Skimz skimmer club

[myram]

That's my SM-161 in my 30 breeder sump



That's 3 days of skimmate, still dialing it in but I think I'm pretty close now.

[indyjaco]

BRS has the Skimz 203 DC on sale for a good rate. How would it do on a 180? What DC pump does it use? I read above there has been some issue with them.

Thank you.

[Reeftub]

I saw that also,
Six RPM presets
Feed mode with shut off timer
Air Draw: 238-476 GPH (900-1800 LPH)
Power Consumption: 13-35 Watts
I have the sm253 cd on my 190
It does good only thing is my tank isn't completely stocked and so it doesn't put the nasty dark stuff yet. Tank is less than a year old. I would run the 203 cuz it's less space and will cover the 180 just fine.

[kegogut]

Ive got the SM201 and now that its on a platform i made and in my 225 w/ 225 sump its pulling out the nastiest gunk Ive ever seen.

[Reeftub]

How deep do you have in the water?

[kegogut]

I believe its 9 inches . I'll double check to make sure.

[Reeftub]

That's what I'm at too

[scottsdale454ss]

i just got a SM201 and it leaks under the collection cup, ill have to contact the company after work

[Sn8kbyt]

Originally Posted by Eric Boerner

I've had a SKIMZ SM253 Monzter for 5 months and so far (knock on wood) it's been the best skimmer I've owned. Adjusting for skimmate quality is great. I can get a nice thick black sludge without getting too thick, or too thin. The massive 2 gallon collection cup is necessary. I'm not using as much bio-pellet as I though I would with the amount of nutrients I have in the tank, so I know the skimmer is killing it big time. The DC pump is nice on the Apex, slowing it down during feed times, then ramping it back up 30 minutes later.

Eric,

How do you have it hooked to the apex?

Thanks,
Chris

[davidfrances]

Originally Posted by scottsdale454ss

i just got a SM201 and it leaks under the collection cup, ill have to contact the company after work

Just wait until the impeller magnet swells up and cracks. The pump will seize up and stop. I have had 3 fail in the last 20 months.

[scottsdale454ss]

Originally Posted by davidfrances

Just wait until the impeller magnet swells up and cracks. The pump will seize up and stop. I have had 3 fail in the last 20 months.

Fantastic. Its pretty annoying that this company is in another country. Why dont we have some nice American made skimmers?


Did you get replacement pumps under warranty?? Who did you contact? The skimz.sg site? Did you email or call?

[Jerel]

I've got a SM163 MONZTER for my new system.

[davidfrances]

I purchased two (2) Skimz SM 251's a little over two years ago when I first set up my DT's. I spent a fair bit of time researching the product, and finally purchased them on the advice from Aqua Cave. I subsequently acquired a SM 121 for my frag system.

Overall, I have been very disappointed with the pumps on the Skimz. The cords on two of the pumps started to leak electrical current into the water, resulting in some electrifying moments. Impellers last about 6 months, I have replaced four, and now just noticed that I have two more that have failed.

Basically, the plastic cover on the impeller magnet will swell and crack, and the pump then binds and stops. I do not run ozone in my tanks, and cannot understand why this failure occurs.

The skimmer body and construction is top notch, but my experience with the pumps is less than satisfactory. Customer service from the manufacturer is non-existent, and customer service from the retailer is poor. I have replaced a few of the pumps through the extended warranty offered by my credit card, but now even that has expired.

The cost of the replacement pumps on my SM 251's is almost $200, and replacement impellers are $100. I am just tired of dealing with these POS's.

I am replacing the Skimz on my DT's with another product, but I cannot caution people enough against the Skimz pumps.

[myram]

I just had to replace the pump on my Skimz SM-161. During a routine cleaning, the electrical cord fell off the pump. I'm guessing this is what was putting voltage into my system that I couldn't find. I was lucky that the pump was under a year old, and Aquacave replaced it under warranty. But I also went ahead and bought a replacement pump for the skimmer, but it was $180 for it.

I love the skimmer, but I keep hearing from others online about the pump and impeller problems.

[davidfrances]

I am contemplating filing a written complaint with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. You should consider it.

[myram]

Does any other pump fit the Skimz line of skimmers?

Has anyone every used a Sicce pump in them? They look very similar to the Eden pumps that come with them.

I was surprised when I got the skimmer that it wasn't a grounded 3 wire plug on the pump, just a thin 2 wire plug. I love the skimmer.....great build quality and performance..........but the pump seems to be a weakness.

[davidfrances]

It might have been a little unfair to post criticism of the Skimz product, without proof, so here you go.

This impeller failed catastrophically:



I had to dig the pieces out of the pump.

This is what it looks like without the plastic sleeve:



You can see how the metal cover on the magnet is beginning to corrode.

Here are a couple of other impellers, this is how they look after 90-120 days of operation. The plastic sleeve has just begun to crack and swell, and at this point the impeller will bind up in the pump and stop working.





I wondered if the pumps would work if I removed the plastic cover? Yeah, the pump sounds like a concrete drill for a couple hours and then stops working.

The Skimz product is terrible. Caveat emptor.

[alf1096]

I really like the idea of a dc skimmer because the feed pump would make my life easier but am afraid of the pumps and support. Would you buy this skimmer again. It's between the sm163 or the aquamaxx. Suggestions

[joeyjoe35]

Originally Posted by myram

I just had to replace the pump on my Skimz SM-161. During a routine cleaning, the electrical cord fell off the pump. I'm guessing this is what was putting voltage into my system that I couldn't find. I was lucky that the pump was under a year old, and Aquacave replaced it under warranty. But I also went ahead and bought a replacement pump for the skimmer, but it was $180 for it.

I love the skimmer, but I keep hearing from others online about the pump and impeller problems.

This just happened to me as well. I was at a year and 3 months so I had to purchase a replacement.

[fewponds]

Originally Posted by alf1096

I really like the idea of a dc skimmer because the feed pump would make my life easier but am afraid of the pumps and support. Would you buy this skimmer again. It's between the sm163 or the aquamaxx. Suggestions

Never again. DC pump changed twice during first year of operation.

[bluecoyote79]

I have the SM-163 and it's been problem free after 6 months, but I don't want to jinx it. If I had to replace the pump, I'd replace it with the newest version of the Reef Octopus DC-3500 pump. They appear to have a nearly identical external shape.

[myram]

Originally Posted by alf1096

It's between the sm163 or the aquamaxx. Suggestions

I would pick Aquamaxx.

I was going to go with an Aquamaxx CO-1, but it needed 9.5" of water and I only have 8". The Skimz SM-161 fit my sump perfect and does perform very very well, but the pump is the obvious weakness.

[alf1096]

Thanks you have made my decision much easier.

[Reeftub]

Ok so has anyone with the DC style pumps have any issues? And how long? I have the sm-253 dc and it's been running for sometime but just curios

[Mike S]

The DC pump on my SL253 quit at about 11 months. Aqua Cave took care of it under warranty. They indicated that they've had a few issues with them. I seem to recall other manufacturers having similiar problems with DC pumps. If mine dines again I will probably replace it with a bubble blaster or another standard pump. That is one advantage and part of the reason that I went with a skimmer with an external pump.