Quality of a "Sea Clone" skimmer??

[sharkbaitx2]

I need a skimmer - probably for intermittent use. The 55 gal tank with 15 gal sump is 4 months old and probably needy of more filtration before increasing the bioload. Obviously price is also a factor = is anyone currently using (or have used) a Sea Clone Skimmer in the past?? What's your opinion of them? thanks.

 

[big t]

Junk, money would be better spent on a CPR Bakpak, or spend a bit more and get a AquaC remora.

 

[jlehigh]

I had a SeaClone on my 46gal originally and recently "upgraded" to an Urchin.. The Sea Clone is now used in curing LR in tubs.

I'd say it is allot of bang for your buck given it's only about 75 bones. The skimate I got out of it was very dark and gross (good stuff) My newer aqua C in-sump urchin's skimate is much wetter. Both did/do their job as my levels have been very good.

I see allot of criticism of the Sea Clones but it has served me well on my small system. I think when you are talking about 75gal and up another skimmer should be used.

 

[jase0723]

Dont' waste your money on Sea Clone - it's a piece of JUNK!

Only way the sea clones will work is if you put it in a larger tank (50 gallon and up) with such a high bio load that it has no choice but to work.

 

[jlehigh]

It might be helpful if those bashing the SeaClone give some more constructive criticism. This is already beginning to mirror all of the other SeaClone bashing threads out there that provide no informational value.

Did your SeaClones not skim your organic waste? Did it malfunction? Stop pumping? Too loud? Could you not maintain a stable environment? What size tank? Did you modify it?

Again it served my purposes well as my primary skimmer on a 46gal bowfront. I only bought a more expensive skimmer because I bought into the bashing as a newbie (10mos) and I have not seen any changes in my water quality; good nor bad and that is the bottom line right?

 

[big t]

From the sounds of it sharkbait has not purchased a seaclone yet. If you have I have heard that they can be modified to work well. Why buy a skimmer that will need mods to work? I would rather see this guy buy a decent skimmer, and not have any problems.

Anyway for a really good skimmer for a decent price look into the aquamedic t1000. I have one of them and have had good dark skimmate ever since I fired it up almost 2 years ago.

 

[wooddood]

well im running one as we speak on my 120 and have it in the sump. bash em all you want but i have to clean mine daily. no modifications either straight out of the box. just my 2 cents.

 

[wooddood]

heres a pic of mine this morning.

 

[kevinpo]

I was running 5 or so of them and they needed a lot of cleaning and adjustment. I don't know how much they cost but I would recommend a Remora. They cost about $165-170 so maybe that's too much compared to a Sea Clone.

A sign that you have the right size skimmer for your tank is that it should have a higher capacity to remove waste than your tank to generate it. The evidence of this will be that at times it will produce large anounts of waste and at other times very little as it catches up and surpasses the load.

HTH,
Kevin
PS: Note: A skimmer is not a required piece of equipment but you may spend more doing water changes over time than the price of a good skimmer.

 

[wooddood]

very good point kevin, the pic i posted is the sea clone 100 but i also have a 150 that i think i will put in instead im probally overworking the 100 on my 120 gal tank. my main point was that there are alot better skimmers out there but i have really never had any problems with the seaclones. thanks for the input though.

 

[jase0723]

Hi Wooddood, I can see that your sea clone is working fine.

And my appolgies for bashing sea clone, but in my opinion it's not a efficient skimmer, and afterall, thats what this forum is all about - opinions.

As I mentioned earlier, it works fine in a larger tank with a high bio load where if you just stick a straw and blow bubbles into the sump and generate a skimmate.

Again, my opinon only.

 

[wooddood]

hey no problem and your right thats what these forums are for. dont get me wrong seaclones are definately not the best skimmers to buy, but for the price they do work. at least they have for me. you know as well as me that no matter what question someone has there are useually ten differant answers to the same question, probally all true to each persons personal experience. what works for some may not for others but there are always more then one way to skin a cat right? no 2 systems out there are setup the same way and maintained the same way so neither one of us is wrong or right for that matter. i have learned everything i know about reefing on these boards so i take all the info i can and then use my own judgement to make a reasonable opinion on my own. the truth be known i would buy a turbo floater skimmer and i'm sure some would argue that but thats ok again no problems here, glad you said what you think. have a good one

 

[Micro Reefer]

I bought a AquaC Remora and I reccomend it highly. I orderd it from Marine Depot with the pre skimmer box and drain fitting.
The only thing I would change is the pump. It comes with 2 choices. Rio 800 & Maxi-Jet 1200. the Rio 800 is pretty wimpy. I reccomend the Maxi-Jet if you decide to go that route. The drain fitting you can do yourself if you handy. They charge $16.00. it should cost less than a dollar at Home Depot. Having the drain fitting is a must for those of us who tend to be on the lazy or forgetful.

 

[TomV]

Well, I have to add myself to the list here that actually has a Seaclone and loves it! (I actually have 2, but I only have 1 going)

I have mine on my 10 Gallon Nano and it does an excellent job. Both Seaclones I have are the 100's. One is an older version that is modified and the other is the new version that comes with the new modifications. The only thing I can say that I miss about this skimmer is the lack of a way to do surface skimming. But that's no big deal to me. I keep my 10g's surface well agitated with my powerheads.

Wooddood, I had no idea you ran a Seaclone! Koolness!

 

[reefer addict]

I'll be the third 'yay' vote on the Seaclone.

First thing I'll say is that both the 'yay' and 'nay' votes have equal weight in this thread. The older model Seaclone was a piece of garbage, and required several modifications in order for it to work properly.
The redesigned ones, on the other hand, perform pretty well for a 'budget' skimmer.

I have an ASM G-3 on my 120, and it pulls a ton of gunk (though it's an in-sump eurostyle skimmer, not H.O.T.)... it tends to be the same consistency as the seaclone skimmate, just a lot more of it (my bioload has also doubled).

Attached is my seaclone 150 in action on the old 55... probably about 2 days after a previous cleaning. Did a pretty decent job for less than a C-note.

 

[wooddood]

thanks dave for the reply and i must add i never said they were the best skimmers only that they work great for the cost of them at least they have for me and many others. but if i was in the market for a skimmer i would probally go with the turbo floater. just my 2 cents again.

 

[TomV]

RA, what is that Zip Tied to your Seaclone's outflow?

 

[reefer addict]

It's a section of plastic gutter since I was using it in the sump. The water level was about 18" lower than the outflow of the seaclone, and the gutter gave the seaclone a wall for the water to flow down (like is recommended in the user manual).
It worked like a champ.

 

[reefer addict]

Here's a full shot of it in the sump.

 

[TomV]

Cool! Interesting definitely! Thanks for the info!