The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
What's wrong with the seaclone? I'm looking for a skimmer that is compact, quiet, and efficient up to 75gal, so maybe I need some suggestions of some that won't cost me a fortune (i'm thinking in the $150-200 range Canadian$).
Its the pump or powerhead that's plugged in, not the skimmer itself. Normal precaution like the drip loop shuld apply. Otherwise, there is no safety issue plugging in the pump - unless you're standing in the tank when you do it!
I have a CSS 65.. it uses a rio 1100 pump. The seaclones just plain suck. I've seen them working as advertised but those are rarities. The CSS 65 will cost about the same as a seaclone.. cheaper if you get it online.
It's a Coralife super skimmer which you can see is only marginally more than a SeaClone. If you go with the Coralife get the “Needle Wheel” version.
The main reason people will try to talk you out of a SeaClone is their dismal performance in skimming without serious modifications. With the time/money invested into trying to get the SeaClone to work you I think you would be happier if you just bought another skimmer that works better out of the box.