Skilter filter

[saltwater]

I have a 250 Skilter with protein skimmer all-in-one. It's been running for month now on my 30 gal. FOWLR aquarium. I also have 2 shrimps and 3 blue-legged crabs. Well, the filter has never produced any bubbles. Does that mean is not working properly?

[reefrunner69]

Skilter Filter ****BAD****


Check out that post for more info on skilter filters.

[OmarD]

I do not know about the 250...but I have the 400 model and I think it must work the same...

Have been running in a 55 gal. tank for a month now, going thru first cycle.

You "MUST" have "bubbles" for the skimmer to work. If assembled correctly there should be a little tube coming out near top of filter with a small white cap inserted. This is the air intake valve and must be pulled out slightly to allow air into skimmer...making "bubbles" - more pulled out...more air...smaller the bubbles the better...

HOWEVER...IT IS VERY NOISY!...a well published "fix" is the placement of a 1" airstone at the base of the skimmer tower connected to a small "quiet" airpump...makes all the difference in the world and gets much nicer bubble action...

DONT BELIEVE ALL YOU HEAR ABOUT "SKILTER's"...they are underrated by most who have had little practical experience with them...they are the perfect starter filter system for those with little experience and without allot of $ to race out and buy a "Mercedes" system. Should make a great supplemental system if and when you decide to "grow" out of it...

RGDS

OmarD

[HoopsGuru]

DONT BELIEVE ALL YOU HEAR ABOUT "SKILTER's"...they are underrated by most who have had little practical experience with them...they are the perfect starter filter system for those with little experience and without allot of $ to race out and buy a "Mercedes" system. Should make a great supplemental system if and when you decide to "grow" out of it...

I would imagine this rightfully earns its poor reputation considering it is relatively useless out of the box from the company.

Are they really has loud as people say? I said, are they really as loud as people say?

[XXFirefighter]

Well i got scared enough into just buying more live rock and just getting a aqua c remora skimmer....

[biotoxin]

a skilter filter was pooly designed but it can be easily fixed by adding an air stone and shutting off the venturi on the pump. The main reason (as ive stated in another post "skilter filter ***bad***") is that the reaction chamber is too small for enough dwell time to occur. The bubbles dont have enough time in such a small area to collect the bacteria and other matter from the tank. Simply extending the reaction chamber and following the other modifications listed on sites like ozreef.org your skilter should work fine. Like omard said dont believe the hype. Its ridiculous to pay 150$ for skimmers out there especially if you have a small tank.

ALSO...keep in mind that even with the best skimmer on a non established tank you wont get dark foam until the skimmer has had time to be broken in.

[HoopsGuru]

As long as you have to rebuild the Skilter why not just build your own skimmer entirely? Personally, I'd rather do that or do frequent water changes on a small tank rather than support a company that makes an inadequate product but markets it as an adequate one. But, this is more about ethics than the skimmer itself.

[biotoxin]

hoops, im only doing it because i have a nano. On my next 55 gal i will build my own.

[quangtranil]

Hello OmarD,

I just received my Skilter 250. You mentioned "a well published "fix" is the placement of a 1" airstone at the base of the skimmer tower connected to a small "quiet" airpump...makes all the difference in the world and gets much nicer bubble action..."

Please show me how to do this. I would appreciate very much.

I read Doug Coverdale's article regarding the Skilter 250 Modification, but I do not know where to place the 35mm film canister, and how to connect the other end of the airline tube to an external airpump?

Thanks.

[HoopsGuru]

I was only commenting that rather than rebuild and support a crappy product, maybe it would be best to custom make one tailored to your tank....I would imagine it would be almost as cheap? I just think it stinks that the manufactures of the Skilter make money, yet the customer has to make them work.

[saltwater]

Thanks Omar, I pulled the "plug" and let more air in making bubbles of course. It is REALLY NOISY so at night I put the plug back in. If you can give a little more details on that adding 1" of something that would be great. Thanks to all of you who replied to my post.

[biotoxin]

he means you just put a 1" airstone where the venturi should be shooting in bubbles instead of the pump making bubbles in the reaction chamber

[saltwater]

oooh, THANKS! I will try that.

[dralarms]

Originally Posted by biotoxin

he means you just put a 1" airstone where the venturi should be shooting in bubbles instead of the pump making bubbles in the reaction chamber

Please explain this to a real newbe Me

[wseaton]

I would imagine this rightfully earns its poor reputation considering it is relatively useless out of the box from the company

The problem with skilter filters is the same problem with most filters in general - poor engineering and slick marketing. There's no reason you couldn't build a skilter with good operational efficiency. The problem is, nobody does this.

Any really good skimmer with a gravity fed box filter attached to the outflow would make a good skilter. Considering that most filter makers are more concerned with selling those worthless disposable filter replacements vs making a decent filter makes this next to impossible from a marketing standpoint.

*All* venturi based skimmers in my experience are inadequate. A 2litre Coke bottle with the bottom cut off with an air stone shoved inside is a better skimmer than 95% of the skimmers on the market.