# Eheim Surface Skimmer - Death Trap!



## James D (23 Jan 2014)

When I got home last night I noticed there were only 3 Rasboras in my tank, after searching the tank and the surrounding area for a body I was about to give the cat a stern 'talking to'... luckily for my cat as an afterthought I checked the surface skimmer and found the Rasbora, just about alive, and two dead Neon Tetras. Fortunately the Rasbora has fully recovered, I don't really know how long it was in there for though.

I can only assume this happened because the Eheim was too low in the water or the moveable inlet had got stuck down or something, I was more concerned about getting the fish out so I didn't notice how it was positioned in the water, it was turned up to full power though for a bit more flow.

The moral of this boring story...... Check your Eheim surface skimmer now and again, carelessness costs lives.


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## Rob P (23 Jan 2014)

Sorry to hear James, think a few of us have suffered similar losses. I lost 2 x inch long Ivantosoff rainbows in mine first day I used it which was horrid 

I have overcome the problem, but has drawbacks....

First I used a piece of stainless mesh curved round the head and laggy banded it in place. Worked 'ok' but mesh was too heavy and pulled the head lower in the water than it needs to sit to work effectively.

Most recently I cut up an old fishing landing net and meshed the top with a piece of that (again with laggy band) and it sits how it should now and works fine. Downside now is that food etc can collect on my mesh. I have seen half a dozen amanos hanging around the mesh waiting for food lol.

Not related to above, but mine really does need a weekly clean, the other night i noticed it had practically stopped running and had to remove to clean. The little sponge was clogged up good and proper! That's after just a week and half uncleaned... And I didn't have that much surface scum to start with.

If you (or anyone else with this skimmer for that matter) wants a piece of this landing met mesh i'm happy to send some out, i've plenty of it, it's a good size and certainly gives peace of mind whilst allowing the unit to work properly


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## James D (23 Jan 2014)

Cheers Rob, It's surprising how dirty it gets so giving it a rinse is part of my water changing regime.

My missus suggested the net idea but I thought it might make the skimmer less effective, I might see if I've got anything lying around I can try tonight.


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## Rob P (23 Jan 2014)

Give me a shout if your stuck mate, for the cost of a 2nd class stamp (i'll nick an envelope from work) i can send you decent sized square of the net I have, it's ideal - You'd just need a small black elastic band lol


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## three-fingers (25 Jan 2014)

I've just used a small strip of stainless steel mesh that came free with some Taiwan moss from eBay, seems to work very well. I did have to keep cutting/pulling pieces off until I was satisfied it wasn't restricting flow or weighing down the intake too much though, I'm very happy with the final result (bottom pic is after adjustments to the mesh).

You can get this mesh for under £2 posted, so if you have shrimp or small fish and are thinking about the Eheim Skim 350, I'd say it's worth getting! I didn't even have to glue it in place, the steel just bent to the right shape. Robs's net might be more suited though! 

It's a shame that Eheim didn't include any strainer attachments with this unit, before I used this method I was opening the skimmer every day to let ~30 shrimp out each time .


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## viktorlantos (26 Jan 2014)

Or if you do not have this still mesh around you i guess a piece of dryvit mesh could work too


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## Rob P (29 Jan 2014)

three-fingers said:


> I've just used a small strip of stainless steel mesh that came free with some Taiwan moss from eBay, seems to work very well. I did have to keep cutting/pulling pieces off until I was satisfied it wasn't restricting flow or weighing down the intake too much though, I'm very happy with the final result (bottom pic is after adjustments to the mesh).
> 
> You can get this mesh for under £2 posted, so if you have shrimp or small fish and are thinking about the Eheim Skim 350, I'd say it's worth getting! I didn't even have to glue it in place, the steel just bent to the right shape. Robs's net might be more suited though!
> 
> It's a shame that Eheim didn't include any strainer attachments with this unit, before I used this method I was opening the skimmer every day to let ~30 shrimp out each time .


 
This is an excellent way round the issues. Changed my fishing net over to the internal stainless mesh band and it works a treat  Great solution/suggestion 3 fingers


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## three-fingers (29 Jan 2014)

Cheers Rob, hopefully saves some shrimp lol 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## James D (6 Feb 2014)

I thought as long as I kept my eye on the position 'floating' bit I'd be fine, maybe it was a one-off.

Well I found another dead Tetra in there last night with a shrimp (still alive). Luckily the Mrs wasn't back from work so I cut up our kitchen sieve and followed Three Fingers advice, it worked a treat. Dunno how long it'll be before she finds out she's lost the sieve though!


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## Rob P (6 Feb 2014)

lol (although not for your dead fish )

Just make sure to keep the mesh free, it's much easier for it to get clogged up with a bit of mesh in, i have to pull an occasional leaf out etc but no biggy


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