc
Team RC
I actually have an SOS. My main complaint is that the sensor is a bit touchy. When the skimmer fills up, it will kick off but not stay off. Rather it beeps for about 10 seconds, then starts the skimmer for 10 seconds or so, then starts beeping again and keeps repeating the cycle so the skimmer is cycling on and off every 10 seconds.
The sump level sensor is similar; after doing a water change it will cycle on and off for about 20-30 min. I'm assuming it's because there's some moisture on the sensor creating an imperfect/higher resistance connection between the contacts. It's still better than nothing, but the design could be improved.
I'm setting up an external collection jug and putting a float switch in it that I'm going to try y-ing into the SOS sensor - we'll see how it works.
The sump level sensor is similar; after doing a water change it will cycle on and off for about 20-30 min. I'm assuming it's because there's some moisture on the sensor creating an imperfect/higher resistance connection between the contacts. It's still better than nothing, but the design could be improved.
I'm setting up an external collection jug and putting a float switch in it that I'm going to try y-ing into the SOS sensor - we'll see how it works.
Elricsfate
New member
I purchased this skimmer recently. It works great, but the air intake is a bit loud. Also, the airflow sound is not constant. It kinda pulses. I can deal with the sound, just wondering if the pulsing is normal or if the sound coming from the muffler should be constant.
I do not notice any type of surging in the bubble production or water flow, just in the sound it makes taking in air.
