Red Sea Prizm skimmer

[hermit enthusiast]

My skimmer isn't working. I just got it today and have read the directions and troubleshooting and did what it said but it hasn't worked. Has this happened to any of you? How did you fix it?

 

[dburr]

Did you plug it in?
What is not working? Are you pulling water? Did you fill the chamber with water to prime it? Is it pulling air?
Please give more detail

 

[hermit enthusiast]

I figured it out. I feel really dumb. I was putting the water in the wrong chamber. Thanks for the advise anyways.

 

[pufferlover]

Great Skimmer for the cost. I adore mine on my full reef.

 

[lion-fish]

It's a piece of crap, 2 much maintnance and is very weak, used it on my 46gal reef and it barely did the job, so I just received a PM Hot-1 Skimmer and it does not look like a cheap toy, as soon as i set it up it started pulling skimate, the prizm was nice at the begining but lost steam in the long run, the Hot-1 is build for easy maintnance and no cloging anywhere do to nice size inlet and outlet, it is a venturi style skimmer without woodstone uses pump with airline, I will let you know in a few weeks how it performs, cya.

 

[pufferlover]

Well for a hang on unit I have had nothing but good performance from my Prizm. It skims quite well and I find it easy to clean when needed, and better yet once set I do not have to fool with changing flow rates. I still think for the price (as low as 69 bucks at some sites) it is a good piece of equipement for the "simple is better" people like myself.

 

[mlm]

I like my prizm so far although I am having trouble finding the ideal setting. The instructions say to put it full open but when I do this it fills up fast with water. Any suggestions on how to adjust this thing for best performance?
mlm

 

[pufferlover]

mlm: actually you are right at full open you will get water. What you need to do (trust me on this) is just barely open it at all (just a tweak) you want the water line below the neck of the skimmer (just below). In many posts here it has been agreed that you must just barely open it and then it works fine (makes you wonder why they don't tell you taht in the instructions). Any more problems get back to me thru my homepage or here and I will try to help you get it right.

 

[beecher]

I found that you have to be patient with the Prizm. I was disappointed in the thing for a good two weeks before it started working to my expectations.

 

[up north hermit]

Well I have had mine for almost a year now, and I am completely satisfied with this skimmer. For my size tank it is a workaholic. IMHO I would not recommend it for over a 55 gallon tank. But for smaller tanks it is a great little skimmer, once "tweaked", as above posts have advised.
Now mine runs constantly with the adjuster set to 2 o'clock (looking from the front of the tank). In the beginning it was barely open, but once it settled in this is where it leveled out. BTW, don't expect this skimmer to work at all if your tank is new, it may tank several weeks to a couple of months. Won't work at all if your tank is too clean.
HTH
Hermit

 

[zachary]

I've always had my prizm barely open and wondered why that was. Good to see it's normal. I went with the prizm against advice because I have a 75gal. But I gotta tell ya, has done wonders to my tank. Every three days I empty tons of gunk and I have no nitrates. I don't know how else to measure it's success. Anybody else?

 

[beth]

I have a Prizm and it is ok...for the price. However, I would be in the market for something better. I want either hang-on or stand alone [no sump]. I'd be interested in hearing more about the HOT. Who makes it? Is it hangon??
Anybody have recommendations for a hangon or a stand alone? I have a 72gal. How about you Salty? I know you love equiptment!