Just a quick update,

It took about 14 hours for it to produce it's first skimmate and now at 24 hours the skimmate production is consistent. I have the skimmer in 9" of water and the water level inside the skimmer is 1.25" below the white piece where the cup connects to the skimmer.

At this time, I am impressed with the skimmer. It is doing much better then my last skimmer, H&S A150, which was oversize for my 55g tank with 20gallon sump. Although, the H&S A150 (rated for max 300gallon) is a great skimmer I believe the reason it was not able to produce consistent foam was because my tank did not produce enough waste for the skimmer.

Lastly, its a little early to conclude but I was thinking of getting the Royal Exclusiv Alpha 170 cone for the tank before I decided on the Swc 160 but at this time I am happy I didn't.

Again, a special thanks to TJSlayer for introducing the skimmer.

Sounds like you have it setup similar to mine...

If you find it hard to fine tune the height in the body of the skimmer lowering the water level helped me, But I may have it too low now so I may remove a plate sometime.

Mines sitting at about 7.5" max 8 depending on sump level, but it's pulling consitently dark goo at about 1-1.5" in the cup a day so I'm not going to mes with it right now...

Glad your happy

TJ

I received mine this morning. It still has the hick-ups, but so far I can say this: Very well constructed, easy to disassemble, compact, POWERFUL and very very very silent. Man there's bubbles in there! I'll post soon about how it performs

Welcome to the club Spiny.

TJSlayer, where do you have you water level set? I have mine just below the white collar where the cup connects to the skimmer.

That is eesentially where the majority of the top of my bubble colum is set to, so the bobbles are very dense at the collar and start to break down from there, I find with this I empty the cup every 2-3 days and it is really gross, dark, dark skimate.

And yes welcome to the club spiny, you will be happy.. :)

So I had the skimmer in at about 10" and it wasn't performing to my liking. So I jacked it up with some eggcrate contraption. It's now sitting between 7-8" and it's doing so much better! Much easier to adjust the water level too.

Re: NEW SWC Extreme 160 Cone review
 

Yeah 7-8" seems to be about the sweet spot, otherwise skims really wet

I'm thinking I should lower my water level to 8" from 9"

Re: NEW SWC Extreme 160 Cone review
 

Wouldn't hurt to try it, you will probably find it easier to adjust.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm and I only live like 2 hours away when I pick up my Tank i may have to pick up a skimmer to .. nice review. slayer

Re: NEW SWC Extreme 160 Cone review
 

I thought you had a really nice skimmer? Or are you looking for something smaller?

Mike has a beast of a skimmer Todd,but he's never happy...he's a tester for the worlds skimmer companies.

I should probably be posting this in the general forum but i am torn between getting the cone 120 and the 160. Its for a 50 gallon total water volume, but i like the idea of being able to just swap over the skimmer for when a big upgrade happens and its only about $50 more. From the amount of skimmate you guys are pulling out it seems the 160 will be over kill. any suggestions.

It maybe a little over kill but if you are thinking of upgrading in the future the 160 would work just fine in you're tank. You may not pull the same amount as others but the skimmer will work great. My current setup is 55gallon tank with a 20gallon sump and heavily stocked. My total water volume is approximately 60gallon and the skimmer performs well.

thats what i was thinking. i guess i could always run it on a timer to if it really came down to it.

I believe you'll be happy with the 160. Its hard to beat the price with what you get with the 160.

yea, its would also save some cash in the long run. Buy the 120 run it for a year or two. upgrade. sell it for maybe 120-150. spend the extra on the 160 or more depending on what skimmers are out there at the time.

Great review guys. you have started to convert people with the results!

250-1-a
 

I am thinking about the 250 1A and was wondering if anybody on here has one as i am torn between it and the alpha cone 170. I see the atman pump is quiet i am wondering if the askoll is quiet because i like quiet and the 170 is quiet but i really want to try the 250 (ie nice build)also do those have a spot for ozone Thanks

I never owned any of the two but I've researched/read a lot about both. As a matter of fact I was planning on getting the Alpha 170 but opted to buy the SWC 160 ( because it was cheaper and I've read many good reviews on the skimmer). The alpha 170 and SWC 250 1A are both great skimmers and both are extremely quiet. The problem with comparing them both is that the 250 1A is a larger skimmer and can handle a lot more then the alpha 170. It would depend on the size tank you plan on putting them in.

Thanks for the come back and i think i will have about 220 total gals.but i am a big fan of bigger skimmer cause i may add a fowlr tank to the sump just for a couple i cant have in a reef but have always wanted.

Very pleased with my 160, so far. Skimming very well. Currently in 8in. of water but will be a bit less when in my new SWC sump. Very quiet.

Some pics here in my thread,

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=64517

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...s/DSC01728.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...s/DSC01729.jpg

Figured may as well add these pics from my tank thread. I have owned many skimmers but this is one of the best I have had.

About a good month in now and working like a champ. Since my coral mishap I have been skimming pretty wet and empty about 3/4 cup of good skimmate every few days.

We are starting a promotion on this very skimmer today! Free bag of 550 Extra NpX beads with every purchase!

Glad to see the positive reviews!

Aww. Guess I will have to call someone for mine. :lol:

I have run different water depths now. Had a good 9in. in my 20g sump as compared with 8in. with my SWC sump. Unlike some of the RC thread, I found no difference. Easy to adjust in either situation to run both wet or dry.


This is wet skimming. I either dumped it at lunchtime yesterday or the day before. Not something one remembers closely. :lol:

Where can I get one of these skimmers???

We are the western Canada retailer for SWC.... They are a 2-3 day shipping turn around.

Excellent! Any special pricing?? :) how much to ship to Calgary?

Sorry, we have the best price possible right now as per SWC. Shipping would be about $38.00 right to your door in two maybe three days.
Cheers!