-
Fantastic Skimmer By Tony on 4/22/13
Tony would recommend this product to a friend
I'm new to the hobby and researched everything carefully before I bought this skimmer. I based my choice upon other reviews on how it was easy to get started. They were right. This skimmer is amazing! I installed it in my 40g sump under my 125 g DT. New set up and everything is getting under way. Within 30 minutes of starting the skimmer, the brown gook coming out was unbelievable. I ran this wide open for several days and just now, a week later, started toning it down a bit. It's been fantastic. Quiet, efficient and really doing it's job. Very few bubbles coming out of the skimmer now and lots of stuff coming out of the water. Truly plug and play! I didn't have to hunt around for the right level, worry about break in, etc. It's just that easy. Love it.
-
I love this skimmer! By James on 4/4/13
James would recommend this product to a friend
Best skimmer I've ever bought! So glad I bought it, it really pulls out all the gunk in my tank. I haven't had any problems and I'm glad I purchased this skimmer.
-
Great Skimmer, But on the Loud Side By Thomas on 3/18/13
Thomas would recommend this product to a friend
I purchased and put this skimmer into use 4 months ago on a 75 gallon mixed reef tank that is stocked with 11 fish. Reading various posting about the skimmer if there was a complaint about the skimmer it was about water discharge. The skimmer came with a metric/SAE adapter. A quick trip to HD and $4 in parts and the issue with water spraying down the sump area was fixed. My only complaint about the unit is how loud it is. I read several reviews where individuals say theirs got quieter with time. Well after 4 months I am still waiting. I may plug one of the two holes in the silencer as some suggest. The performance and build quality are great. The skimmer is constructed well and was pulling skimmate immediately. Overall I would recommend the skimmer with my only slight complaint being the loudness.
-
Great Skimmer By Jonathan on 2/20/13
Jonathan would recommend this product to a friend
Perfect for those with smaller sumps that want full size skimming. Easy to set up, pulls out an astonishing amount of yuk. Little loud but I have a basement sump, so who cares!! Don't think twice!!
-
awesome skimmer By Joe on 2/10/13
Joe would recommend this product to a friend
This thing is quiet, reliable, skims like a dream, as long as you set it up properly, water level can not be low in sump or it won't work and will be loud. But deffinety high qaulity you get what you pay for.
-
Have not had a good experience By Stylianos on 2/5/13
Stylianos wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
Almost thinking of replacing this skimmer currently. Using it for my 93g and it just doesnt seem to do a very good job. I have to constantly fiddle with it to try to get the skim just right, and one of the bottom legs broke off while i was cleaning it (not made very well)... I am wondering if the pump that came with it is just not strong enough? anyway I would not recommend it after about a year of using it.
-
Great Skimmer! By Doug on 1/29/13
Doug would recommend this product to a friend
No problems. Very satisfied with my purchase.
-
Unimpressed By Charles on 12/17/12
Charles wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
While this skimmer works I have the following problems with it....
#1. It's loud. The silencer is made of cheap plastic and is the same generic silencer used on other RO skimmers (it is not designed for the PSK-600 pump or this skimmer). You can plug holes and at most you'll reduce maybe 1/3 of the noise. This skimmer DOES NOT get quiet with break-in. You may just get used to the noise.
#2. It's got a 4" neck size. Do not plan on using this on anything less than a heavily stocked 90. You will be disappointed.
#3. It's loud...Yes I mentioned this already. Look at this skimmer...It doesn't include vibration dampening feet on either the skimmer or the pump. What this equates to is...noise and lots of it. Even cheap skimmers of other manufactures include this.
#4. You will have to make your own vent pipe. This is obviously RO cutting costs...You can buy the separate outlet if you want, however it will cost YOU.
$5. This skimmer takes FOREVER to break-in. I've owned numerous skimmers and the amount of time this took to break-in was rediculous.
All in All...I wouldn't recommend this to any of my friends as a buy.
-
Good Skimmer, Very Loud By Trevor on 11/28/12
Trevor would recommend this product to a friend
Although other reviews have discussed the noise, I feel it necessary to mention that this skimmer is loud. It does a good job of generating foam and pulling debris from the water, but it is as loud as an air conditioner. Several people have suggested plugging one of the air intakes and that does help, but overall the skimmer still provides a loud hum of machinery. If you are more interested in the quality of filtration than noise, then this is the skimmer for you. However, if you plan to put this aquarium in a bedroom or office, I would suggest a quieter alternative.
-
Started skimming crud in less than an hour in a new tank no livestock By jeff on 11/5/12
jeff would recommend this product to a friend
I hooked this up to a new tank with rinsed dry rock and rinsed dry sand, plugged in the xs160 for a test run and couldnt believe my eyes when i returned an hour later and there was nasty crud already being skimmed. With regards to noise I have to say that it is pretty darn quiet, most all of the noise comes from the air inlet sucking air and as many have suggested just plugging one of the two inlets cuts the noise down to just a small humming and it didnt seem to affect the quality of skimming. VERY happy with this skimmer.
-
Great Skimmer By David on 10/9/12
David would recommend this product to a friend
Bought this about a year ago and it's doing great.
Compared to my last skimmer (AquaC EV 120) it is a lot easier to clean and the cup detaches farther down on the neck so you don't have to reach down and clean the neck so much, just detach it and rinse it out.
-
Amazing skimmer for the price By Chris on 10/5/12
Chris would recommend this product to a friend
The skimmer was easy to setup and began extracting skimmate within hours. There's no need for continuous tweaking. I really like it how the collection cup is large and makes cleaning it a breeze. Lastly, the silencer makes this one of the quietest skimmers I've ever owned. Highly recommended!
-
Awesome skimmer By Dave on 10/4/12
Dave would recommend this product to a friend
I've had this skimmer running for 1.5 months now, and the gunk it pulls out looks like it could pave my driveway. For people complaining the silencer is inefficient, if you plug one of the 2 holes on the silencer it stops 95% of the noise. Make SURE you keep your water level in your sump chamber with the skimmer in it at the same level for optimal performance. Overall, I highly recommend this skimmer.
-
Great Big Skimmer in such a Small Footprint! By Jason on 9/14/12
Jason would recommend this product to a friend
I have a 40gal Breeder sump and wanted a skimmer with a small footprint yet big enough to handle a 120gal reef system.
This skimmer is a beast! Easily worth the price!
This is my second Reef Octopus skimmer and both are running great.
-
Great buy By Shane on 9/8/12
Shane would recommend this product to a friend
Have had the skimmer running for about 3 months now and it's amazing it pulls out all sorts of nasty junk as soon as I found the sweet spot
-
Not entirely what I was expecting By Michael on 8/16/12
Michael wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
Quality skimmer with solid construction, and nearly silent if you plug one of the air intake holes on the silencer.
The pump feels a bit underpowered, and there's no ability to fine tune air intake. Okay for a 75-90 gal, but much more is pushing it.
It's a good skimmer , but a little underwhelming overall. 3.5/5
-
Plenty of bubbles By Karl on 8/5/12
Karl would recommend this product to a friend
Skimming with a very light bio load. I replaced a 55 with 150 gallon tank. The 3 fish and 6 corals are in the 150 now. The skimmer is collecting small amounts of scum. I amazed its collecting anything.
-
Great for what I got it for By Will on 7/6/12
Will would recommend this product to a friend
I've hare this skimmer for about 8 months works great and Is quiet.
-
Great for what I got it for By Will on 7/6/12
Will would recommend this product to a friend
I've hare this skimmer for about 8 months works great and Is quiet.
-
Only Skimmer you should buy By Mary Beth on 6/10/12
Mary Beth would recommend this product to a friend
It took us three different skimmers to get to the best. This one is awesome. Definitely a set it and forget it.
-
reef octopus xs 160 By moises on 6/4/12
moises would recommend this product to a friend
The skimmer is amazing. started skimming the first day. first day was a bit noisy but once it broke in. It toned down a bit. still a little loud but nothing i couldnt live with. skimmate is out of this world. I happy, I made the right choice.
-
This thing is a Beast! By Kate on 6/1/12
Kate would recommend this product to a friend
Very well made, easy to understand instructions. I have not had the skimmer long enough to attest to quality, but will post another review in a few months. BRS packed this very well, no chance for damage during shipping.
-
Holy Protien Skimmer By Jeffrey on 4/6/12
Jeffrey would recommend this product to a friend
Do not be fooled by the pictures this is a beefy skimmer, it barely fit in my sump. A little noisy but not nearly as bad as people make it out to be in other reviews. Mine still breaking in so I'm not sure about the skimmate, but if the gunk that's starting to form on the neck is any indication it will produce excellent skimmate. Would definitely recommend to others.
-
Go XS 160!!! By Nick on 3/22/12
Nick would recommend this product to a friend
This was a really easy install and a great addition to my tank. The air pull on this skimmer is excellent....can't even hear the sound over my other pumps....has one of the smallest footprints...and really easy cleaning
-
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.
-
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
-
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!!
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
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!
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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!
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Excellent Skimmer By Wylie on 12/19/10
Wylie would recommend this product to a friend
easy install, quiet, powerful.
-
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+
-
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....
-
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.