Skilter250 Mod

I just finished modifying a new Skilter250 Power Filter/Protein Skimmer unit for my 10 gallon reef. It is now totally quiet, bubble-free, and it is skimming well, producing fairly dry foam and brown skimate. The mods were all done with things I had at hand, so there was no cost to me to perform them. None of this is my invention...all the information necessary is posted through the web in several places. I found that photos were very few, so I decided to post some. This may help some understand the process (a picture's worth a thousand words).

Skimmer Mod (bubbles and noise correction):

1) Take a 35mm film cannister and cut the thickened rim where the lid snaps off with an x-acto knife. This is so that the cannister fits through the top of the skimmer tube. If you have not assembled your unit yet, no need for this step.
2) Drill a hole in the center of the bottom of the film cannister (careful, it's brittle plastic) large enough for the stem of a 2" wood airblock to fit through. After inserting the airblock in the cannister, attach a length of airline tubing to the airblock stem sticking through the drilled hole.
3) Feed the airline through one of the factory openings in the bottom of the skimmer column, with the cannister and airblock as close to the bottom of the skimmer as you can get them without pinching the airline. Use a suction cup airline holder to attach the airline to an inside wall of the sump to "fix" the airstone in place. Remember you will have to change the air block once a month, so leave slack in the tubing so you can fish the airblock/cannister from the top when the time comes.
4) Take the rest of the line outside the sump through the water return weir opening. Cut the line and insert a "tee" with an airline valve for fine adjustment and to cut the skimming while feeding corals. Attach the airline to the outside wall of the sump to fix the valve in one place.
5) Connect to an airpump. Mine is a 60 gallon tank-rated pump and it has more than enough power to drive the skimmer. Skim.



Left side of modified Skilter250 showing film cannister/airblock inside skimmer (in operation) and air regulator valve on sump side.

Skimmate tray overflow Mod (keeps overflow from spilling on floor or in tank):

1) Drill a hole close to the top of the side of the skimmer skimate tray large enough to provide a tight fit to a 1/2" or 3/8" pvc threaded to pressure fitting connector. The hole should be located over the Power Filter's water return weir in case of line breakage or leaks to avoid floor spills-the overflow would then flow into the tank to be cleaned again. Indert threaded end into hole. You can use sealant to glue fitting in place. I didn't, as this is a low pressure line, so it probably would not leak.
2) Connect a short run of tubing (1/2" or 3/8") from the pvc fitting to the sump over the Skilter's venturi air intake and power filter intake wand. I notched the top of mine to fit under the skimmer tray and to stay in place better. I ended up using black pond tubing because I had it at hand (and the pvc fitting too-from a previous project).



The overflow line. Large diameter tubing is essential. Water builds up fast in the skimmer tray if you mis-adjust the skimmer!



Top of modified Skilter250 showing line routing, overflow vent and foam in the collection tray.

This Skilter250 mod is working great for my 10 gal reef. It probably would not do well on anything much larger, but at $30.00 plus modification parts (mine were free) it is a good deal. It also has the advantage of providing a pretty large sump in clear plastic that can be useful to keep macro algae in (with an appropriate lighting retrofit-in the future) and providing 200 gph over apretty wide weir for good surface aeration. The modification eliminated most of the Skilter's air bubbles escaping through to the tank, and the only noise produced now is the hum of my air pump. [note: upon changing the filter media a small amount of bubbles were dumped into the tank until the filter lost some of it;s "transparency"]

;D

 

An update (in case anyone is actually reading this):

The modified Skilter 250 is broken-in and working beautifully! I have mastered the water/air mix and produce very dry foam. The tray fills and needs emptying about twice a week at this rate, and the liquid in it is dark brown. It's a great combo power filter and skimmer for a 10 gal., with the mods I describe above.

 

Thanks for the good information. I'm running one on my 29 gal. I have the airpump connected to mine, and was going to do the film cannister, but sort of forgot until I was all done putting it back together. (I have charcoal in mine and made a sleeve in the chamber to keep it out.)

 

By a sleeve in the chamber do you mean the bottom of the skimmer or the power filter sump?

The film cannister works great at keeping bubbles out of your tank. Remember to allow enough airline to let the cannister up to the top to change your airstone/wood block. I found that the height on the cannister/woodblock affects the bubbles and the skimmer efficiency, so you will have to adjust the height until you get what you want.

Thanks for replying! ;D I thought no one was reading this...

 

No, what I did was take a water bottle, cut top off, remove label/glue and burn holes in it with a soldering iron. I'm running carbon in it, and it was noisy and driving me bonkers. The sleeve I handcrafted keeps the carbon out of the chamber, and keeps the water flowing. I burned holes for the tubing and for the water inlet area. Haven't done any modifications to the skimmer other than the corallife wood air stone and air pump. Lucky for you that you are able to pull it out the top. For some reason, mine won't fit thru.
I've got another couple weeks before I have to undo everything and replace the stone.
I do have part of a filter in there to keep the carbon form getting into the tank, although a few snuck by. Tilted the skilter more towards the top to the tank for better water flow, the water level kept climbing...

I paid about 70 bucks for it, and about a month ago, saw them for less than 20. thinking about getting a back up, or run them both.
Still have nitrate problems, but I think it's better. Besides, the water is clear, doesn't smell, everyone is zipping around the tank. (watch-by tomorrow I'll have a casualty)

Half tempted to get a water filter for under the sink, and hooking pumps up to that to filter the water. Just toying with the idea right now. Seem like everything for the tank is 3-4 time MORE expensive than it should be.

Nice to have a fellow skilter friend to chat to about that evil creature hanging on the back the tank.

BTW, when you touch your pump, is it hot? Mine is. Had leaking problems, but teflon tape solved that problem...

cheapest replacement filters I found were from petguys.com.

 

Yeah, just went and touched it...it's warm, while the nano filter I use to run a surface skimmer is not... Maybe a pump retrofit project lies in the future..! Or a fan kit...;D No leaks in mine (yet). Did they appear at the start, or did the leak show up later?

Important:To get the airstone out from the top cut the rim off the film cannister so it will fit. I am also using a Coralife 2" wood airstone, which I have not tried to change yet, but it went down the "chimney" riding inside the cannister. It was a tight fit, so maybe I won't be able to get it out that way when I try in one more week (trying to make it last a month). I plan to use a long stick with a push pin on the end to get it out (hoping the wood is soft after a month in water). If not, it's easy enough to remove the entire skimmer tube, I guess.

Since my tank is only 10 gallons, the Skilter provides me great filtration and water movement. As I said, I also have a nano power filter running a little surface skimmer to improve air exchange. I have Poly Filter in it for chemical filtration. I have a small bag of Algone phosphate sponge in both, although I run on R/O water. It doesn't take much to send 10 gallons out of balance, so I'm not a purist about "band-aids".

I got my Skilter 250 for $29.00 on sale at Pet Solutions. I notice it's $34.99 in their catalog now... The 400 is $47.99. I paid around $7.00 for a three-pack filter media at my LFS, they have a 4-pack for $5.29... At $20.00 the Skilter is a deal. I bet, if it weren't for their reputation, someone could make a fortune in eBay selling them, modified, for $80.00 to $100.00! Wish I had the time...

Yes, it's great to find someone else running the same jalopy. It's also great to see something that isn't supposed to work well doing such a great job, and to know at least one other person is doing the same...

Keep in touch, Wendy, and thanks for responding to my post (there is someone out there! ;D ).

 

Sounds like you have everything under control over there.
My leaks started later, so make sure you have a good drip loop.
Enjoy your goodies!!!

 

I changed the airblock (Coralife wooden airstone) today for the first time, and everything went according to plan. I played out the airline tubing after opening the air relief valve on the line, but with the power filter still going. I inserted a bamboo skewer between the airblock and the cannister and was able to pull it out easily through the top of the skimmer chimney. I disconnected the airline from the airblock and inserted the bamboo skewer into the airline so it would not fall into the skimmer while I replaced the old airblock in the film cannister with a new one. Then I just connected the airline again, dropped the cannister/airblock through the top, pulled the airline until the cannister was positioned at the depth I wanted, and turned the air back on. No sweat!

 

Lucky you! Mine won't fit thru the opening. (insert bad word here.) Wanting to do some wicked upgrade on my filter. Nitrate spike, yet again...

 

Hmmm... and you cut the rim off the cannister? Your skilter must be different than mine!