Skimmer Rating

Yeah ... actually I do.

#1 - I’m confused as to why this skimmer is trying to compare itself to Euro-Reef considering it’s not even a NW skimmer.

#2 â€"œ It inducts air just after the pumps’ outlet! This makes it a venturi driven protein skimmer … yet they claim to use a needle wheel inside the pump. With this configuration the NW impeller is rendered ABSOLUTELY useless.

#3 â€"œ I’m wondering why they have a hole drilled in the elbow on the skimmers’ outlet (shown in the main pic). This can’t help anything that I can see. Best case, this hole might allow one to use a smaller diameter stand pipe, but that’s nothing great.

All of the above can be easily corrected, but it’s just a shame that the skimmer maker didn’t know that these are all MAJOR bummers.
 
Randy, i'll agree with #1 and #3, but i'm pretty sure its a NW since its using a genx4100 and the air inductor is on the inlet of the pump. Am i not seeing something? Personally i just wanted to see what people thought about this skimmer as it looks pretty solid.......i'm not sure whats up with the hole in the outlet of the skimmer though, never seen that before and that doesn't seem to bright imo. And i'm sure they are comparing it to a ER for selling purposes : )
 
This is what makes this skimmer a venturi driven skimmer NOT a NW skimmer:
venturi.jpg


Here's the hole in the skimmer outlet:
hole.jpg
 
I know man, i just thought the pic was a bad one and the tube was going around to the front of the pump....maybe not, but if thats the case you could fix this prob for a couple bux.
 
looks OK for the money, and especially as a DIY unit.
I don't get the placement of the air intake either, as Randy said it becomes a Venturi unit only.....why would they do that?
I do not get the hole either, kind of blows the whole point of the riser tube to set water depth.
 
At first glace it does look like a decent skimmer for the money right, but then you have to imagine how much fun it will be to clean out the collection cup :) It doesn't come off.

I would get the Octopus skimmer over this one any day ... even if it costs $100.00 more.

luke33, I know what you mean ... just a few bucks and it will fix all the problems, I don't think just a few bucks would turn this sows' ear into a silk purse :)
 
The collection cup does not come off?????????????????
Are you sure that is not a grommet (they mentioned it in the add), like a uniseal? It makes no sense that the collection cup can not come off. And if it doesn't it is a piece of crap.
 
If it doesn't come off....then how do you empty it? lol, its a throw away! I think it looks pretty good personally.
 
I hate to come off as a pessimist, but that's just me ... I am a pessimist :) I’ve been reamed on eBay more than I’d like to admit so it kind of justifies my inherent mistrust in the average Joe enterpriser :)

If done properly I imagine that one could simply chop the neck in half dead center and insert a union for a quick disconnect. I have no way of knowing if that acrylic neck would fit a PVC union or not ... only the maker could tell you the OD of the acrylic. That would solve the cup removal problem (if it is indeed a problem). I just know from experience that pipe can go into a Uniseal, but doesn't want to come back out easily ... that's all I have to say about that (Forrest Gump).

I have no idea what the hole is for in the elbow on the outlet. I can only imagine that it is intended to allow water to escape so that a smaller/cheaper Uniseal and a smaller/cheaper stand pipe can be used. Only the maker can answer that question and the maker may not suggest plugging that hole.

As far as an air inductor/venturi on the inlet of the pump ... that costs about 50 cents if you use a barbed fitting.
Shown Here

This skimmer looks like a good candidate for converting into a recirc skimmer. If one were to do so it would be an almost insignificant investment of 2 Uniseals (1 for feed and one for the inlet of the pump), a few unions and some misc. fittings.

I just read the eBay description and it actually says that it comes with a GenX-2400 not a 4100.

I have no doubt that this skimmer will skim straight out of the box; the description is just a little misleading. I think that the seller should revise their description a bit too.
 
Yea, there were some hidden agenda's with this skimmer, but the guy said he'd sell them with teh 2400genx shipped to your door for 155.......pretty good deal imo. I buddy ordered one, so i'll have to check it out.
 
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