SCA 301 skimmer loud, suggestions?

logan 12

logan 12

New member
I have a 29 gallon tank with a 10 gallon sump, not my first reef just setting up something small for now. I went online and did my research on skimmers, seemed like from the videos I watched on YouTube and a few discussions here that the SCA 301 skimmer was a good skimmer for the money. I have no complaints about the skimmers productivity it seems to work good. However, for some reason mine is extremely loud. I have tried everything I could think of to quiet it down. It has 5 sheets of rubber that it sits on, helped a little. This thing makes a low hum sound, I can hear throughout my entire house. Just sitting hear writing this I can barely take the sound of this skimmer. It's a relief to just unplug it for a bit. Any suggestions on a better quiet skimmer or what to do to gix this thing? I have had several protein skimmer and non have ever been this loud.
 
i have the same skimmer...do you have it in at least 8 inches of water???,,also from the video it looks like yo have the bottom pump on backwards....the intake to the skimmer should be facing the other way..you have it facing with the outlet of the adjustment. pipe...put it facing the other way...i think the exhaust.is going into the intake...i hope that makes sense...
 
It's in just under 8 inches of water. Lol, I just turned the pump around to see if it made any difference. Still the same loudness though. I have been trying everything to see if I can get it to quiet down. Hopefully SCA gets back to me and can get this figured out. If not this skimmer is going to become target practice. Lol

I'm looking for an alternative if anybody know of a good internal skimmer.
 
how long have you had this skimmer?..if its new might need a break in period...if not whens the last time you cleaned it....maybe take apart..and make sure all clean and nothing is blocking it....
 
also i noticed on your silencer the tube that goes from the intake to the collection cup...to make the sucking noise more quiet...on the top of this i see a blue hose...what it that... and where does it go to...should be nothing on the top of it...
 
I have had it for 4 months. It's on a newly set up tank which I have been cycling for about 3 1/2 months. Just started putting live stock in the tank last week. I think it has become louder and louder over the 4 months. I took everything apart last night and cleaned what I could. However, there was not much to clean. The only solution I can find to making it perform at an acceptable noise level is to restrict the amount of air going to the skimmer. This however is going to greatly effect the performance of the skimmer.
 
garygonzales said:
also i noticed on your silencer the tube that goes from the intake to the collection cup...to make the sucking noise more quiet...on the top of this i see a blue hose...what it that... and where does it go to...should be nothing on the top of it...
Click to expand...

That was another attempt to quiet down the skimmer. It's just air hose. Once again didn't make a bit of difference. I'm trying everything I can think of. Lol
 
skiingfast said:
The noise to me sounds like it's the pump. Try making sure the impeller is clean and seated properly.
Click to expand...

Definitely the pump, I have taken the skimmer apart several times and everything seems to be in order. The only solution has been to turn the skimmer off. It doesn't make loud noises then. Lol
 
Notice you have a aqueon 10g sump? If so you can try put a foam piece under the bottom glass inside the black rim where there’s a gap, it might quiet the humming noise.
 
MakomekTVN said:
Notice you have a aqueon 10g sump? If so you can try put a foam piece under the bottom glass inside the black rim where there’s a gap, it might quiet the humming noise.
Click to expand...

That is a good suggestion and one I thought about when I first purchased the pump that it was rattling off the glass. I went ahead and purchased a rubber drying mat to quiet down the skimmer pump and placed it between the pump and glass and that seemed to work for a bit. However now if you elevate the skimmer by holding it up off the glass it still makes the same noise that it makes in the video. There is no difference, which has lead me to believe it's the pump and there's nothing I can do about the noise. I contacted SCA and they said they would send a new pump so I'm waiting since it was a holiday weekend to hear back from them. I have the skimmer off and have been looking for a replacement. I thought maybe I was missing something, but looks like the pumps bad at this point.
 
After looking at the video yea the pump is bad. I used to have that skimmer and it's still loud for my taste.Right now I have a Simplicity 120 on my 20L and it's dead silence. The only thing that bothering me now are those high end ecotech product , MP10 and the Radion light fan both are driving me nuts.
 
logan 12 said:
Definitely the pump, I have taken the skimmer apart several times and everything seems to be in order. The only solution has been to turn the skimmer off. It doesn't make loud noises then. Lol
Click to expand...



There are folks who will run their skimmers on timers just for that reason.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Just an update, Steve from SCA aqautics sent me a new pump and now the skimmer is dead silent. Great company to help solve this problem without questions.
 
Mine was pretty silent other than the air intake but my RO silencer fixed that. I did habe an early pump in body cone 301 that has not been made for years, I always felt it was a better design than the newee pump under bodymp,us I dont like the extra height. A good skimmer to upgrade too would be a Reef Octopus tney hqbe always made solid skimmers, Eshopps have good reviews. More pricey are Bubble Magnus, Vertex, Deltec. Imo these are all top quality and will performe well pic a skimmer rated for around 100-150g. 150g if keeping sps and have a lot of fish.
 
I have the SCA 303 and my pump makes the exact same noise. It's awful. I literally just turned it on for the first time ever today, and I'll give it some time, but if it doesn't quiet down, I'll contact Steve. His customer service has been great so far.

PK
 
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