Sicce Pumps in Skimmers - Problems?

[forddna]

I've been out of the hobby for several years, and I've just been poking around putting a setup together. Back in the day, I really liked skimmers that used Sicce pumps.

But now I'm reading that it's a known problem for them to need help getting going again after being powered off? As in, it doesn't pull enough air on its own to get get going, and people are having to blow into the airline to help it get going.

We leave town for 3-4 days at a time. This isn't gonna fly. Is this pretty common? It's kinda disappointing because I already have limited skimmer options due to the footprint available in my sump. I was kinda interested in the new line of Eshopps skimmers. I've been watching and reading reviews over time.

 

[jda]

They are not any different than they used to be. Did you have any of these issues before? I still have an old ER in use with a Sicce 5k and it will skim every bit as good as a new skimmer.

 

[forddna]

I never had a problem with the one I had, and my LFS owner seemed to favor them, too. This is the first I've heard of the problems.

 

[A sea K]

The older Sicce PSK 2500 was notorious for these issues. They could pull a ton of air but reliability went right out the window. The current crop of Sicce skimmer pumps no longer suffer from these issues.

 

[JWClark]

Used to have a Nyos skimmer that did this and always thought the water level was a little too deep. Went back to my Lifereef because of it. Wonder if it was the pump (it was a psk2500).

 

[A sea K]

Used to have a Nyos skimmer that did this and always thought the water level was a little too deep. Went back to my Lifereef because of it. Wonder if it was the pump (it was a psk2500).

Mostly the pump for certain but setting the skimmer too deep would certainly compound the issue as well.

 

[ca1ore]

My now sold ASM3 used a Sicce PSK2500 initially and it was a bit temperamental. Replaced it with the PSK1000 and nary a hiccup.

 

[A sea K]

My now sold ASM3 used a Sicce PSK2500 initially and it was a bit temperamental. Replaced it with the PSK1000 and nary a hiccup.

Yes, night and day difference between the 2500 and 1000 from a reliability standpoint. I have a dual pump model skimmer that originally came with 2 of the 2500's and I replaced them with the 1000. They are not quite as powerful as the 2500 but are close enough and the ease of use more than makes up for the difference.