Eshopps PSK-75H Hang-On Protein Skimmer - Up to 75 gal.

I really hate this skimmer. When it works, it works OK. The only problem is that it is a bit moody and most times decides that it is waste of energy to work. Being serious, I think the problem is in the pump, which overheats, and as a result the unit stops working. The longest I had it working without dying on me was 10 days. Then it stops, and there are no bubbles, nothing. And then it is a royal pain to start it up again! The water level in the main body is supposed to go up to the collection cup once you block air intake tube. Well, you fingers will go blue but there will be no water movement. If I let the pump work without doing anything for 12-24 hours, then, sometimes, miracle happens, and the skimmer starts working. I go through these up-and-down cycles when I decide that, that's it, I just return it to Eshopps, and then it starts working, and I mellow down for the next 10 days. I have already replaced the pump, but the replacement pump works just like the old one. BUT THIS IS IT! I am contacting Eshopps to-morrow and demanding the refund, after all the damn thing was acting up from the first day I bought it. Do not buy it, unless you want to satisfy your hidden masochistic instincts!

I looked forward to buying this Protein Skimmer, as it had received many good reviews on the web. A key feature was to be its simplicity (as seen in eShopps' promo videos), but has been anything but.

1. When setting up, or just washing, be sure to re-tighten the below gasket, as it often becomes loose, and thus leaks water on the ground.

2. The adjustment mechanism at the top consists of a crude plastic tube (perhaps this is how all Protein Skimmers are, I don't know). It is not very exact, so take caution when turning it to increase the bubble flow. It seems to have no reaction for hours, but then overflows the cup when you're not paying attention.

3. The sponge covering the intake should be cleaned frequently. I deduce that algae in there was a cause of the skimmer overflowing, but I'm not sure.

4. The craftsmanship is poor, as pvc and silicone around the outside of the tube had meaningful gaps.

5. The filter is very very very loud.

6. The pump/motor itself seems to have failed after limited use (3 months). It still produces sound, but no bubbles or flow.

7. I have written customer service about #6 but no response yet after weeks. I've written again and have my fingers crossed. Further, I wrote them several times upon first buying the skimmer but got limited response about missing parts and questions about how it was supposed to work, and it's loud noise.

All in all, I guess it is buyer beware for such an "economical" skimmer, although it's not quite cheap either.

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Just purchased the eshopps PSK 75 and it's very very loud. I opened the pump housing like the Q&A says and there is obviously something very wrong with the pump. It skips and jumps, rattles and is not tight in place. I thought something might be wrong when the skimmer didn't produce any froth it basically looks like fizz from a coca-cola. Also lots of micro bubbles were pouring into my tank. I shut it off put it back in the box and am giving up..

I was really excited to buy this skimmer. Finally got it and of course faulty....

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This really is a great little budget skimmer. I use both the 75H and the 100H. Other reviews have noted that they are not getting skimate. This Skimmer, like most take a while to break in. There are plasticizers and release waxes that are used in the making process that have to get coated with bacterial film or have to disperse before the skimate can be made. Be patient. The other issue I have had is that the needle wheel wants to seize after a while. This was perplexing at first and I even had to order a replacement pump. I finally figured out that the tip of the magnet part of the needle wheel assembly was swelling and binding in the needle wheel part and on the shaft. I have made a video on Youtube about how to fix this very easily. So, if you can follow directions on youtube you can keep this skimmer up and running with no trouble. I have seen that Eshopps is working on using Sicce pumps for these. When that happens I have no doubt that they will be a much better skimmer.

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I purchased this skimmer to hang on the back of my Biocube HQI and have had it for a full week now and am toying with the idea of returning it because it doesn't produce foam!!!! I have followed the instruction to the letter. I have searched forums trying to uncover the solution to this mystery with no resolve. I have installed and reinstalled to no avail and still no foam! The pump seems to work fine, the water level filled by covering the air intake tube, there are many bubbles flowing up to water column but then it just looks like a glass of alka-seltzer with no foam. This of course means that all the gunk that it is skimming is collecting in the neck and not being pushed up through the column into the collection cup. Of course this is because there is NO FOAM!!!!! Yes I have used the adjustment tube again and again with no results. Skimming is not the issue, it is the lack of foam needed to push the gunk into the collection cup.

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Aquarium Hood Black Fluorescent - 16 Inch to 72 Inch

This is a 72" Hood with a 48" light inside. This left my 125 gallon aquarium a little darker on the ends. I wished the seller would be honest with there descriptions, this is not the first seller/company I came across with this review about miss leading information. The picture shows the light fixture going to almost the end of the hood, but reality their is a 12" empty space on either end. Their were no reviews on this one at the time I ordered the light or I may have looked into the ones at the pet store more. But as you can see now I'm not the first person to complain about this. The light is kind of cheap itself, and never seen an aquarium light without a ground. But the price was at least right. I maybe would of even bought 2 of these if they combined the shipping, and had know it was not a 72" light. Mine came nicely packaged and had the light bulb with it. I'm not sure what the other reviewer was talking about with the adjuster, but did not see anything about or place to make adjustments. Shipping was extra fast, 3 days before the estimated delivery time frame. I would by from this seller again. Maybe all the lights are like this now, I noticed in the pet stores there 36" light is really a 24" light but states this in big writing on the boxes. So to the seller please descried your items correctly, in this case it could have made you another sale.

So again to the readers THIS IS A 48" LIGHT INSIDE A 72 HOOD

The product looked nothing like the picture provided. I ordered a 72 inch hood. Although the hood was 72 inches, it required a 48 inch bulb. There is no bulb included, and it is also missing the adjustable knob that is shown in the picture.

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Penn Plax Tortoise Palace with Wire Top, Black Frame and Glass Terrarium

It's a beautiful enclosure. Lots of pieces, but easy to put together. I did have a slight issue with the 4 screws that hold on the front panel but in the end it wasn't a big deal. I used black silicone to seal all of the inside edges, exposed screw holes, & frame around viewing window it turned out looking great. I found the 'Lack' coffee table at Ikea for $39 to use as a stand ...looks like it was made to go with the enclosure. My Russian Tortoise uses every part of his tortoise palace so I'd have to say that he loves it too!

I adopted a tortoise recently and did a little research on their housing requirements. This seemed perfect for a Russian. I got a great deal through Amazon and absolutely LOVE it. Set up was fine. Same as IKEA furniture and my fish tank stand. one of the arms that holds it up is a little iffy but it does the job. Overall I would recommend this to anyone with a small tortoise. It looks great in my house also!

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Received this item ahead of schedule, super easy assembly, simple instructions. Plenty big enough for my red footed tortoise! Love the design, far more suitable for tortoises than glass tanks. Very stable and secure. I would highly reccommend this item! Thank you :)

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Some parts are cheap like the lid extenders. The brackets for the locks and the door hinges cannot hold in medium density particle wood with the screws that come with it. They require drill through bolts with large washers.

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I thought the base came with it. It doesn't the only place where it talks about it is on the box after it arrived. (Which I did not read until I had assembled half the unit. NOT cool...

Jotco 20 Gallon Tall GREY Door Color Tank Topper

This is a cage topper for a standard 20 gallon tank. It also acts as a nice holding cage as long as you twist tie the ramp that leads down into the tank. This little feature makes this tank topper a dream for cleaning the tank portion of the cage.

I gave this cage only 4 stars, because there are just a couple of cons. While I understand nothing is perfect, we, as pet owners love our furry little friends and want them to be safe and sound. And, as a matter-of-fact, ourselves as well.

I reiterate: This is a dream for our pet Rat (Luna), and ability to "convert" it to a stand alone cage with a simple wire tie gets it a thumbs up.

Cons-

-The cage is not painted at all, It seems to be (and as the description says) galvanized welded wire. Suggestion to the manufacturer, perhaps you could make future versions of this cage powder coated or rubber-coated. Its somewhat unsightly.

-The bottom edges of the cage (where it fits around the frame of the tank) has very sharp, wire edges. Beware, for safety of yourself, and your children. Suggestion to the manufacturer, a little file work, or light grinding, goes a long way to ensure the safety of our pets and your customers.

I'll do the work and file the edges myself, which is easy enough. Just wanted to point out a few observations I've made. Hope this helps future buyers, though I hope you make the choice to add some space for your little friends. I've had to buy this as a down grade to a custom wire mesh wrapped Ferret Nation double level Mansion to a Two Story Tank House, but Luna seems very happy being able to get some fresh air, and it's much easier to interact with her for play time and feeding.

All Glass Aquarium AAG29251 Overflow Accessory New Kit

I was very worried about buying this product. Everything has to be perfect for this product to work. The Aqueon product line of tanks are well designed. This accessory is worth the money. Do not go out to the hardware store and try to build your own version. I know have a beautiful Marine tank. The price is high, but the product is excellent.

Great product, looks/functions almost as advertised. The connections on the bottom of the tank could be smaller, the ones that come with it are for 1 3/4 inch hose going to the filter (who uses a connection that big?) I had to jerry rig it and ended up just going with the equipment that came with my filter.

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These have far less problems over the add-on off the back overflows. I do highly recommend this product to any aquarist.

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Hagen Fluval Surface Skimmer

I had really high hopes for this, especially after reading other reviews, but after a year of use, I'm not sure i would recommend it.

good:

* low cost. way lower than so many other surface skimmers

* adjusts to water evaporation (see below though)

* attaches to your current filter/skimmer

* has a top and a bottom intake that you can adjust, which allows you to balance it depending on how powerful your pump is. this is a little hard to describe why this is good unless you have one..

bad:

* it uses an air pocket under the top of the skimmer to keep the top part on the surface. I don't know why they don't just put styrofoam or something that's permanently floating. This design is tenuous. it's kinda like balancing a ball at the top of a hill. typically for me, the movement of the water eventually dislodges some of the air, then the thing sinks and is no longer a skimmer.

* the suction cups it uses to attach to the glass wears out. And if it's not attached firmly, the whole thing becomes ineffective because it doesn't hold the surface intake part on the surface.

frustrating. This is ALMOST an awesome product. If it had a mechanism for better attachment to the glass (e.g. magnet) and a better flotation for the surface collector, it'd be awesome. as it is, i wouldn't recommend this product.

I bought this version because the eheim version costs almost 3x as much and this one gets good reviews from folks at Plantedtank. To attach it to my Eheim intake (5/8" not 1/2"), I used the 90* elbow and joined the intake pipe to it using a short segment of 5/8" hose. The black center piece that stick up is the adjuster which opens and closes the lower openings. The more you allow flow through the bottom, the less the surface suction will be. Also, I had to drill a piece of plastic from my canopy to accommodate the height of the adjuster. But in so doing, you can increase or decrease the surface skimmer flow on the fly. Just remember to keep the top of the surface skimmer clean periodically.

Previously, I had a sponge prefilter on my intake pipe. I could still have one--just cut a short 2" piece of foam and slip it over the lower intake.

There are some bubbles being entrained into the intake from the surface water being sucked in. This has not been an issue. However, those with CO2 injected tanks should understand that outgassing of CO2 will occur from this area. This may not be a problem with intermittent activation--turn the center adjuster for a brief period when surface scum accumulates, then turn off most of the surface flow once the surface scum is cleared (takes about 20" or so).

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Straight-forward installation, and it works great. Poor instructions, but the skimmer is pretty simple, so minimal documentation was not a problem. It removed all of the scum on the surface and made my 40 gallon goldfish tank glisten.

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This product does what it says and removed surface film from your tank but it is very cheap to the touch and I didn't keep it in the tank. It removed the film within 2 days, 90 gallon salt tank. The film was back a few days later but I didn't want to put this back in. Main complain I have is the dependence on water level and how hard it is to set up and get working properly. I have it 3 stars because it did what it was intended to but it isn't a piece you can easily leave on your tank for a permanent fix.

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It takes a bit of adjusting but once you get it set up it works great. Within a minute it had skimmed all the stuff off the top of the water and that oily residue that floats up there. It connected directly to my Fluval 405 with no problems. Great product and a great price.

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Goldfish and Koi Food Medium

Huge bag that i feed to my nepenthes plants. They seem to love it. Pretty inexpensive for what it is. Buy it!

Something new for them and they love it! Like I've said in a previous review, my fish are piglets!! They'll eat just about anything but they really, really appreciate this product and they actually beg for this product!

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I know there's a word minimum, but honestly, it's fish food. It was fresh, they eat it, they are happy

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My fish love them-not much they do not love ha ha very small pieces good for auto feeder

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My fishes ate them quickly. No leftovers = clear water. Like the other guy said. My fishes ate it and grew.

Deep Blue Deluxe Aquarium Hood 20in

Either I got a lemon or something is funky because the LED lost it's area illumination effect in a matter of weeks. Besides that it is fine.

This is a nice upgrade from the OEM light hood that comes with your tank. Built well and there is a glass panel that keeps the light dry. It looks really nice for the price.

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This has been lighting my 15 gallon for a couple of years. Plants are thriving in this heavily planted aquarium. I have no complaints other than having to mailorder the bulbs as well. That has worked out well too so not an issue.

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Kordon/Oasis (Novalek) AKD37656 Rid Ich for Aquarium, 16-Ounce

After I apply the Rid-Ich, the water immediately turned blue. The fishes look very uncomfortable at first, and surely enough the sickest fish died next day. But after a few more days Ich is gone. The medication is very strong, when I accidentally got some of it on my hand the stain seem to be permanent.

It also kills other fungi, which is a good bonus. I had some fish with another fungus infection that rots their fin, and Rid-Ich got rid of those too. Good product but may kill weak fish.

I currently have a 125 gallon aquarium with about 45 different types of Loaches, which if you don't know are incredibly susceptible to Ich. I had grown tired of using other ich treatments as they were always to strong to use on my loach species being that they are "scaleless" fish and cannot handle normal ich treatments and also cannot handle large amounts of salt. It was paramount to find a treatment that I could use at full strength without worrying about killing my loaches. After researching I saw Kordon come up repeatedly as a preferred treatment for many fish keepers. So I went to order Kordon Ich Plus right away. At the time I received the treatment my Clown Loaches in a month long battle with a terrible ich outbreak. So I poured in the recommended amount on the bottle, with the temperature at 84F, and a 75% water change my Clown Loaches were showing no signs of ich anymore. After a month of using the treatment I was ensured that all ich was eliminated from my tank. Since then whenever I introduce a new young fish into my tank I add Kordon Ich Plus to my water as insurance to make sure my tank will not become infected. I give this product five stars because it cures ich speedily and without harmful effects to my fish. Since I used this product I also have not had another outbreak of ich. So I can say that I'm very happy with this purchase.

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When I do a water change sometimes it stirs up the gravel bed and the fish muck. It has been my practice for years to use this product at half strength in such cases. It seems to prevent shock and parasitical or fungal problems in that environment.

I also suggest if you have silver colored fish to go half strength. IE, Silver Dollars, Tinfoil Barbs, etc. Silver colored fish seem to be more sensitive to this product.

I use this at the first signs of stress or disease in the tank. Follow with a water change and another treatment for best results. I rarely have to do this more than twice. For what it is worth my fish are going on seven years of age. This product has been my first line of defense and really works.

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After months of bad advice from people at pet stores, the condition of my beta was so advanced I was scared the rid ich wouldn't be shipped in time to save him. Rid Ich works! Just make sure that you do not over-medicate your fish and that you have time to observe him after each doseage.

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I had one bumblebee cichlid that looked terrible. He was lethargic, covered in white spots, clamped fin and a rotting tail fin. The other fish were acting a little odd. They were scratching themselves against rocks quite a bit and werent eating much. I used Rid ich for 4 days and they were all completely healed (except for the fin rot which is getting better). It worked like a charm. The down side is that it stained all the silicone in my tank such as in the corners. I wish this product didnt stain because it really does work well. I think next time I'll try to use heat and salt to heal my fish because this stuff is ruining my tank.

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Hagen Nutrafin Max Color Pellets, 3-Ounce

First of all one needs to know that the goldfish was created by the ancient chinese out of the koi. Just like there are lots of dog varieties there are lots of koi thanks to hummans. The goldfish is one of those koi. Just with a different name. The point of this is that if you buy this your koi is going to eat it and like it just as much as if it was a goldfish. The main benefit to this over flakes is that they float better and dont get caught in fliters as much. The fish can eat them better and this helps keep your tank or pond cleaner. My koi "nikko" both enjoys these pellets and eats them all preventing too much of a mess for me.

Eshopps AEO11010 Overflow Boxes Pf-1000 for Aquarium Tanks

Ive heard that these U-tube type overflows don't flow as well as the cpr weir types, but to be honest 900 gph is 900 gph. This thing works wonderfully, it is well constructed out of thick acrylic and was an easy install. Ive been using it for 2 months straight now and have not had to re prime the u tubes at all. excelent system.

After fishkeeping for almost a decade, 8 of those years with saltwater, I decided to finally go the sump layout instead of canister filters and tons of other equipment in my tanks. Since I did not feel comfortable drilling my tanks, I decided this was the best route. When I got this in the mail I found the packaging decent. No broken items, no missing pieces. I found the instructions to be very lacking, and determined that this product was aimed for those that already knew what they were doing. After figuring out sort of what I was doing, I started to put it together on the tank, however was left with a few extra pieces compared to what the item looks like in the picture. I had an extra Utube, and these two pieces of sponge that did not look like they went anywhere. When it came to start the siphon, it was a pain in the butt. The only way I can think of doing it, is to insert a piece of small hose (like airline tubing) into the top of the U, place on the overflow, and suck the air out. When the air is removed it should start flowing on it's own. Pull out the hose WITHOUT lifting the U-tube or letting air back in, or you will have an air bubble trapped in the top of the tube, or break the siphon and have to start over again. I have tested the device against power and pump failures and this does a great job. If your power goes out, the siphon does stop, and will resume no problem when power is restored and the pump is back on.

The quality of the acrylic could be better.. I cracked the top of one of them when putting on the bulkhead and had very little pressure on it. I was able to fix it but was very disappointed when it happened as it set me back another day trying to get this setup running.

Also, please remember to use pipe dope on the bulkhead thread when assembling or you will have leaks.

Speaking of the bulkhead, since there were no specifications on how to go to the bulkhead (like what fits, what doesn't, etc) to the sump, I took one with me and headed over to home depot. Both me and the associate there were trying to find pieces that fit with no luck, until I was finally able to come up with a concoction of adapters, then used hose. After setting it up, I found out that I restricted the lines too much and had to dial down my return pump until I purchased new bulkheads. If I would have known ahead of time that regular 1'' PVC fit on the inside of that bulkhead I would have saved tons in various plumbing parts and headaches.

So, now it is up and running and working, I am pleased. However the lack of literature with the product really jaded my experience.

Pro's

-----

Does the job

Resumes nicely after pump/power failures

When tweaked it is pretty quiet

Came with extra parts for, well I don't know

Con's

------

Lack of literature, specifications, directions.

Weak acrylic

For what it is and the simplicity of it, price could reflect that a lot better

A lot of tweaking to get it running properly

Not really for beginners.

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I am running a total of 4 of these on 2 of my larger tanks (180 w/75g fuge, and 220 w/55g fuge) and they work great! We've lost power a couple times and once the power comes back on they start right back up! Quality made, very good product, I recommend these overflows to those who don't want to drill their tank!!!

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I wanted to install a sump to my existing aquarium and didnt want to drill holes in the glass. This overflow was my solution. Works great!

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this is a great box. just using one of the U tube cause my pump only put out 475 gph

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Teddy Tank Honey Gold Bear Betta Fish Tank 8-Piece Premium Package

Ok so I admit I'm no expert on fish care in general*maybe* this tank would work for a small, sturdy goldfish or something. But I have owned two bettas now, and have a tendency to do a lot of research so from what I can tell, this tank would be inhumane to house a betta fish. Betta fish need two gallons MINIMUMbest is 3-5 or even more. Theyre tropical tooso a tank heater is a must unless your house averages 75 degrees anyway, and I dont see how you could easily stick one in there. Also a filter, unless you wanna do weekly water changes. Just no. Please do the right thing and dont buy this with the intent to stick a living animal in there.

Bettas need at least 5 gallons and a filter. Any fish kept in here won't last long. Here's a word to the poor saps who bought this. "If the Betta doesn't live for three to five years of its standard life span; chances are you are doing something wrong." Don't waste money on this, buy a five gallon tank for the same price.

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This kind of product is terrible to advertise for fish care. No fish should be confined in such a small space because of how quickly disease and death can occur. Besides, Big aquariums are a much better decor for a home than a small overpriced bear than can kill a fish.

However, a creative use for this product is to fill it with gumballs or toys.

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I have the monkey tank in my room, and I absolutely love it! It gives my desk some character, and my betta has been happily living in it since January.

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It really is a neat fish tank. It has a open in the back to feed your fish and to add water. There is a little switch there also and it turns on a light. It looks very nice.

Sandstone Airstone - 12 in. x 3/4 in. x 3/4 in.

I use these for my turtle tank. They are decent, but the connections to the air tubes is very hard to get on. It might be easier to use the soft airtubes if you buy these.. Maybe one of those extension things might help as well.

PURCHASED 11/25/2011 .DOESNT WORK. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL OF THESE WORKED FINE. I TRIED 2 DIFFERENT AIR PUMPS, DIFFERENT HOSE. LEVELED IT, BLEW THRU IT..ONLY ABOUT 4 " OF IT WORKS. BOUGHT IT ON AMAZON. WASTED MY MONEY.HI AS OF JANUARY 2012 IT IS WORKING BETTER ABOUT HALF OF WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO. I THINK THE PRODUCT SHIPPED TO ME FROM OZBO ON AMAZON MAY HAVE BEEN VERY OLD OR DEFECTIVE. I HAVE HAD MANY OF THESE ITEMS BEFORE AND NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM.

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I had originaly had one broken 12 inch sandstone but had not contacted seller, after opening another package there were 2 broken. I have written an E-mail to the provider yesterday but have not heard back as of yet 06/24/2010

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TOM Aquarium Surface Skimmer-canister and power filters

This skimmer is on my 90 gallon HEAVILY planted aquarium; and I bought it to get rid of the film on top of the water. The skimmer comes with almost no directions; you just have to figure it out which isn't too hard.

By design, the clear piece with the inverted castle top floats, and by design (and depending on your filter flow rate) it shouldn't require much tweaking. I do not believe the device was intended for the size of filter I'm running so the concept of "float balance" as designed doesn't exactly work flawlessly for me. However, I'm using it far beyond it's intended capability bracket and therefore it does require a bit of tweaking and daily attention due to my high light an evaporation rate but I've negated that by using a rubber band to somewhat restrict the floating upper part of the device which has worked well.

BUT Overall this product is good. Could be better with simple engineering changes but whatever.... If you're semi-intelligent, have less than a 100 gallon aquarium and run less than 200 watts of compact fluorescent light you should be pleased. I gave it 5 stars because; although not perfect, it functions extremely well for the price.

I do not have any film on the top of the water any more!

I have this TOM skimmer hooked up to a Rena XP4 running full blast; and it isn't a straight connection with the parts from the box. You must take a piece of your Rena filter tubing and use it to connect the "bendy" part of the TOM skimmer to connect it to the Rena intake. I used a 1 inch piece, no big deal but I was curious when I bought mine so I thought you should know....

This surface skimmer takes some fiddling to get working properly.

In short, this will replace your filters normal intake tube, so right there is where most of your (potential) issues will come into play. For me the tube on this was the exact same size as the intake of my canister filter, which means I couldn't hook it up. I ended up taking the tube into a nearby Lowe's and searching for plastic (not metal) fittings that would work with it to get it hooked up.

The clear plastic part you can see in the photos is the float, after installing you'll need to lift that part out of the water so that the underside has air in it. You then gently lower it onto the water and the trapped air will make it float. The piece of plastic that sticks up the center is how you adjust how much suction there is, twist it until the float is skimming the water, but not strong enough to pull it completely under.

This will create noise, but with some tweaking you can minimize it.

I had never heard of the brand "TOM" before, but based on the pictures this one is exactly the same as the one offered by Hagen.

Caution: I maintain fully planted tanks, which includes floating plants. Unfortunately, floating plants will very easily clog this up. I somewhat expected that, but thought I'd try it anyways. I may keep trying at a later time with a very minimal amount of surface skimming to see if there can be a balance.

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I too was having problems with the nasty film on top of my water. I have 2 eheims, 2217 and 2228. I hooked this up to my 2228 intake. Eheim offers a surface extractor for $40. The TOM was only around $11 so I thought I'd try it first. It is awesome. Just as advertised. The flex hose is removable and the little L fitting can be slid on in place of the flex hose. I hooked directly up to my U tube intake. I did this by removing the strainer on the end of the U tube and cut a little piece of eheim tubing (about 2", but it may vary for you) in order to fit the skimmer to the U tube. Great product. My surface is now crystal clear. As soon as I hooked it up, you could see the film being sucked right in. It's hard to tell, but the clear plastic strainer on the TOM moves freely and separate from the black portion. It floats on the surface. Twisting the black stick that goes down through the center of the strainer moves a stopper at the bottom and it's used to regulate the flow entering either the bottom of the device (as a regular intake would work) or the top of the device (clear strainer at the top). There is a fine balance and takes a little time to get the flow right, but not too bad. Very happy with purchase.

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Little to no directions on how to actually use this. It appears this same exact item is made for other companies under different names. I found a PDF 'manual' by searching for 'Hagen surface skimmer PDF'. A big part of the correct functionality of this device that I could not figure out was, a pocket of air must remain under the top portion for it to correctly float. It's a little tricky to get setup but once done, makes sense and is easily adjustable. The only time I really have to adjust it is when I feed the fish. I dial it all the way up so it's not surface skimming and is only pulling from the bottom. I then feed the fish and dial it back down so its clearing the crud off the top.

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I'm using this surface skimmer attached to an Aquaclear 10 HOB filter to remove surface scum in my marine tank. (I don't run a protein skimmer.) I had to cut the elbow adapter to make it fit into the Aquaclear intake but that was a 2 minute job. It takes a bit of fiddling to adjust it so the water flows in without making a lot of gurgling noise but once adjusted it works pretty good. The teeth are small so your fish and inverts don't get sucked in the filter.

Cons: Sometimes the floating arm will sink below the water's surface when large snails climb up on it. My snails enjoy the gunk that accumulates in the intake. The elbow adapter and flex hose didn't fit my filter, I had to cut to fit. Easy enough but it would have been better if there were some other adapter options.

Gave it 4 stars because it does take some work to figure out how to adjust the inner screw so the intake floats. Instructions are pretty much garbage. It definitely gets the scum off the top of the water. I wrote this review as I'm purchasing two more for my other tanks.

Eshopps RS-200 Reef Sump - 125 to 225 gallons - 30 in. x 12 in. x 16 in.

I've always been the type to buy the "next size up" when it comes to filtration. Currently, I have this sump hooked up to my 90 Gallon Reef Tank. In it, I have space for a Reef Octopus Needle Wheel Skimmer 6 in. up to 150 gallons in the protein skimmer area, and a Mag Drive Supreme 950 GPH Pump in the return area.

The water level lines that come on the sump will not be accurate if you have to raise up your protein skimmer (like I did), but besides that, it's a very simple design to work with. I do wish the filter socks were easier to remove (in my case, they are very difficult to remove at times because I have to slip a piece of PVC pipe into the drain bulkhead AFTER/WHILE I reinstall the filter sock (after washing it). The reason I have the extended PVC pipe going from the bulkhead into the water is so that the sump doesn't make so much water splashing noise when it is running. I'm sure with a little modification, this could become easier, so it isn't a deal-breaker when evaluating the sump. To keep things "in the family", I purchased the Eshopps PF-1200 Overflow Box Up to 300 gal. to go with this sump and EVERYTHING connects together very nicely.

In terms of durability, it is constructed very nicely and packaged very safely from the factory. The seams are all very nicely glued together and I have never had a leak in the past 6 months since I set it up.

All-in-all, it's a very nice sump, with exception to the filter sock frame design and the water splashing that comes from the factory drain setup. If you don't mind cutting a few pieces of PVC to quiet down your drains, this is the sump for you.

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Tetra Replacement Foam Cylinder Prefilter

This cylinder filter makes it so easy to change out and clean pond mess out of the filter . Keep an extra on hand to change one while rinsing and cleaning the other.

Was just what we wanted. Allows us to keep pond running smoothly. Take one off and we place the second on to thoroughly clean and be ready for next time.

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Zilla Fresh Air Non-Locking Screen Clips, 2-Pack

I bought these for a snake cage and they are extremely difficult to attach to the zilla screen. Stupid to think that Zilla would make clips that fit their screens. Once I finally got them on the screen with pliers and a friend's help, they didn't work. The flimsy metal allows the lid to be pushed up without difficulty from a young corn snake. He is able to push his lid up unless I put books on top, but that looks tacky. So I invested in these clips and I'm still using the books. The clips are a waste of time and money. I'm trying to return them and I guess I'll just continue to have books on my snake cage.

No way these things are going to keep my snake in. They are cheap and flimsy and come unsnapped with very little effort.

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they are okay i ordered them because they were chepa and qualified for 2 day free shippin with amazon prime.....they r okay order 2 packs tho and use all 4 on the tank

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Clips did not hold & 1 broke when installing. No instructions on placement. I had to search Internet for installation procedure.

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The clips fit our screen and keep the lid in place. When our snake gets bigger and stronger, it would probably be better to get another pair of clips to hold down the screen at all four corners. For now, these clips are doing the job.

OSI Marine Lab 2 part Battleship Aquarium Ornament

First off, the small picture does not do this ornament justice. There is incredible detail in terms of rust and decay, just as you'd expect with a battleship sunk since WWII. There are plenty of holes, cavities, and hideaways for small fish to swim through. Combined with an elaborate setup of plants, rocks, and anything else you may have, this is an incredible display that transcends an aquarium decoration into a work of living art. One word of caution this ornament is extremely large. I have a 38G and it essentially consumes 4/5 of the length of the aquarium. Highly recommended.

I first put this thing in a 29 gallon tank and it barely fit end to end. Doesn't leave a lot of room for much more. Now I have a 55 gallon tank and it seems at home. One thing the photo doesn't show is that the ship is hollow on the interior, and the fish can swim all around and through it. The colors and texture of this thing is very good quality. Provides a lot of hiding spaces for the fish without obscuring your view of them entirely depending on how you place the two pieces. Only warning I have is that you need to be careful with the turret barrels as I have had one break off while cleaning my tank out one day. I intend on re-gluing it as soon as I find a safe way to do this. Some of the interior plastic is also apt to break should you be gripping it, but this isn't so important as you don't see these parts. All the fish I've had seem to love swimming in and around it, and that's why you get these things. Wish the company that makes this would do a variety of ships instead of just this one... I really like it.

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The ship looks like I have a piece of ocean inside my home. I get a lot of compliments on the look. Seller was incredibly quick to ship and his price was untouchable.

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Bought this to put in my 55gl cichlid tank, I was very happy when I took it out of the box, it is a lot more colorful & looks really cool in my tank, it pretty big so you won't get a lot more in a 55 but looks great!

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Ovation 1000 Submersible Power Jet Filter - 265 gph

I have 3 red eared slider turtle hatchlings and was looking for a filter that not only could keep up with them but that would be able to grow with them as I upgraded their tank to bigger sizes. I originally was looking for a canister filter because I currently already had 2 submersible filters in the tank that just could not keep up ( one was the fluval U1, and the other was the Zoo med 311 turtle filter) but I settled for this because of it's amazing price for the amount of work it does.

I've only had it in the tank for about 3 hours but already am seeing an amazing difference in water quality! Now the filter is tad large for my tank at the moment and takes up a bit of room but it won't be problem after I upgrade them in a year or so so it's no big deal. It actually is a very small filter but it's currently in a 20 gallon long tank.... so that explains that.

It isn't as completely silent as I would like it to be, but it's quiet enough to be covered up easily by tv or a small fan noise. The only other thing that concerned me is the output through the spray bar (it does work without the spray bar but I used it to help the water flow) it is VERY strong coming out of the spray bar and my hatchling turtles go for a bit of a ride when they try to swim past it. But again once they get bigger that won't be a problem. So no real long term complaints with this one!

It doesn't really come with much on the instruction paper but it's pretty self explanatory. And I didn't actually buy the filter on amazon but had been looking for reviews for this filter and couldn't find ANY so I decided to write this for anyone else in my position.

Also it does say that carbon cartridge is a one time use only and HAS to be replaced. But it actually can be re-filled with re-fill carbon that you can buy at any pet store which just adds to the filters pros!

Overall if you're looking for a submersible filter that works great, and has the power of a canister filter, this is it. I mean you can't beat the price for 265 gph!

I have 3 RES turtles in one 55 gallon tank and it is always messy and I could never find a filter to keep it clean! Unit now! This is hands down the best filter I have used... it is going on week number 2 and the tank is still clear! Another good thing is u can put the filter under water... other turtle filters don't do that so u can only fill the tank up so full... So if u have a turtle or 2 or 3 get this filter!

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Very fast water flow. Pretty much entire filter has to be under water. Works fairly well. I just set up my turtle tank so I can't really say yet how well it works long-term. Short term the water is still murky. BUT I did put a lot of found drift wood in the tank which had a lot of algae and scum on it. I keep cleaning out the sponge filter so we will see how it works in a few weeks!

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I bought one of these filters cause it was cheap but have had it for 10months an still works great. I'm using this on my tiger Oscars tank I replaced the spray bar with DIY PVC spray bar

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I was a little concerned that a $30 filter wouldn't be able to do the job of keeping up with my turtles. My other in-tank filters couldn't keep up for even a week. With that being said, this filter is phenomenal. I purchased three (one for each tank), and they keep my turtle tanks (1-2 large turtes in each) clear for weeks. Also, cleaning is easy and you don't have to replace the filter media every time you clean, because it can be rinsed, too. The filter comes entirely apart without the use of a screw driver. I love these filters. My life now involves a lot less turtle tank cleaning!

Power Gravel Cleaner 30-125

I am so excited to finally get my Power Gravel Cleaner for 30 125 gallon aquariums! Amazon.com had the best price of anyone else that I could find. Plus with Free shipping offered by Amazon Prime I couldn't go wrong. This Power gravel cleaner works great, it has very good suction and was easy to put together. I did discover 2 issues with this unit, the suction hose needs to be at least 3 feet long and the suction hose should have a shut-off ball valve to have more control of the suction power. However, I found these issues easy to fix by replacing the short hose that was provided with the unit with an old 5 foot gravel vac hose that I had laying around to give the unit a longer reach around the tank and I was able to make it easier to control the water flow by pinching the hose with my fingers. I have to say all in all, I am very happy with this product and would recommend it to my friends and my LFS. I had to give this unit a 4 star rating because of these 2 issues. If Colbalt Aquatics would update their design with these 2 modifications they would get a 5 star rating from me.

This is an excellent idea with a few draw backs some of which are significant. I ordered the 30 125, found setup a breeze despite the near non existent instructions. At first I tried it out on a 55 it did a good job and did it quickly. The unit was defective but I ordered a replacement and Amazon had it here the very next day.

The unit is basically an HOB (Hang On Back) filter but it's a clever idea and easy to see how it helps keep your tank substrate clean in between serious break down cleanings and water changes.

1) The suction is more than adequate I use Terrazona glass as a substrate in many of my tanks, these are quite large and heavy and the suction from this unit had no problem sucking those up, a simple shake released them. it's comparable to Python water exchanger. But for a unit price of $100 Cobalt could certainly have provided extra socks and a stronger pump. Not to mention a flow control much like the simple switch on the Python

2) The filtration socks are flimsy open mesh nylon and allow for some debris to re-enter the tankfor $100 for the cleaner Cobalt should really include more than one.

An alternative is to buy some 80 Mil filter pad (I use this stuff in all my filters) it removes debris down to 5 microns in size and will polish your water as you use clean the gravel. The cost for a package of three replacement socks retails for an outrageous , p. You can buy an 18" X 30" piece of "Pure Flow" 80 micron padding for under $10 it's a no brainer. Simply wrap a piece around the plastic frame instead of the sock or better yet use both.

3) For a machine meant to clean up to a 125 aquarium and provide the consumer with a mere 24" of vinyl tubing is short sighted and cheap. Rather than move the unit along the rim of the tank as you work. An easy fix is to grab some 5/8 tubing I pulled 5 feet off a siphon gravel cleaner and it works great and solved the problem.

However there are reasons to like this product.

1) The extension tube is excellent and the rubber dividers provide an air tite seal. Plus you can adjust the size to fit the depth of most any tank.

2) It's fast and it's convenient, despite it's flaws. This is a real time saver especially if you have multiple tanks.

I've used an eheim sludge remover for years and it's effective but time consuming. Like all eheim products it's exceptionally well made and the micro screen compartment for capturing debris never needs replacing. However it's limited in size to tanks 24" in depth and tube extensions are not available.

A few years ago I paid $79 apiece for two of them but see Amazon sells them for $39 that's a steal. They're a wonderful addition to any aquarists arsenal of cleaning and maintenance products. In fairness the Cobalt is stronger and more versatile especially for larger jobs.

Over the past 40 years of keeping fish I've seen both products and companies come and go with rapid frequency. Cobalt would be serving both itself and their customers better by offering more value for the dollar and up grading the overall quality of this product.

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The good: The cleaner looks nice and is easy to use. Not being up to my armpit to reach the bottom was nice. It really does cycle a lot through.

The bad: It's not filtering that much out. Even when I doubled up the screen on the flow to try and filter out more, it was still pushing through all the food and poop right back into the tank. It only took me 3 attempts at cleaning the tank before I put a cup into the waterfall and dumped it into a bucket so I could look at the water that was going back into the tank. Very large uneaten food flakes and plenty of poop were right there in front of me.

Realistically great idea, I was sold on it (and I'm a cheapskate), but SORELY disappointed.

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Was glad to find a product to clean the gravel and not lose a lot of water.Product was better than described and arrived

sooner than estimated delivery date.

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Try to use it but after 30 seconds the Small particles Of Gravel Stops Motor. I removed the spinner clean it put it back and it stopped again. Did not used it any more. Going back to Amazon for refund.

Maybe is good for large gravel but not for with my cichlids gravel.

Other problem is the length of the hose. It's only 2 ft. and is very stiff. You need to replace the hose with longer one and more flexible.

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