Bubble King Skimmer 400 ext.

[Ruth]

I guess part of the fun???? of setting up a new system with new equipment is that it gives you a chance to try out some different equipment than you are used to. Don't know if anyone is really interested but thought I would just post some of my initial reaction to some of the stuff I have put in this new tank.
This skimmer is quite amazing - for me at least. Prior to this the biggest skimmer I had ever used was a ASM G4 (by the way I like the G3 a lot better) So far I have about 330lbs of live rock curing and it is pulling out about 1 1/2 gallons of medium green gunk a day. I am skimming fairly wet and will probably continue this. It is quiet and was not really that hard to set up. The collection cup is huge but I had a problem with UPS shipping and drop kicking this so it came with a broken lid and the seal on the bottom of the cup is leaking. It has a thingy in the bottom however to run the skimmate to an external collector and right now I am just using a salt bucket.
The down side of this skimmer is that it is BIG. The other PITA is that all plumbing parts are European size - I want to extend one of the discharges and am having a hard time finding any PVC to do it. I will probably have to go with a silicone bead to match up size. The other PITA is that if you need parts you usually have to wait for them to come from Europe.
Overall I am very pleased with this skimmer. It's not for everyone and it does come with a very large price tag but I am not regretting my purchase so far.