Skilter 250 ?'s

[saltyj]

I bought a skilter 250 today at my LFS it was on sale for $40. Does anyone have any pros or cons to this model/company? Did I get a good deal or did I get taken? I also picked up some ocean's blend calcium and PH/alkalinity suppliments any pros and cons to these? Should I run the skimmer 24/7 or only at night? I am not here to see the unsightly bubbles right now so I may opt to run it 24/7. Thanks for the help
Saltyj

 

[saltyj]

Heres another pic.

 

[snakes'n'fish]

My experience with skilters: they are noisy and are a pain in the butt to keep the skimmer part working right. I did not care for mine. Hopefully you will have better luck.

 

[jrein40806]

I had one and took it back,I couldn't stand the noise. I don't think the skimmer porks real well from what I have read. But, on the positive side, for $40.00 you won't get much more

 

[michelle13]

I have one on a 10 gal and one on a 29 gal. They both work great for me. I modified mine with an airstone to get more skimate. Maybe I'm just lucky though, because they don't work for a lot of people.

 

[cb]

I have a Skilter 250 on my 40g right now and had it on my 20g I have owned it for almost a year now and not had any problems with it. The skimmer part seems to work fine and I have three tanks in this room and don't really notice any excessive noise. $40 is a fair price I paid close to that but ordered mine out of a magazine.

 

[timo]

I started with one on my 30 reef, and it works just as good at skimming as the CPR that replaced it. On my 55, I have two 250's, and they, too, skim as they should. It will take some weeks for them to reach peak efficiency and minimal bubble emmitance.. They are noisy so get used to it. To me it's relaxing.
40$ is a good price for store bought. Mine was 50.
You can periodically remove the pads and vigorously rinse them in seawater every so often before you replace them.
To adjust, I replaced the pull cap on the tube with the twisty one that comes with the Maxi-Jet powerheads. Turn it all the way open, and then back a bit, and let it run like that for a couple of days. Then adjust it again and again till you think it's good (minimal bubbles and maximum skimming).
A new tank won't have much to skim, so don't think it's not working.
HTH

 

[daniel411]

Sounds like a fair price, though you can find the skilter 400 for about 9 dollars more if you look around.
Used a skilter 400 for almost a year on a 90 gallon with great water quality, minimal number of fish.
I just ran the protein skimmer while I was at work, didn't mind the noise than.

 

[saltyj]

Michelle,
What do you mean by you added an airstone to get more skimate?
It is a little loud I am realizing, but I am never home in the day and have a loud fan blowing in my face at night so I cant hear it. And I will sacrifice sleep and comfort for my fishies.

 

[kiddow]

i recently bought a used 250 and just set it up and started it going the other day, it is just now getting foam in the cup and not alot, but mine is quite, i did have to mess with the little pump moter alittle and at first it had lots of micro bubbles but is doing good now, for the price i paid it is all i can expect
mine was retro'ed by drilling a small hole in the top of the cover right over the skimmer tube area and then they put a wooden air stone on air tubing and set it down the tube and ran it with small air pump to make the tiny bubbles come up the tube, this i had to mess with too and get it adjusted, i also put some polyfiber sheet in the water return to cut down bubbles going back into the tank, it also helps with water flow on my 29.
good luck

 

[legion]

Their good if you like the sound of a freight train in your livingroom and a not so good skimmer. I took mine off bought another skimmer and use it as just a power filter on my Q-tank.

 

[sagxman]

The website that TGREENE posted while slightly humorous is a horrible description of the Skilter.
To the original poster of this thread, you got yours at what I believe to be a decent price. I have a Skilter 400 on my 20 Long. I think I purchased it at the same LFS that you got yours. I totally trust them, they know what they are talking about.
The reason I got the skilter was a last ditch effort to get rid of an algae bloom that would not go away. I tried carbon, i tried phosphate reducers, I did near complete water changes, I used that white filter media that removes ammonia, hard metals and medications. Nothing worked. The woman at the LFS said maybe a skimmer. Not wanted to spend too much money on something I wasn't sure would work I bought the Skilter 400. Within 24 hours my green, impossible to see through aquarium, was CRYSTAL CLEAR!!!
The Skilter is the best thing I have ever purchase for my aquarium. I don't know how well it would work on a larger aquarium, but it suits my needs perfectly. I have never had a problem with the noies, with it pulling in air when the intake is closed, or with it not pulling enough stuff out of the water.
It may not be for everyone, but it is a good filter with the added benifit of a skimmer as well.

 

[saltyj]

hey guys,
Don't fight over this I just wanted to ask some questions.
Hey sagxman are you from Kissimmee?
I have messed around with the skilter and got it quiet with quite a few bubbles. I am happy with it so far.

 

[krunk]

i have a 250. i dont thinks it noisy at all. but instead of the filter part, i took that out and put bio balls in.

 

[sagxman]

Don't take my comments as a retaliation to your post of the website. I'm not trying to bash your post in any way. That site may be a trustworthy source. I just wanted to give my opinion of the product which just happens to be for the most part totally opposite of what they say.
On the other topic of trusting LFS's, I've noticed as I read through this message board there is a lot of LFS bashing. Just because someone works in or owns a fish store does not make them total nitwits when it comes to SW fish.
There are some trustworthy sources out there and the LFS that I usually shop in has never led me astray.
And yes SaltyJ, I do live near Kissimmee.

 

[saltyj]

Where in Kissimmee? What LFS do you use?

 

[sagxman]

I live in Champions Gate which is not far from Kissimmee, I probably can't mention the LFS that I go to since they have a website and would probably be considered competition for SWF.com. Email me at sagxman@aol.com and I'll give you the info.
David

 

[rickster]

I dont even consider 20g worth skimming.
R

 

[fshhub]

why, skimming is a great idea for any tank. It does not only remove the junk from the surface, but the organincs from in the water to help with quality
as for the skilter, although cheap, samve your money and get a different one. prizm or seaclone would be a better idea.

 

[sagxman]

My 20g NEEDED skiming. It's the only thing that I found that would get rid of the algea bloom that I had. No one had any better ideas so I spent the money on my skilter. Now I've got a clear tank and at 400gph plus my penguin 150, I'm circulating a lot of water.