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Eheim Skim 350 Modifications review
- Thread starter Hufsa
- Start date
Hi and 🙏, that's very kind of you. As you rightfully noted I am in Thailand. Don't worry I can easily source that here. This said I am not sure that mod works well. The fact is that I did try it some time ago and that actually impedes proper water/air flow in and out of the skimmer and tends to end up sinking the floater. Maybe the mesh I used wast too small though. I might try the mod from @Kalum (The Island - ADA 75P - It's been a while....) later on another tank.
In the meantime I got really tired of trying to find a decent long term fix so I purchased the SunSun JY-03. It's only been one day so I can't give a honest opinion on it yet but it does seem to work well. It also seems that any shrimps that would get sucked in there would have better chances of survival than in the Eheim. The only draw back I have seen so far is that the flow regulator is pretty much useless in my opinion. There is very little difference between fully opened and fully closed.
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EA James
Member
Hi @jaypeecee, Hope you're well
That's good to hear, i have one arriving tomorrow so I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs. I got fed up with the eheim for a number of reasons, such a poor design from a reputable manufacturer! One thing that really bugged me was the cable coming out of the bottom and the suction pads not being strong enough to keep it straight. Every time i look at the side of the tank I'd see a wonky object, very irritating for me 😂
Cheers
First impressions on the SunSun JY-03. Seems to be working fine and as intended:
1 - The flow regulator is pretty much useless
2 - If you use the ventury port then the valve on top does not always create a full seal and some air is still able to go through
3 - Any shrimp caught will not be able to get out even if the skimmer is turned off. You have to manually remove it. Good thing is the skimmer is transparent so it's easy to check. To circumvent having to remove shrimps and ultimately having to turn of the skimmer ever so often I think <this> mod will make this skimmer perfect.
1 - The flow regulator is pretty much useless
2 - If you use the ventury port then the valve on top does not always create a full seal and some air is still able to go through
3 - Any shrimp caught will not be able to get out even if the skimmer is turned off. You have to manually remove it. Good thing is the skimmer is transparent so it's easy to check. To circumvent having to remove shrimps and ultimately having to turn of the skimmer ever so often I think <this> mod will make this skimmer perfect.
Courtneybst
Member
I use the APS Skim-2 on a lidded tank. I was actually surprised at how well it works and it's really easy to clean.
I didn't even remember it came with that tube, I must have never used it. Works well without anyway.
Expert at nothing, dab hand at many.
I didn't even remember it came with that tube, I must have never used it. Works well without anyway.
Expert at nothing, dab hand at many.
Since this thread may as well be renamed the Cheap Chinese Skimmer Eheim Hating Club, I have a question for you good folks.
Now this may be a really stupid question, but how do you clean the impeller of the APS / SunSun JY-03?
I tried to remove the bottom portion but got unsure if it is meant to come off, and backed out.
Now this may be a really stupid question, but how do you clean the impeller of the APS / SunSun JY-03?
I tried to remove the bottom portion but got unsure if it is meant to come off, and backed out.
Wookii
Member
I just run mine for 10 minutes in a bleach or citric acid solution, in a jug. Then rinse thoroughly in fresh water, and do the same again for another 10 minutes in a jug of strong Prime solution. rinse again and job done.
If you really feel the need though, the black base plate does come off allowing you to remove the pump.
Another report on SunSun JY-03. Not a good one though. For some reason that skimmer seems to do more noice than my actual filter which is 2000L/h 😅
I noticed that it resonates with the whole aquarium and stand. Initially I though it was my filter doing this but then after turning everything off except the skimmer, the noise was still there. In fact one can very well feel the vibration when touching the skimmer under water.
I noticed that it resonates with the whole aquarium and stand. Initially I though it was my filter doing this but then after turning everything off except the skimmer, the noise was still there. In fact one can very well feel the vibration when touching the skimmer under water.
Wookii
Member
I have two of these (though they are the rebranded APS ones) and they are all but silent. You may have a faulty one? They are cheap, so I can imagine the QC perhaps isn't that strict. It's probably just the impellor catching somehow.
I don't think it's faulty. I just think it's chinese lol. I might have exaggerated a bit though. It's not like it's rattling all over the place but it I can definitely feel the low humming stop when the skimmer stops.
EA James
Member
Hi all,
I’ve got the APS skimmer now to replace the 350. When I installed it in the tank i noticed the floating basket was way above water level so the water wouldn't be able to get in through the grids. I put it in at an angle so there wasn't so much air trapped under it and that seemed to do the job.
Today i knocked the skimmer and had to reposition it and the same happened with the basket, i thought I'd try turning it on to see what happened and the basket went down fine and it worked as it should. but..... is that the right way of doing it? Would that not be putting more pressure on the motor? Have i done something wrong?
Cheers
I’ve got the APS skimmer now to replace the 350. When I installed it in the tank i noticed the floating basket was way above water level so the water wouldn't be able to get in through the grids. I put it in at an angle so there wasn't so much air trapped under it and that seemed to do the job.
Today i knocked the skimmer and had to reposition it and the same happened with the basket, i thought I'd try turning it on to see what happened and the basket went down fine and it worked as it should. but..... is that the right way of doing it? Would that not be putting more pressure on the motor? Have i done something wrong?
Cheers
Wookii
Member
Yeah, that’s how it works, the air trapped underneath the float, combined with the suction from the pump keeps it set at the right level and keeps it functioning properly even if your tank water level goes up or down a little (due to evaporation or topping off etc)
EA James
Member
There appears to be a number of float guards popping up as an insert rather than a full 3D printed replacement float.
Came across this from France and priced at €1.40
www3daqua.com
Shipping comes at €4.95 and checking if they will send to UK as worth a go and ordering two.
Came across this from France and priced at €1.40
grille skimmer eheim skim 350
www3daqua.com
Shipping comes at €4.95 and checking if they will send to UK as worth a go and ordering two.
UPDATE
So I could not purchase on website to ship to UK and emailed company and with use of Google translator a very helpful person agreed to send direct with simple direct Paypay transaction. For 2 of these it cost after exchange £10 with postage and they arrived in a couple of days. Actually in the pack you receive 2 guards with different size slots so I had 4.
But the design is still wrong as you think you would push it down so shrimp not only can climb in but small ones not enter through the 4 slot intakes of float. It seems when pushed down it interferes with the surface tension with pull of the pump as flow is restricted and the float does not float and does not operate properly. If you just rest on the top of the float then it is fine but you still have the gaps.
I decided to modify this and after destroying 2 of the smaller slot guards that would not let enough flow through no mater what I did when fully pushed down. I then had to add additional vertical guards as picture to limit gap entry into float and fit to top. Luckily after search in garage I found the perfect plastic profile that I cut and glued so the guard sits on top and works a treat 👍
For £10 and a bit of faf I have 2 guards as I will be using 2 skimmers in different tanks but could have had 4 as it does not matter what design you use as it sits above water line. I am sure this is not what the company intended but it simply did not work as I initially expected but happy now and the Green Aqua replacement float with postage cost seemed too much.
So I could not purchase on website to ship to UK and emailed company and with use of Google translator a very helpful person agreed to send direct with simple direct Paypay transaction. For 2 of these it cost after exchange £10 with postage and they arrived in a couple of days. Actually in the pack you receive 2 guards with different size slots so I had 4.
But the design is still wrong as you think you would push it down so shrimp not only can climb in but small ones not enter through the 4 slot intakes of float. It seems when pushed down it interferes with the surface tension with pull of the pump as flow is restricted and the float does not float and does not operate properly. If you just rest on the top of the float then it is fine but you still have the gaps.
I decided to modify this and after destroying 2 of the smaller slot guards that would not let enough flow through no mater what I did when fully pushed down. I then had to add additional vertical guards as picture to limit gap entry into float and fit to top. Luckily after search in garage I found the perfect plastic profile that I cut and glued so the guard sits on top and works a treat 👍
For £10 and a bit of faf I have 2 guards as I will be using 2 skimmers in different tanks but could have had 4 as it does not matter what design you use as it sits above water line. I am sure this is not what the company intended but it simply did not work as I initially expected but happy now and the Green Aqua replacement float with postage cost seemed too much.
Attachments
Hi Folks,
I'm beginning to have second thoughts about the All Pond Solutions Skim-2. But, I may be overlooking the obvious
. I'm having problems getting into the compartment enclosing the pump itself. Can anyone help? @Wookii, I believe you may have one of these skimmers?JPC
ScareCrow
Member
I also have the APS skimmer and think it does a great job. To get to the pump requires pulling the base of the skimmer off. It takes a lot more force than I was expecting. Once the base is off I resulted to pulling on the power cable (not ideal) to get the pump out. I think the tabs that hold the base on are a bit too tight, so I'll remove a bit of plastic to make it easier to take off next time I clean it.Hi Folks,
I'm beginning to have second thoughts about the All Pond Solutions Skim-2. But, I may be overlooking the obvious
JPC
Hi @ScareCrow
Many thanks for the feedback.
Recently, I tried to remove the base of the skimmer in the early hours of the morning and I was afraid to pull any harder. I'll try again at a better time of day!
JPC