skilter filter
- Thread starter jamynsdad
- Start date
hammerswinger
New member
only good as a door stop. very loud, hard to adjust and barley skim. you can do an airsone modificaion to them but why buy something you have to modify. get a bak pak or remora.
When they first came out back in the mid ninties i did some research with them. Back then the cpr bakpak could not skim a tank the skilter was on. In fact a modified one could outskim a oceanic six as well as the triple pass berlin. These tests were done on 20 gallon reef tanks without fish, with both skimmers on the tank. Now obviously skimmers have come a long way- but for a simple cheap(loud) skimmer for a nano, the skilter is not junk. And when price enters into it its hard to say if there is anything its equal- albiet there are much better more expensive skimmers.
I had a skilter... they do not work. I've had other lower-priced skimmers since then and I found the Prizm and the Coralife Super Skimmer both decent for the price. THe Coralife is particularly a good bang for the buck. I can't comment on the Bak Pak or Remora because I never had one. I'm currently putting a 20 nano together and am not going to use a skimmer, just diligent water changes.
crpeck
Premium Member
I used a skilter for a while on a rearing tank. It worked okay while it lasted, but I did a modification on it that one of the guys at the LFS recommended. It involved drilling a hole in the top, putting a piece of rigid tubing down the circular skimmer part and putting an airstone run by an external air pump.
It was loud and once overflowed on the floor (don't remember quite how that happened). When it died, I just didn't replace it. It lasted not even a year.
It was loud and once overflowed on the floor (don't remember quite how that happened). When it died, I just didn't replace it. It lasted not even a year.
DASKILTERLIVES
Member
Man, this skimmer has taken a beating for years.. IMO, if you understand the limitations of the unit , and don't expect the same results that a high end remora or a some downdraft would give you ,then it is a fine choice.(10-15 Gallon Tanks.) I have used them on my NANO'S before, with the said mentioned mods and has worked fine for me. I replace the cartridge with a Poly-Filter, run a bag of carbon in the back ,( large filter box a +) and a gang valve to bleed off excess air for the airstone. The noise is from the impeller not being seated correctly... Make certain that the plastic piece that holds the airline inside is seated nice 'n' tight, then twist the motor a bit at a time ( slowly) until you find the sweet spot... Peace
