seaclone 150 ? bad/good

[thamunsta]

ok so ive been looking for a protein skimmer for about a month and it has come down to the seaclone 150, just as im about to buy i find that alot of people have had problems with this model and see it as junk. i have a 15 gal tank and want to keep the option of upgrading later on open thats why i decided not to go with a smaller skimmer. so im asking is the seaclone really that horrible!? :feedback:

[K.O.D]

We had a seaclone and it was not the best skimmer on the market, it is cheap but if you can afford it it is better to go for something like the Deltec MCe600 as that is a much superior hang on type skimmer

Steve :)

[thamunsta]

We had a seaclone and it was not the best skimmer on the market, it is cheap but if you can afford it it is better to go for something like the Deltec MCe600 as that is a much superior hang on type skimmer

Steve :)


well for 400$ i guess it would have to be but im looking for somthing more 100$ price range how about the Prizm Deluxe Skimmer ?

[K.O.D]

The Prizm is better than the seaclone and it will adequately skim a 15 gallon, to be honest a good water change routine and a filter with polyfilter in will suffice for what is a relatively small amount of water, what are you intending keeping in there????

[SimonL]

I went through so many cheap skimmers (seaclone, prizm, etc) before I finally bought a good one. Wished I'd just spent the 400 bucks to start with.

[Ornatapinnis]

THe sea clone sucks. It puts bubbles in your water and needs constant adjusting to make it work. Even when adjusted correctly it still dose a poor job. It is influenced by water level so evaporation puts it out of adjustment. Don't waste you $$$.

CPR BakPak is a good one for smaller aquariums, I sell them for $150.00 with water pump new. I really like the red sea berlin, it's hard to beat for the money. It's a little big for a 15 but you can adjust it "down" a little if you need to. Red Sea makes a hang on the back (HOB) model of this skimmer. It would be great for your future "upgrade" too.

I bet you could get either of these on ebay pretty cheap.


Joel

[thamunsta]

The Prizm is better than the seaclone and it will adequately skim a 15 gallon, to be honest a good water change routine and a filter with polyfilter in will suffice for what is a relatively small amount of water, what are you intending keeping in there????

i intend to keep a few small fish, inverts and live rock, eventually and i intend to upgrade and get more im thinking the skimmer at this link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00019YY0M/104-0323457-2527119?v=glance&n=284507 will suffice it looks nice i just have to make sure its a good skimmer by reading a few reviews

[mkpeters6]

I went through so many cheap skimmers (seaclone, prizm, etc) before I finally bought a good one. Wished I'd just spent the 400 bucks to start with.


i also did the cheap skimmer run down and i agree with simonL you are better off to spend the money on a good skimmer then dropping $100 on a couple of skimmers until you realize they are junk

for a 15gal tank i would say the bak pak 2, but youd probably be fine w/o one - small sw tanks are difficult to keep no matter what filtration - however if you keep up on water changes and really monitor the tank parameters it should be fine with live rock and maybe a canister filter(even better would be to use a refugium)

[eng55]

I have a seaclone 150 on my 75g fowlr tank and so far is has worked great. I also did a couple of easy mods to it but otherwise by itself it was still pulling out a lot of skimmate. I think for the price they work ok. If you get one and want to know any of the mods just pm me and I will tell how to do them. They are easy and just take a few minutes to do. Just my 2 cents.
Later
E

[Ornatapinnis]

I have a seaclone 150 on my 75g fowlr tank and so far is has worked great. I also did a couple of easy mods to it but otherwise by itself it was still pulling out a lot of skimmate. I think for the price they work ok. If you get one and want to know any of the mods just pm me and I will tell how to do them. They are easy and just take a few minutes to do. Just my 2 cents.
Later
E


Is this the only protien skimmer that you have owned?

[mkpeters6]

its not that seclones dont do anything, when i had one running i would fill the collection every week or so with a greenish skimate - the skimmer i have now (rated for a 400gal tank on a 100gal system) empties the collection cup into a 2gal bucket that fills about half way with dark black liquid in a couple weeks (the seaclone collection cup holds probably 4oz-6oz of liquid), and i skim dry! the skimate in the collection cup riser tube is like a solid 1/8 inch thick that needs to be cleaned at least once a week

the fact of the matter is that seclones really arent that cheap (usually $100-130) it would be one thing if they were like 40$ id say they were a decent product for the price, but not for the price thry ask for them - its worth to pay at least 200$ and get a product that will be worth the cost - once you see the production of a higher priced skimmer you'll never skimp on a protien skimmer again

[Ornatapinnis]

Mkpeters6 makes a great point. Just because a skimmer removes fluid from the tank dose not mean it's working very well. Kind-of the point of me asking eng55 how many protein skimmers they have owned. It works well compaired to what?

For a few more buck, the red sea "berlin" skimmer blows away the seaclone. I have many of them on my service accounts and they work very well at removing a thick, blackish green sludge from the aquariums with out needing adjustmnets all the time. THey are also ozone compatable. Another one I use thats a few bucks more is the ETSS reef devil, it's another great skimmer for aquariums up to around 200-300 gallons. They need very little maintenance to keep them working well.

Heck, you can put an airstone inside an aquarium vacuum inside your tank to remove "colored fluid" for alot less money :D "Poor mans protein skimmer."

[craig]

If you are doing a fish only tank you don't need a protein skimmer.You need a proteinskimmer if you have invertabraes.

[craig]

i intend to keep a few small fish, inverts and live rock, eventually and i intend to upgrade and get more im thinking the skimmer at this link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00019YY0M/104-0323457-2527119?v=glance&n=284507 will suffice it looks nice i just have to make sure its a good skimmer by reading a few reviewsYou also need good lighting for a reef tank.15 gallons is kinda small. I have a 20 gal setup,with live rock,2Clarki clowns,4hermit crabs,6snails.

[eng55]

The only reason that I only talked about my seaclone 150 is because I thought this thread was to discuss whether or not they are any good. I was just stating that I am currently using one on my 75g and have not had any problems with it. As far as other skimmers i have used I have a berlin super skimmer on my 200g fowlr tank and I would agree that it is better than the seaclone but it also cost 3 times as much. Like I said the only reason i only talked about the 150 because I thought this thread was discussing the pros and cons of owning one.
Later
E

[FunkSkunk]

Craig - I disagree with what you said about only needing a skimmer with inverts.

My 90 gallon with a Clown Trigger, Harlequin Wrasse, and a Snowflake Eel would always have bad levels of Nitrate, etc. No matter how much i filtered, cleaned, and removed uneating food. My LFS recommended a protein skimmer and that has made all the difference! I too own the infamous SeaClone and it works for what i need, the fish are happy and I'm satisfied (for now). :thumbsup:

I've also found this mod of the sea clone skimmer for your enjoyment --> http://www.reefcentral.com/diy/seaclone_modifications.htm

Pic for those wondering what a SeaClone is and what it takes out!:

[MaJiKTeRRoR]

Alright, first off for a small tank a Seaclone is fine with a few mods but your better off with the Berlin for a few extra bucks. Another option for a smaller tank is a Corallife Super Skimmer. A Prizm is probably the worst protein skimmer you can buy. If your doing a larger tank do a EuroReef or something similar.

[mkman]

I believe if you search this site:

www.reefcentral.com

Go to the forums and I believe there was a big debate on seaclones.

I think in the end, people recommended spending a little extra and getting the higher brand skimmers like Euroreefs or ASM skimmers. Definitely worth the extra money.

[ill_eagle]

ive only had 2 skimmers. started with the seaclone. then i bought an emperor foam master off ebay for $75 used. its 3 times the skimmer. its about $350 new in the store what i saw them for at a petsmart about a year back for. For $100-$150 you can get a nice skimmer off ebay that will put those seaclones to shame. lfs have huge markups on there items.

[thamunsta]

thanks for all the suggestions and help i think im going with a berlin hang on
they seem to have good ratings and people who own them lke how they work.

[schulace123]

i think it sucks

[Itsadeepbluesea]

seaclone in general=ok to start but in general they are not that good

[mr.reef24]

Seaclone's are worthless I wouldn't use a seaclone if you gave it to me and said i'll give you 10,000 dollar's to use it on one of your tank's go with ASM, or a more reputable brand like corallife.

mr.reef24

[Itsadeepbluesea]

I had one when I first started and it did work, but not all that great. It will work somewhat but you can definitely do much much better

[wrongpolo]

i got mine to work about 50% better by putting an airline check valve on it with no adjuster...just the check valve and it has been working great....just my 2 cents

[Myteemouse]

BAD BAD BAD..
Look into the SWC 160(reeffiltration . com)

[mr.reef24]

I got mine to work better by throwing it in the trash lol

mr.reef24

[wrongpolo]

Yeah its definitely not the best thats IS for sure, kinda funny that the one i bought off ebay for 29$ (just for ****s and giggles) works a helluva lot better than my seaclone... made me laugh for the rest of the day..