SKIMZ SM201 Skimmer

Sawdonkey

Sawdonkey

Premium member
I just bought one of these from Aquacave and got it in my sump last night (it was about 16 hours from the time I ordered it to the time I had it......amazing shipping!). I debated between this and the SRO 3000, but went with the SKIMZ because people complained about the SRO noise and the SKIMZ got really good reviews. The SKIMS is literally silent so that is good. I'm having a hard time tweaking it to get it to bubble correctly. It's like there's too much turbulence in the skimmer. Am I just going through the "break-in period" or do I have it adjusted incorrectly?

Do any of you have this skimmer? Any suggestions on how to get it to produce like I see so many others doing?
 
It usually takes minimum one week to break in. Sometimes two. Its not uncommon to have zero head foam for the first few days. Id set it so it doesnt overflow, and then tweak it when you see some good foam.
What size tank/bioload?
Skimz are great skimmers. I buy Warner Marine, which are just modified Skimz.
 
I have the Skimz SM161.... I will tell you it can be a bit of a PIA. You do need to let the skimmer break in. Afterwards, the trick is to adjust the water flow with the gate valve to bring the water level in the skimmer to the neck of the cup....just above the white ring of the main chamber. Then... adjust your airflow with the screw on the airflow siliencer to almost all the way closed. Then open it about a half turn. You may need to then adjust your water level again with the gate valve. The trick is to use enough air to pull the gunk out.... but not so much that there is too much turbulance. I have heard to use the gate valve for large adjustments in water level....and the air screw valve for minor.... You will get the hang of it.... The reward.....this thing pulls the gunk out of your system like crazy!

It is one the of trickiest skimmers to dial in....and keep dialed in. I am always messing around with mine.

Additional suggestions: Make sure you are at the acceptable water level range in your sump....see your instructions. I used blue tape on my sump to indicate the minimum and max levels. It is a great quick reference. Also if you do not use auto top off..... you will want to with this skimmer. Fluctuation of water level in the sump is a major PIA with these skimmers.

Good Luck. It is a great skimmer. PM if you need ay additional info...
 
Thanks Greg,

This is what I was hoping to hear. Tank is 220 with 75 sump. I recently upgraded from a 90 so I've had most everything for multiple years. I've had one of my triggers for nearly 10 years. I have two med sized triggers, large-ish naso tang, med pbt, nearly adult emperor, lemon peel angel, and a small-ish tusk. I plan to start doing stinging corals and anemones in the future and that is the reason I'm working harder to clean up my water. I also just started running phosban and carbon reactors. My undersized ASM G2 skimmer was producing like crazy before I switched out.
 
I have a SM201 and a 161. The trick is to start with the least amount of air going into the chamber and gradually open it up. Use the gate valve to keep the water level in the neck area. After the break in it is rock solid in my opinion. I pull a full cup of black skimmate every week on my 400 gallon system with the SM201. I have not had to adjust it since the initial break in which took 4-5 days.
 
I was actually told the opposite by Jon Warner who also sells the same skimmer as the mf201. He recommended leaving the air silencer open all the way only threaded in enough not to lose the adjusting bolt, then adjust the water level with the gate valve only. This is how I set mine up and it has been skimming like a pro for almost the entire year I've had it up and running. Maintaining water level in the skimmer chamber is necessary thou, as I'm only using one large chamber as a sump, I have my ATO maintaining the proper 8" water level in the sump and sometimes when my DI runs out the water level drops and the skimmer will stop skimming effectively until I refill my DI container and the sump refills.
 
FishBeard said:
I was actually told the opposite by Jon Warner who also sells the same skimmer as the mf201. He recommended leaving the air silencer open all the way only threaded in enough not to lose the adjusting bolt, then adjust the water level with the gate valve only. This is how I set mine up and it has been skimming like a pro for almost the entire year I've had it up and running. Maintaining water level in the skimmer chamber is necessary thou, as I'm only using one large chamber as a sump, I have my ATO maintaining the proper 8" water level in the sump and sometimes when my DI runs out the water level drops and the skimmer will stop skimming effectively until I refill my DI container and the sump refills.
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+1, my air is all the way open. Maybe the WM version is different. I know the bubble plate/bubble diffuser reduces turbulence vs the Skimz version (according to WM).
 
Interesting...... I had some issues getting it dialed in when I first got mine....and I was told that I was drving too much air into the skimmer which was causing either too large of bubbles, too much turbulance or the fracturing was not ideal....or all of the above... I will need to find the email they sent me. What in essense they were saying is that these skimmers use so much air....that you dont need to run it wide open....and I would get much better performance with less air going in.

I am not saying what I did and am doing is right.... this thing pull amazing !@#$%^ out of the tank. At the same time I am always adjusting....

Good Luck. I will be interested to hear how things progress.
 
Greg said:
+1, my air is all the way open. Maybe the WM version is different. I know the bubble plate/bubble diffuser reduces turbulence vs the Skimz version (according to WM).
Click to expand...

Perhaps that might make the difference. But I've seen both bubble plates and to me the only major difference was the WM version had countersunk holes on the bottom side of the plate while the Skimz did not. Otherwise they are identical "functionally".
 
I had one on my 220 , compared to the other I had the skimmer is a champ & i love it .I have to empty collect cup every three days
 
Well, thanks for the encouragement that it will start producing. Glad to know. I thought I would get instant gratification, but I'll wait. It sounds like it is more of an art than a science and I'll just have to play around with it. Dan, I'd appreciate it if you can find and share the email the SKIMZ peeps sent to you.

Good news, my stand and canopy woodwork is getting installed tomorrow. Can't wait to post some pics!
 
This thread is perfectly timed. I just set up my new Monzter 201 on my 90G tonight. I have the air silencer screw wide open. Guess I'll try it both ways and see what works best.
 
I'm still struggling with my SKIMZ 201. I've had it for over a week and it is pissing me off. It produced nothing for quite a few days, then all for the sudden it started to bubble like crazy and produced a full cup in about two days. I dumped the cup and wiped it out. Then it took a few more days of no production and started to bubble again. It seems like it is burping air or water into the neck and destroying the bubbles that should build up there. I've been keeping my sump level constant and I just can't get it figured out. Is it normal to take multiple days to start bubbling again after dumping the cup? I doubt it.

Eric, how is the skimmer doing on your tank? Any advice would be much appreciated. Everything I've read about this skimmer was positive and I'm not impressed yet. I just can't get it to produce on a regular basis.
 
How about a video? That way they have a visual on whats going on and might be something simple with a turn..

GL!!
 
So far, I do find it to be a little bit of a pita to dial in the water level. I had a slight foam production after about 3 days. I too have noticed that there are very fine bubbles that start to generate in the top of the cone but then they seem to get very large when they get into the neck. I've only got about 1/4" of skimmate in the bottom of the cup and I'm not sure if this is good or bad after 6 days. I figured I'd give it another week with the air intake wide-open. I figure it should be broken in after 2 weeks. I'll see what it's producing and then try to close the air screw like Dan mentioned to see what's better. My thought is that I first want to see the results with it wide open after it is fully broken in, which I don't belive it is yet.
 
ETR, remember the 201 is a HUGE skimmer. Your tank could very well be too small for it to run efficiently, it could simply be running idle most of the time on you. Even on my 180, moderately stocked, and overfed, I still only skim maybe 1/2-3/4 gallon a week.
 
Yep, I know. It is way oversized for my tank, but I too have a crazy bioload and like to overfeed. Still, I realize it could take weeks to fill that massive cup.
 
A tip, get some hose and a container with markings, you'll be surprised how much that cup holds once you set up an external collection container. I have a 2.5g container set up so it makes it easier to drain the skimmate without turning off the skimmer, it works great. I might even have some extra length of the correct size tubing to connect to the nozzle on the cup if you need some.
 
FishBeard said:
A tip, get some hose and a container with markings, you'll be surprised how much that cup holds once you set up an external collection container. I have a 2.5g container set up so it makes it easier to drain the skimmate without turning off the skimmer, it works great. I might even have some extra length of the correct size tubing to connect to the nozzle on the cup if you need some.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. This makes sense. The skimmer starts to work well after a few days of being undisturbed. When I dump the cup it takes a few more days to start skimming again. Your solution will surely help with this because I won't need to remove the cup. I really think the burping is the problem though. It's almost like the bubble plate can't put through all of the air and it just burbs over the side when the bubble plate is full. The wrecks the microbubbles in the neck. I'll try to take a video this weekend.

I'm pretty sure my bio load is big enough to get this thing to produce. I've got some fairly large meat-eating fish in about 250 gal of total water.
 
Mine is on 400+ gallons and skims like a champ. I have a massive bioload and feed excessively as all my breeders are on this system. Is the bubble plate positioned correctly? I have seen it installed backwards and it causes all sorts of issues.
 
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