Not as quiet as my prizm pro, but had better contact time and more foam. I took some time 3-4 days to get going as it removes the sludge from the water. once i got it working it was awsome. I went from a 100g to a 150 g and I have some messy fish so i needed a skimmer that was rated higher. But all in all, if I had a sump I would have kept it and just added a second smaller skimmer. My set up will not allow it. Also it is nice and long, and had a smaller foot print to t5he others in its class, this made it a great buy as i could get my tank closer to the wall, the berlin hang on would have put my tank 10" from the wall. So i have it ready to ship, and it is plug and play. Just takes time to adjust, also i will send the user guid and warranty card not filled out, and it is still under warranty, and has about a month of use.