Coralife Super Skimmer 125

I have the 65 and love it, absolutely no complaints. Been running it for over a year.

 

No, Katie. They're not the same skimmer. The 125 is significantly less expensive new, than the 220.

See the links for the Coralife Super Skimmer 125, and the Coralife Super Skimmer 220.

The dimensions are different, but I believe the pump is the same. The body on the 220 is a good deal larger.

I had both before I replaced the 220 with the XP-2000.

 

Ive been involved with 2 coral life skimmers on other peoples tanks. I couldnt get them to skim worth a darn. The gate valve thingy was extremely sensitive and in the end they only skimmed much when the water level in the sump was perfect. Yeah, the flex pipe on the pump too. Not a big deal as long as you leave it alone. Could have just been me. They were both about 5 years old with original pumps so thats good. I lost patience with both of them and convinced the owners to get Euro reefs. Ive heard mixed for years now.

 

I guess I will chime in here as the skimmer in question is the one she was going to buy from me. The skimmer works well but as previously stated does take some daily fine tuning. It is dependant on maintaining a constant water level if you dont want to adjust it daily. I also found that if you get rid of the factory bubble trap and replace it with pvc and a sponge it does work better. I upgraded from the CSS125 only because I found a EuroReef for a great price and couldnt pass it up. Here is a photo of the skimmer along with the pvc that I set up in place of the factory bubble trap.

 

Wow! I really dont like that huge box contraption with the sponge they set up... THats a good idea for it! +K Thanks

 

Sorry ibefishy. It was never my intent to hurt a sale.:-X

 

the way mines setup, the return is a flex hose which runs back through some sponge filter media. mines also worked fine through different sump water levels. dunno why. lol

 

I have the 65g version and I love it. Its moded now to fit my needs
I hated the bubble box so I did some costume plumbing and use a filter sponge at the end. Also replaced the cheap clear plastic pipe to the pump with a heavier duty. Did not cost me that much plus i like tinkering with stuff. It skims better then one of the euro reefs that I have had.

 

I think some of the gripes directed at the Coralife skimmer, are issues that will manifest themselves with almost any skimmer. Much as I hate absolutes, "all" skimmers need to be in a consistent water level. The bubble level that determines if the skimmer wet or dry skims (and determines if the skimmer will overflow) is a level that doesn't have a lot of swing room. Too high, and it overflows. Too low and it doesn't produce any skimmate. The bubble column's level is 100% dependent upon head pressure. Head pressure changes with water level; so it's no surprise that a skimmer in a fluctuating water level will either overflow, or not skim. If a skimmer is sitting in water that is high one day and low the next, then the problem is with the design of the system, not the skimmer.

The solution is to place your skimmer in a sump compartment that is dictated by a baffle. In such a scenario, there is no possibility for water level to change. If you're using the skimmer HOB style, as long as the aqarium water level is consistent, it should be a non-issue.

If you think that issue is bad with the coralife, you'd hate the XP-2000. I love it, but the tuning nut is so sensitive, that a half-turn in either direction will not effect a change in the height of the bubble column for at least 24 hours. IMO, this is a sign of quality, as this is the epitome of fine tuning. The downside of this phenomenon is that it takes time to get it dialed in, but once it's there, it's solid. IME, the same is the case for the Coralife, it's just not powered by a pump as good as the bubble blaster.

The second "issue" regarding the Coralife, is the tubing from which the pump hangs is too short. As a result, the weight of the pump is always bearing on the skimmer body. Design flaw for sure, but easily circumvented with a longer tube. To remedy this, I ditched the first hose, and with a new piece of tubing, on a table top outside the sump; adjusted the length until the pump sat at the same level as the bottom of the skimmer. Problem solved.

IME, in this hobby sometimes you have to tweak things. In a perfect world it shouldn't be necessary, but in reality sometimes you have to work with what you have.

If there's a downside to the Coralife Super Skimmer it's that the tuning knob is pretty unforgiving--if you turn it too much in one direction, you have to reverse the nut and go back and forth until the level in the skimmer body suits your needs.

In my 2 years or so with the Coralife, I don't think I had to touch that nut one time, once it was dialed in. Of course this was dependent upon the water level being solid--and it was.

Are there better skimmers out there? You bet. Is the Coralife Skimmer a good skimmer? You bet.

If you have all the money you want--I'd recommend a cone skimmer, but sometimes. . .well, you know.

 

Drop this and get a real Skimmer....ASM G1X for your tank....check into the reviews.....IMPO