SWC 1A Cone skimmer review

ABSOLUTELY love this skimmer...more than the Vertex/bk alpha's, and more than the ATB large...(for different reasons)
SWC did to the Askoll what ATB and WM did to the sicce...took some ideas from the innovator's mods, then smoked them for breakfast.
Excellent work Jason...keep 'em comin. :)

I cant wait to see smaller SWC cones too, for nano tanks, hob's or AIO's...
I know Jason's got plans....:)
 
Can anyone tell me what is the difference between the SWC1A and the SWC 300A? I know one is a cone. Is that the only reason why the SWC1A is $200 more?

Does the SWC1A perform a lot better compared to the SWC 300a?
 
Ren the 300A is a cylinder skimmer and the 250A is a cone skimmer. They both use the ASKOLL 1500. They both skim real good. Both have pros and cons. You'll get a much better answer by starting your own thread with the same question in the Equipment forum. Most of the people reading this thread will be people interested in learning about the cone.
 
There is a 250A that Marine Solutions sells that is the MSX250 with an Askoll, hence the 250"A". Same with the 300A. Most people refer to the cone as the 1A to avoid confusion.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15406668#post15406668 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ren99
Can anyone tell me what is the difference between the SWC1A and the SWC 300A? I know one is a cone. Is that the only reason why the SWC1A is $200 more?

Does the SWC1A perform a lot better compared to the SWC 300a?
Click to expand...

Good luck with this.

I've asked this questions several times, in several threads and pm's, including in the MSX forum, without anyone answering. I'm not prepared to say that the question is being dodged, but the question is pretty simple.

If I were a suspicious type, I would envision that somebody has determined that the 300A is as good or better than the 1A, but they don't want to admit it since the 1A is more expensive. But that's if I were the suspicious type. . .

(Keep in mind that the 300A has been recently re-designed to add an even longer, more gradual neck transition, so I would hope that it performs better than the 300A mods that are being sold now. On the other hand, it may prove that the longer neck requires more air than the Askoll pump can produce, and therefore you're better with the 300A modded version.)
 
Well it was nice that the thread went this long till the speculators arrived. Lets keep this a review thread, with real world experiences and pictures. Lets keep it on track and keep the opinion type stuff on another thread.

SJM is right, I accidentally called it the 250A, when I meant the 1A.

From most perspectives the two skimmer will split camps. One is the large body skimmer, processing lots of water at once. In effect skimming more of the tank at once. The other is with the steep transition, you have skimming in a extremely efficient manner. In theory skimming better, but processing a smaller body of water. When both work this well, it's very subjective on which works better, or to point out the differences. You'll find people on both camps describing the differences unique to their perspective. Bottom line is they use the same pump and the skimming shouldn't be that much different in either direction. Compared to past generations of skimmers, they are both great improvements in skimming, and many will make the argument that they are close to the best skimmers for the money. I strongly recommend starting another thread if you want a more detailed answer than whats been provided, it's probably a better venue for the question.
 
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I agree with Stag, its awfully hard to compare these changes. I myself have the original 1A and I wouldn't trade it even for the newer model. I run mine wide open at about 7 inches and its perfect. Black skimmate that I have to empty every 4-5 days.
 
i have yet to set mine up as i am still awaiting my tank but from the freshwater/vinegar bath it looks awesome, it was practically skimming fresh water. do you guys run in it in single pass or recirculating?
 
ive never tried the recirculating mode, mainly because my sump doesnt have the room. i wonder how that would change skimmatem results?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15409552#post15409552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BlueStag
Well it was nice that the thread went this long till the speculators arrived. Lets keep this a review thread, with real world experiences and pictures. Lets keep it on track and keep the opinion type stuff on another thread.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. I'll stop speculating here as to why nobody answers my question. So here's my very topical question about the 1A:

How does the 1A compare in performance to the modded 300A? :D
 
After a few weeks now, my SWC 1A is skimming much better. To read, not overflowing the cup each day with tea. We are now at every 3-4 days to empty the cup. I am running mine in 5 3/4" of water though. I cannot drop it down to 6, 7, or even 8" of water depth or the foam just rolls over the top and the cup fills with water vice skimmate. Hmmmm. Still not sure why I'm the only one with that issue but it is not concerning as it is running well at the current water depth.
 
JJfly, make sure that you have the white insert that goes into the union on the skimmer body in place. That is what reduces the pumps air to 75-80 SCFH...if it is not in place, you will be getting 90-95SCFH which is too much for that body (hence the need to tune down the pump :))
 
Bluestag,

Just wondering how the SWC skimmer is working out for you still (or not). I am looking to pick up a SWC 160 cone skimmer for my tank and heard a lot of good things about them.
 
my swc 160 cone is a monster....you can get the custom mesh sandwich and it goes from 700lph to 900lph....i get 12 ozs of the smelly black stuff every day or two (im also running biopellets though)....before the pellets i had 12 ozs of nasty every 3 days...i turn it off a few times a week and no start up issues at all....its the best skimmer for the price when it comes to noise,skimmate,ease of use,and cleaning.......mine was skimming in 2 hours ....not to mention a replacement pump is only 50$ if some should go wrong...ill put some pics up later today of 1 days worth of skim....
 
sneaton said:
my swc 160 cone is a monster....you can get the custom mesh sandwich and it goes from 700lph to 900lph....i get 12 ozs of the smelly black stuff every day or two (im also running biopellets though)....before the pellets i had 12 ozs of nasty every 3 days...i turn it off a few times a week and no start up issues at all....its the best skimmer for the price when it comes to noise,skimmate,ease of use,and cleaning.......mine was skimming in 2 hours ....not to mention a replacement pump is only 50$ if some should go wrong...ill put some pics up later today of 1 days worth of skim....
Click to expand...

excellent as this was what I was hoping to hear. I am planning on this being my next skimmer. Is it hard to take it apart for cleaning of the pump? What is the actual footprint because I heard to allot for 1" more then the physical size of the base. Also I heard the 6-9" depth is the sweet spot for these skimmers. What are you running yours in?
 
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