Skimz SM252 skimmer

[fishoholic]

A few weeks ago my SWC skimmer pump died on me and since my system is large and well stocked, not running a skimmer would not be a very good idea. I talked to Doug about what I could do and thankfully he was able to get a hold of Dave and Dave recommended a Skimz SM252 skimmer which thankfully he had in stock. Never heard of this skimmer before but it was readily available and looked good on the website (plus I trust Dave and Doug's opinion) so I bought it and Doug brought it up for me and he got it all set up and working. Took about a week to dial it in just right but so far it's been a great skimmer and is quite the beast

Here's the link to the website info
http://www.conceptaquatics.ca/index....ers/sm252.html

and here's a couple of pic.'s of it in action (cleaned the cup out the day before)




and a video


Highly recommend this skimmer to anyone with a large system

[Myka]

Skimz are great skimmers. SWC is the econo version of the Skimz.

[Aqua-Digital]

You cant beat a Skimz for quality and price, it really is an awesome brand.

Still getting its name known for sure but I have not seen one bad review yet! The quality matches skimmers 3 times the price!

[viperfish]

Originally Posted by Myka

Skimz are great skimmers. SWC is the econo version of the Skimz.

Sorry Myka, you're wrong on that one. I've owned both and I would say they are comparable. Personally, my experience with Skimz wasn't great and I have had much better performance out of my SWC. I honestly think at a given price point both companies have equally capable skimmers. You're not getting Bubble King or Deltec quality from either one of these but they do the job.

[Aqua-Digital]

I think everyone will have their favourites but i do not see these two brands in the same arena. When going into battle as a distributor with a skimmer you have to make sure the brand has something unique and different to offer, this is why we chose Skimz and Bubble Magus, one at the entry level end that does the job, the other offer high end capabilities and build quailty at an affordable price.

The SWC uses the same pump Bubble magus use for their economy brand in the smaller models where as Skimz are using pumps made by the same manufacturer of Eheim.

Although I have not personally measured it I am also told the acrylic is thicker and more polished in finish, I will take users word for that one happily. The comparison to Deltec quality has been made more than once and not by me but various times on Reef central independantly.

I am not being biased although you will of course see it as such, however I am not sure they both can be judged in the same arena due to the functionality that one offers over the other, especially when one uses cheaper (Chinese) pumps.

To save an epic Canreef battle lets just say we all have our favourites for our own reasons

[viperfish]

So you're comparing Skimz to Deltec and Bubble King? Give me a break! FYI, I'm running an SWC 230, it has an Askoll pump that will compete with anything Skimz has. I understand you're out to make a sale but there's no need to overdo it!

[reefbyremote]

Originally Posted by Aqua-Digital

I think everyone will have their favourites but i do not see these two brands in the same arena. When going into battle as a distributor with a skimmer you have to make sure the brand has something unique and different to offer, this is why we chose Skimz and Bubble Magus, one at the entry level end that does the job, the other offer high end capabilities and build quailty at an affordable price.

The SWC uses the same pump Bubble magus use for their economy brand in the smaller models where as Skimz are using pumps made by the same manufacturer of Eheim.

Although I have not personally measured it I am also told the acrylic is thicker and more polished in finish, I will take users word for that one happily. The comparison to Deltec quality has been made more than once and not by me but various times on Reef central independantly.

I am not being biased although you will of course see it as such, however I am not sure they both can be judged in the same arena due to the functionality that one offers over the other, especially when one uses cheaper (Chinese) pumps.

To save an epic Canreef battle lets just say we all have our favourites for our own reasons

After reading this, I don't know why, but I feel a need to have a shower.

Sorry for my honesty

[fishoholic]

Personally for myself my new skimz is a bit touchier then my SWC skimmer but once it's dialed in it seems to work well. BTW the trick with the skimz is wrapping a bunch of elastic bands around the part you turn to dial it in. I found the vibrations going through the skimmer kept turning the dial up which made it impossible to dial in, until Doug put a bunch of elastic rubber bands around it to hold it into place.

That being said my SWC has always worked well and I have no complaints other then the stupid askol pump (which is supposed to be the best-same pump as bubble king) died on me way before it should have, and it was a huge PITA to find a replacement for it.

As for acrylic quality, both skimmers seem pretty much the same to me, skimz might be a bit thicker but I'd say they're fairly close in comparison.

Although I'm not much of an equipment person so I'm no expert, I'm just happy it works and works well

[Aqua-Digital]

Originally Posted by medhatreefguy

So you're comparing Skimz to Deltec and Bubble King? Give me a break! FYI, I'm running an SWC 230, it has an Askoll pump that will compete with anything Skimz has. I understand you're out to make a sale but there's no need to overdo it!

I guess you miss-read what I wrote I stated quite clearly I had not personally made the comparison but users have said the "build quality" was equal. Dont shoot the messenger. AS I personally have never put my grubby fingers on either I am not going to make such statements but happy to pass on users own comments either said to me in person or mentioned on forums. The old saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" I think puts that in percepective. I really dont want to make a HUGE thread out of that, but in true Canreef epic thread style I will grab my popcorn now

Originally Posted by Aqua-Digital

Although I have not personally measured it I am also told the acrylic is thicker and more polished in finish, I will take users word for that one happily. The comparison to Deltec quality has been made more than once and not by me but various times on Reef central independantly.

Originally Posted by medhatreefguy

I'm running an SWC 230, it has an Askoll pump that will compete with anything Skimz has.

FYI the Skimz Leopard is Askoll driven And in regards to competing, again thats being personally subjective defending what you feel is best for you, ( we all have that right, its called free speach) however it does not in any way make or prove the product to be better, and is no different than my own personal thoughts the Skimz offers more - again down to the users/buyers own personal assessment of the product.







http://www.skimz.sg/blog/?p=1245

To close - until we get a very independant review on ALL skimmers these sorts of threads will always boost the popcorn industry for sure. There is such a massive amount of skimmers to choose from now it is hard sometimes even to tell them apart, so what we see people looking for are the finer qualities in build, pump type, reasonable price and above all service and support, someone on hand 7 days a week to answer any question swiftly, and if something goes wrong you know through experience you will have no issue getting it resolved.

And to put the cat amongst the pigeons I do also think the days of the $1,000 skimmer for a 200 gallon tank are long gone.

Epic thread alert, thats given you all something to tear apart, but I am off to stuff a well fed bird - Happy Thanksgiving everyone

[viperfish]

Aquadigital, I tried to be fair and say SWC and Skimz were on par and the reigning kings of the skimmer world were Deltec and Bubble King. You make big claims without substantiating them with facts. You seem to start a ruckus with every post you submit and even go as far as deleting posts from your threads that you don't agree with, then talk about free speech, give me a break! Last week you went out of your way to discourage people from buying Ecotech lights from another member. You're a distributor, building relationships should be your priority, not bashing people for buying a different brand than you are selling.The only posts you submit are to promote your products which leads me to think you're not a hardcore reefer, just a salesman. I don't see these kinds of tactics from other distributors, you could take a pointer or two from them!