AquaEuro USA AE Skimmers

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Mine is still running the 120, and doing well, in my opinion. I've cracked open the backs very recently and still haven't seen any rust on these replacement pumps, so perhaps that's resolved. Skimmate stinks, and I get about 1/2" per day (on a 10" diameter collection cup) in a tank with only 4 anthias, a CBB and a BABY sailfin (<2"). I have only two complaints. First, I keep getting astrea snails sucked into the pump intakes because there's no grate, so I have to cycle the power off to get them to fall off, then back on. I guess that's more a function of keeping snails employed in the sump. Second, typical of vertical exhaust tube skimmers, the return splash is noisy, and I can't find the right valve size for a gate valve modification.

Sure, the pumps aren't the best, but they seem to work out pretty well. Are they still selling the Classic 400 for under $300? That's what makes them worth it.
 
Thanks for the info. I found this website selling them http://www.oceansaquariums.com/index.php?cPath=30&osCsid=r6glujda6irjgto5hltbuk53k5
the 400 is 245, but I was more interested in the 265 recirculating which is selling for $256. This is a screaming deal for a dual pump recirculating skimmer. It also has an outlet valve, standard ball valve not gate. After 2 cheap skimmers I am just really nervous about a good deal and am trying to determine between this and the tunze 9010. I also don't have any experience with the website. Do you know of anybody that tried out the recirculating models?
-chris
 
Coincidentally enough, the owner of that Web site, Noel, is just up the road from me. I do business with him all the time. That's exactly where I bought mine, as did a friend who bought the 265 recirc. That friend has a bit of an obsession with skimmers, and currently has 7 skimmers all rated over 200g. Currently, he's running a Bubble King, which puts the AE265 back on the shelf, of course.

As with many skimmer manufacturers, it's obvious they've grossly over estimated the capability of their skimmers. I'm certain the 400 is doing so well because it's only on a 120g. I'd feel comfortable putting it on a 200, and even higher, but would consider 400g a pretty tall order.
 
Given those choices, I'd always choose the larger. I'm from the "You can't overskim" crowd, so this one's a no brainer for me.
 
I believe they have fixed this problem. I received new pumps several months ago, and I still check them periodically. I have not yet seen any signs of oxidation on the new pumps.
 
How is the skimmer working out so far? What would you do different at this point? Different model, skimmer, mods or leave it just as it is? Thanks
 
Ben, it's a good bang for the buck. There are certainly better skimmers out there, but the price is what works for me here. The weakest link is the very cheap pumps they put in these things. Seriously, these pumps are garbage, but I'm still running all of them. My skimmer is still in stock config. Were I to mod it, I'd be looking at better pumps before anything else.

Again, I have the Classic 400. At a purchase price around $250... this skimmer can probably handle about 200g pretty decently. It's still hard for me to gauge, since my 120 only has 6 small fish in it (4 anthias, sailfin tang, foxface) and one medium sixed fish (copperband butterfly).
 
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