Coral Vue Technology AC20200 Octopus Hang-On Back Skimmer with Filter, 75-Gallon

Convenience:

If you are like me and do not want to have a sump setup then this is hang on skimmer is a good way to go. It is an all in one skimmer that saves so much time and effort with just one purchase. It comes with the "overflow" box and a pump to suck up the water from the overflow to the first compartment, then mixes it with air to create the airbubbles for the skimming in the next compartment, then the rest of the water goes to the next compartment that you can use for biofilter media, then at the top of that compartment has the return pipe.

Quirks:

This skimmer definitely has its downside which some may find irritating and not worth its purchase. The initial setup can be a challenge. It takes patience to balance the water levels unless you are okay with the massive bubbles that the skimmer can return to the tank. Even when you get it balanced, sometimes it can get out of whack and start bubbling again or the skimmer tube can over flow rendering it useless till you rebalance it. The skimmer may also return an excess amount of micro bubbles making the tank unsightly. I left for the weekend and the skimmer was causing so much bubbling that it splashed salt water all over the place and water logged my stand. So be aware of this.

How to find the skimmers sweet spot:

I had to do a lot of tweaking to find that balance of the skimmer. It took a combination of angling the return pipe, adding some tubing I had laying around and putting it in the return pipe to take up space, and controlling the air intake (for the bubbles), to make the water return not bubble. The air intake tube does come with a muffler but I never use it since I need the other adjustable air intake valve.

Other things:

The pump is immersed in the water in the first compartment. So this does increase the temperature of the water a bit.

The overflow box has teeth to keep the fish from getting sucked up.

The skimmer is meant to be a hangon, and is quite heavy when filled with water. If you plan on using it on a smaller tank, I would have something else supporting the weight rather than only the tank. It might be fine but since I live in a condo with people beneath me, I dont want to take any chances.

So if the benefits of an all in one hang on skimmer outweigh the headaches that you will have then this is a good buy. I haven't seen any other brand other than reef octopus that does something like this so until then, this may be your only option.

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