# Ehiem micro skimmer 350 review.



## Ian Holdich

Is this the best £20 I have spent for a while?

We all suffer some surface scum from time to time, in high energy tanks this seems to be more of a problem, not wanting to get into the debate why we get this problem, I thought I'd write a small review on the above product.

I was supprised to see my lfs selling the new ehiem micro products today, I had read decent reviews about this skimmer, so decided to part with just above £20. 

It comes in a neat small box


image by Ian Holdich, on Flickr

At the beginning I was wondering whether the small box was a ploy, and when I got it out, that I would have to build it and it'd end up about 30cm long! (It wasn't btw)

So, it comes with a small power head, rated at 300lph, it seems like a well built little power head. 

image by Ian Holdich, on Flickr

It then comes with an upper case and a lip that is specially designed to float, this will float up and down up to 3 cm, this gives for any evaporation. There is also a sponge to catch any debris. 


image by Ian Holdich, on Flickr

I put the unit together and it's about the size of an iPhone, it seems well designed and built with the traditional ehiem quality


image by Ian Holdich, on Flickr


As you can see from the pic below, the water runs the the four gratings in the top of the lipped part of the unit. This is the part of the unit that goes up and down with the water level. 


image by Ian Holdich, on Flickr


I had a small build up of scum on the top of the tank before I fitted the unit. The unit ran for approx 120 seconds and the top was clear! I was super impressed by the speed it did so...

Nice clean top water

image by Ian Holdich, on Flickr

The unit is quite unobtrusive when viewing the tank, tucked right in the corner it's doing two things for me, it's clearing the top of the water and is 100% crustal clear. It's also giving me a little extra flow in the part of the tank that doesn't get much flow.

image by Ian Holdich, on Flickr

Is this the best £20 I have spent in a while?

Yes it is, here's to no more surface scum! What a great little unit! 

Ps, turn it off when you feed your fish as all of the food will be sucked in to it!


----------



## Danny

Seems like a great little device and money well spent.


----------



## bogwood

Thanks...........very helpful review.
One for my shopping list.


----------



## Arana

very cool, is there any noise?


----------



## Ian Holdich

Oh, I meant to mention that, no there is no noise from the unit, you hear a trickling noise of water every now and again.


----------



## Ady34

Nice work Ian.
I bet its the kind if thing you could just remove and refit whenever you have a scum issue, especially given how fast it does the job. 
Cheerio,
Ady


----------



## Gary Nelson

I also invested in one of these about 3weeks back, they are great little units - I did originally adapt my intake pipe to have a skimmer on, which worked ok, but not as good as this one - like Ian says switch off at feeding time and also turn the power/ flow to the minimum when switching back on or it will have your carpet & curtains!


----------



## Westyggx

Just what i've been after this Ian, many thanks!


----------



## Matt Warner

Nice review Ian. Looks like a nice piece of kit. Where did you get yours from by the way?


----------



## Ian Holdich

Got mine from here, this is my lfs, they seem to be the cheapest online as well.

	  Eheim Skim 350 Surface Skimmer | Aquarium Supplies


----------



## Matt Warner

Cool cheers for the link. I might buy one of these to use occasionally and to remove bloody duckweed from the surface which found its way into my tank!


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside

I literally  want one after reading this. Thanks for the post Ian Hol


----------



## Gary Nelson

PS, sorry but I actually forgot to say what a great review you did Ian - it's been a long day! I'm sure a few others on here will be investing in one of these now


----------



## Iain Sutherland

Nice review ian, i ordered one of these yesterday for when im away, glad to here it isnt wasted cash.  I think viktor did mention checking for shimp and small fish in another thread, something about the gaps in the skimmer being a bit big?

Your ammania looks awesome, then it seems to disappear in the last photo  optical illusion?


----------



## Ady34

easerthegeezer said:


> Your ammania looks awesome, then it seems to disappear in the last photo  optical illusion?


Zoom in, it's still there .....your right tho.....looks invisible in the last shot


----------



## Matt Warner

You'd make a good salesman Ian!


----------



## LondonDragon

Ady34 said:


> Zoom in, it's still there .....your right tho.....looks invisible in the last shot


Think he just gave it a trim before that last photo lol to see who spotted it!


----------



## viktorlantos

easerthegeezer said:


> Nice review ian, i ordered one of these yesterday for when im away, glad to here it isnt wasted cash.  I think viktor did mention checking for shimp and small fish in another thread, something about the gaps in the skimmer being a bit big?
> 
> Your ammania looks awesome, then it seems to disappear in the last photo  optical illusion?



Yup confirmed. Got another feedback from our forum members yesterday that an oto get trapped and dead. So better to run if you need only. We do use 2-3 of them on our tanks and not had any issue but 3rd guy report me about this


----------



## nayr88

Great review mate.


----------



## Ian Holdich

Cheers guys, here's what I have picked up after 2 days of use.

1. The surface is still crystal clear

2. It has caught a couple of shrimp, they are still alive though.

3. I test the tds everyday for the sake of the rams, and keep it at a pretty constant level. Over two day it normally rises about 30ppm, so water changes have been about 2-3 times a week. Over the last two day of this running its only risen 10ppm. I'm not sure whether this is because before when the tds meter was being introduced into the water, the film stuck to the electrodes and gave a false result, or that the scum of the water adds drastically to tds. 

Will report back in a few days.


----------



## George Farmer

Nice review mate. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside

Ian Holdich said:


> Cheers guys, here's what I have picked up after 2 days of use.
> 
> 1. The surface is still crystal clear
> 
> 2. It has caught a couple of shrimp, they are still alive though.
> 
> 3. I test the tds everyday for the sake of the rams, and keep it at a pretty constant level. Over two day it normally rises about 30ppm, so water changes have been about 2-3 times a week. Over the last two day of this running its only risen 10ppm. I'm not sure whether this is because before when the tds meter was being introduced into the water, the film stuck to the electrodes and gave a false result, or that the scum of the water adds drastically to tds.
> 
> Will report back in a few days.



I find the surface of the water gives false, but consistent readings.

So this must be due to the surface film. I find if i pull the TDs meter out, then put back in water, it counts down from the same number as before. 

Cheers,


----------



## Ian Holdich

The problem is that I can't fully submerged the meter. The readings certainly go up in a couple of days though. As you say thought they are pretty consistent.


----------



## Westyggx

Just ordered mine


----------



## Westyggx

Ian did yours push loads of micro bubbles all round the tank?


----------



## Ian Holdich

It does until it gets going. What you should do is start it on the low flow setting, give it a couple of mins, then ramp it up to full blast. The bubbles will stop.


----------



## Westyggx

Ian Holdich said:


> It does until it gets going. What you should do is start it on the low flow setting, give it a couple of mins, then ramp it up to full blast. The bubbles will stop.



Sorted mate cheers surface is clear as day!


----------



## Ian Holdich

Westyggx said:


> Sorted mate cheers surface is clear as day!


Good ain't they, I still use mine at nice to oxygenate the tank and also clear any scum. It's working a treat at the moment.


----------



## DrRob

Might be that more stuff can gas off if the surface is cleared of residue.


----------



## DanMac

Got mine today recommended by Ian, it cleaned the surface within minutes


----------



## GHNelson

Eheim should make a nano version.
Even the Micro 350 is too powerful for my nano tank...and that's on the lowest setting. 
Cheers
hoggie


----------



## Ady34

Ian Holdich said:


> Good ain't they, I still use mine at nice to oxygenate the tank and also clear any scum. It's working a treat at the moment.


Just the info I was after


----------



## Ady34

Just received mine today, ordered from Ian's local; 'the Aquarium' as per the earlier link  A little more expensive than eBay, but supporting shops I don't mind a few quid here or there....anyway, opened the box and....




.....nice little touch 

Put it in the tank and I'm amazed at how good this tiny skimmer is, my surface was clear in literally 3 minutes!









Really pleased with it.

Cheerio
Ady


----------



## Westyggx

Its the best piece of equipment i think i've bought for my tank


----------



## jy_oc_hx

I'll second that.  I had a oily layer on the surface of my tank that i kept skimming off with absorbent paper and within a few days it would be back.  After 2 days of using the Eheim skimmer and rinsing the sponge it has gone and the water surface is so clear its probably increased the amount of light it lets through by at least 25%.  I had the same problem with mine blowing tiny bubbles a lot so i just left it on about 1/3 full speed.


----------



## Gary Nelson

Ady, how do you find the fish with those Haribo sweets?  mine luv um!


----------



## ian_m

If you are using a Juwel internal filter, pop a length of 16mm PVC pipe vertically in the filter on top of the floss/foam, cut to required length so the end slightly below the surface and bingo home made skimmer. Works well, though can gurgle, also tends to "sink" after a while and stop surface skimming, also blocks easily and but is easy to remove. But for quick surface cleanup is ideal.


----------



## Ady34

Gary Nelson said:


> Ady, how do you find the fish with those Haribo sweets? mine luv um!


 
i filled the skimmer up with them, i thought it was special skimmer filter material   ill take them out quickly and feed them to the goldfish


----------



## carl

I'm waiting for mine to be delivered - I have a skimmer on my inlet pipe which works brilliantly but having had to change the filter it no sucks in air so I get bubbles blown into the tank and no matter what I try I just can't stop it - so I'm hoping this will resolve it.  I have read that it does let in bubbles but I'm going to follow the guidelines of starting it on low...


----------



## Ady34

Hi Carl, and welcome to the forum.
I keep mine on the low setting and it doesnt bubble at all except for a split second when switching back on. Ive never tried the higher setting.
Cheerio,
Ady.


----------



## carl

Thanks Ady, that's what I'm going to do when it eventually arrives


----------



## carl

I've installed it and it's running on the low setting.  I had a few bubbles to start but that appears to have settled, the water is clear and my tank is 450L and it's works great in mine, very happy with it.


----------



## andrew simms

Hi im a newbie to keeping  marine fish, i have just bought  a fantastic  tank but  waiting  and educating before  i stock it. I have been looking  at Skimmers and this one seems  like no other i have seen. My question..... Does this do the same job as the much lager ones?


----------



## OllieNZ

andrew simms said:


> Hi im a newbie to keeping  marine fish, i have just bought  a fantastic  tank but  waiting  and educating before  i stock it. I have been looking  at Skimmers and this one seems  like no other i have seen. My question..... Does this do the same job as the much lager ones?


In short no.
This does a similar job to an overflow keeps the surface of the water clear.


----------



## andrew simms

Quote="OllieNZ, post: 338521, member: 3748"]In short no.
This does a similar job to an overflow keeps the surface of the water clear.[/quote]
Thanks, so there is a lot of options out there for Skimmers any recomendations? Price wont be an issue . I have the aqua one 550 with a sump i believe holds maybe 100 ltr


----------



## OllieNZ

andrew simms said:


> Thanks, so there is a lot of options out there for Skimmers any recomendations? Price wont be an issue . I have the aqua one 550 with a sump i believe holds maybe 100 ltr


Sorry cant help there. I know how they work from when I looked at setting up a marine but never looked into models. Trying one of the marine forums would be best or ask in the off topic section on here as there are a few reef and ex reef peeps about


----------



## allan angus

thanks for a great review with good pics , will buy one when my pension check hits the bank ! would a small piece of foom in the top stop shrimp ect entering the skimer ?
well guess ill experiment and find out . thanks again for the review.


----------



## Rob P

allan angus said:


> thanks for a great review with good pics , will buy one when my pension check hits the bank ! would a small piece of foom in the top stop shrimp ect entering the skimer ?
> well guess ill experiment and find out . thanks again for the review.



One of the best ways seems to be a small circle of stainless mesh inside the top, just a small piece needed. I lost some of my treasured rainbows in it first day, and they were 2.5cm fish  Since put mesh on no more casualties...


----------



## allan angus

ahh yes nice one


----------



## allan angus

and sorry about the losses !


----------



## Rob P

allan angus said:


> and sorry about the losses !



Yes they were hard to take, same for anything that would've have caught in there. But at least I learned quickly and the unit didn't get put back into service until a repeat incident was an impossibility.


----------



## Ady34

allan angus said:


> would a small piece of foom in the top stop shrimp ect entering the skimer ?


heres a couple of links to diy ways of preventing this:
Eheim Surface Skimmer - Death Trap! | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Eheim skim350 fix - no more death trap | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Cheerio,
Ady.


----------



## allan angus

thanks ady


----------



## MikeC1408

Quick question. Can anyone tell me the diameter of the outlet pipe on these?

Need something to add a bit of flow to remove a couple if dead spots I have and haven't found a power head I'm happy with yet (too powerful). 

Have looked at these to help remove the scum on the surface but also got thinking about adding a small spray bar on the outlet to diffuse the flow a bit.

2 birds with 1 stone so to speak.


----------

