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Does the Job By Michael on 3/12/12
Michael would recommend this product to a friend
Well I've had the skimmer going for about a month now, and so far so good. Pulls some good gunk, but, I do have one complaint. The "Silencer" included does almost nothing, and I'm going to have to replace it. Lots of gurgling, which is too bad, since the pump is rather quiet.
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update Octopus 160 XS not Diablo By Virgil on 3/8/12
Virgil would recommend this product to a friend
This is my third review. I have had the skimmer for 6 months approximately. I am delighted with the skimmer. super quiet. Check my video out. Someone tell me what is different about the Diablo series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff2ZM9t43OM
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Excellent price for a skimmer of this caliber!!! By Blufgan on 2/19/12
Blufgan would recommend this product to a friend
I was really torn between the 160 sx and another skimmer made by a different company. All I have to say is that the 160 sx is amazing it is a little noisy at first which 5 dollars at home depot took care of easy to dial in, easy to put together, small foot print is nice because I have a lot of equipment in my sump. All around amazing!!
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Not too impressed By BullDog on 2/16/12
BullDog wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
Hard to dial in. Sump water level must always be at a constant level. Hard to find fittings to get the return under the water.
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Great Skimmer By AG on 1/9/12
AG would recommend this product to a friend
Easy to set up. Easy to adjust. Easy to use. Powerful. Elegant.
Only complaint is that the drainage hose provided should be longer. Mine won't really reach far enough out of my sump to make it useful.
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update By Virgil on 12/23/11
Virgil would recommend this product to a friend
I want to say my skimmer was very loud in the beginning, but has quieted down quite a bit to the point where is is just as quiet as my eshopps skimmer was. I let just the pump itself run in my r/o water for another 3 weeks until it was broken in. I also mounted some soft rubber tubing slotted to put on each side of the skimmer base and laid some tool box rubber matting(neoprene) material under it. Work great and quiet now. I almost gave up on this skimmer, but it takes 3-6 weeks for the pump the break in.
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Awesome By Jacob on 12/11/11
Jacob would recommend this product to a friend
Replaced my "super skimmer" with this and have been happy ever since. It's easy to set it and forget it, and if your water level is high enough in your sump to cover the output completely it's quiet otherwise there are some splashing obviously.
I wish it came a plug for the drain hose but I bought one at a hardware store as I just drain it into a liter bottle every 2 days. I skim fairly wet but it pulls a ton of gunk out.
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Reef Octopus Extreme XS 160 By Virgil on 11/7/11
Virgil would recommend this product to a friend
Upon purchasing this after reading lots of reviews, I was excited upon receiving this. BRS was courteous in price matching a local online competitor. Once received, the unit was bigger than anticipated but I have plenty of room in my sump. Once I started the unit up, it was extremely loud. I contacted the mfg and Jeremy said it takes sometime 4-6 weeks to break in and quiet down. I have had it running 3 weeks and it is a bit quieter but still loud in my opinion. The new psk-600 pump is suppose to be quieter than the old pump; the old pump must be really noisy. I also received confusion from the mfg on the warranty of the pump. The psk-600 is 2 years. Their old pump was 1 year. It is pulling great skimmate, but be aware it may take 2-3 weeks before your skimmer is broken in. There are also dyi online to quiet the outtake. They sell a kit but it's expensive and you should be able to save $30 bucks easily with a little work. Overall I am not convince I would buy this skimmer again, based on the pump making a low humming noise which is aggravating. I have everything padded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mcSNNK5qAM
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This thing is a MONSTER!!! By STEVE on 8/10/11
STEVE would recommend this product to a friend
Best skimmer you can buy for the money. I put it in my refugium and it fits perfect do to its small foot print. Took less them three days ot brake in and was real easy to set up. All I can say about this skimmer is its awsome!
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Great skimmer for price By Ismael on 7/30/11
Ismael would recommend this product to a friend
After a week this skimmer was pulling very dark skimmate. It is also more quite than my Aqua C Remora which i did not expect. Adjustments are also very easy and precise. So far this is the best purchase i've made for my tank.
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Great Skimmer By Antole on 7/16/11
Antole would recommend this product to a friend
One of the best skimmers for a small footprint.
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Best Skimmer for the money By antole on 7/12/11
antole would recommend this product to a friend
I have this skimmer on my 90 gal mixed reef it performs like a champ. Broke in in 3 days and needs very little if any adjustments when after setup.
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Fast and easy! By Zakk on 5/28/11
Zakk would recommend this product to a friend
This skimmer was easy to set up and it took less then 3 days to break in. It was well worth the money!
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Needs Adjustment By Geoff on 5/16/11
Geoff would recommend this product to a friend
Works great.Lots of skimmate. Needed to buy PVC (90 degree elbow and straight pipe) actually schedule 80 material has correct metric sizing. This addition to outflow made it much quieter. I also added teflon tape to the pump where the air intake piece fits on because that connection was too loose. Since the Sicce 600 pump fits under and back of housing, the air hose touching the housing has a pulling/prying effect upon the air intake piece.
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Great Skimmer By Todd on 5/4/11
Todd would recommend this product to a friend
This skimmer is probably the best quality for the price. Ever since I put it in, it's been operating very quietly and it's been pulling lots of protein out of the water. Lot's of skimmate in the collection cup is a great thing to see. It's base is pretty big though. I almost couldn't fit it in the third chamber of my sump along with all my other pumps. But I managed to fit it in, and it's working like a champ.
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Great skimmer! By Reefahholic on 3/27/11
Reefahholic would recommend this product to a friend
This skimmer is very quiet. I was impressed because you always hear about people saying their skimmer is loud. I was so worried it was going to be irritating. I can barely hear this skimmer running. It's very easy to adjust with the gate valve and has great quality pump. The only thing that I did not like was the size. However, my stand is small so anything seems kinda big.
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Great Skimmer for my 65 Gallon By david on 3/16/11
david would recommend this product to a friend
I have owned this skimmer for bout a month. I replaced the stock 600 pump with my old 2500 + Red Devil pinwheel and that combination works the best for my situation. The XS 160 out of the box works great, just be prepared for the metric pluming. The faucet style adjustment is a huge improvement over the older PVC tube. Worth the upgrade.
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Awesome By Jake on 1/12/11
Jake would recommend this product to a friend
I have this running on a 90G aquarium with sump and it works great. I moved from an Aqua-C Remora Pro to this unit and my biggest concern was going to be noise. I have this in my home office where I work from home and the noise level is much better than the old Remora Pro. I had to unplug the pro just so I could talk on the phone, now I can leave this one running with no issue.
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Excellent Skimmer By Wylie on 12/19/10
Wylie would recommend this product to a friend
easy install, quiet, powerful.
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Just do it By David on 11/8/10
David would recommend this product to a friend
Have this baby on a lightly stocked 40B mixed reef. Been in operation for a good 8 months. After a 4 day break-in it was busy taking out the trash. Well built and quiet, this skimmer is top notch. Can be plumed in a variety of ways. Super EZ to clean and holds adjustment level very well = no surprises or overflows.
I've been through a few cheap skimmers and this one is solid / well built / quiet and a great performer. Yep, it's a little pricey (4 stars) but buy it once and your done.
A+
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Solid performance By Reefgeek on 4/14/10
Reefgeek would recommend this product to a friend
I also have this skimmer on my 75 gallon mixed tank its amazing. Easy to clean, easy to adjust, and hold a good bubble level. The skimmate can be almost black or light green depending on what type of skimming you want. would recommend to some one not wanting to spend hundreds on another skimmer....
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Rock Star Skimmer! By Chad on 3/28/10
Chad would recommend this product to a friend
After several years as a Aquarium Service Tech (read, I scrape fish poo and clean skimmers for a living), I have experience with everything from Bubblekings to Coralife skimmers. I must say, when I chose to upgrade my personal skimmer from a Aqua-C 120 to the Reef Octopus Extreme 160, I was blown away. I installed the skimmer on my 75g mixed reef, and nearly instantly it was doing some dirty work. Within a week, after break-in, the skimmate had both darkened, and increased in volume. I wish I would have pulled the trigger much sooner on this purchase.