Skilter 250 Power Filter

[nguyen27]

Any one use this in a SW tank before, and how does it perform? Noise/filtering capacity and so on?

 

[HoopsGuru]

Noisy and crappy.

The filter will require a modification in order to do anything, and I would not spend my money on a filter that doesn't work efficiently out of the box. If you do a search HERE and then on www.wetwebmedia.com you will find a bunch of opinions on it.

 

[afilter]

I am currently using one. I agree with HoopsGuru it is very noisy out of the box. With a simple modification it is a very good skimmer for a small tank or used in conjuction with another skimmer. I bought mine on the web ($30.00) for a 20 gal tank before I knew much about them. I now use it on my 75gal tank in conjunction with a Bak PAK and a canister filter. It skims almost as much as the bak pak. I do not use any of the mechanical filtration pads the skilter comes with and have filled the box with bio balls.

The modification is as follows:

Remove the vent tube that comes with it. By a good wood air stone and a small quiet air pump. Take a 35mm film canister(minimizes extra bubbles) and punch a small hole in the bottom(big enough for air line tubing). Place the air stone in the film canister. Put hem both inside the skimmer column and thread the air line tube out the bottom and to the air pump(use a one way flow valve to prevent potential backflow problems).

It now runs really quietly and skims very well. You can put a filter pad in if the bubbles bother you in your tank. I found that the bio balls do an adequate job of keeping excess bubbles out of the tank.

If you are on a budget this is a good option for a protein skimmer on a small tank(30 gal or less) if used with another reliable mechanical filter.

Of course if budget is not a problem their are better options available.

 

[biotoxin]

i use one but strictly for water movement and a place to put my heater. I ripped out the wana be skimmer section of it.

 

[ohio reefer]

how about using one for a qt tank (one that won't be up and running all the time)? i was thinking about getting one to cure live rock. i hate to pay $200 dollars for one that i might use 1/2 dozen times.

tia
mark

p.s. sorry nguyen27 for jumping in its a good ques.

 

[biotoxin]

what would you be paying 200$ for? The skimmer portion of it might be "OK" for cleaning up the die off in your curing tank but who knows. I think youd be better off with just an aquaclear hob filter.

 

[HoopsGuru]

I wouldn't be concerned with a skimmer on a qt tank. A few small water changes would be all that is needed.

 

[ohio reefer]

does anyone use a skimmer when they cure live rock? i was reading that you should use one. could i get away without using one?

TIA

mark

 

[HoopsGuru]

All you would have to do is siphon out some of the crap that settles to the bottom with a few small water changes, IMO a skimmer for just this purpose would be a waste of $$$.

 

[ohio reefer]

thanks for the help

mark

 

[dralarms]

I must have the only skilter 250 that works. Mine is noisy sure but it cleans the stuff off the tank (46 gal) just fine. As a matter of fact the filter portion got full (don't know why I'm still using the filter) and I noticed quite a bit of stuff on top of the water. Changed the filter and it cleaned it up in a few hours.