Eheim Skim 350 Modifications review

[Wookii]

Hi Folks,

I'm beginning to have second thoughts about the All Pond Solutions Skim-2. But, I may be overlooking the obvious 😕. I'm having problems getting into the compartment enclosing the pump itself. Can anyone help? @Wookii, I believe you may have one of these skimmers?

JPC

Hi John, I do have a couple of these skimmers, though don't use them anymore. As @ScareCrow says, you can take the black base plate off, however when I wanted to clean it (which is what I assume you are looking to do), I just dropped the whole unit in a jug of bleach solution (or/followed-by a strong citric acid solution), plugged it in and let it run for 24 hours. It came out completely clean.

 

[jaypeecee]

Hi @ScareCrow & @Wookii

Thanks, guys.

I successfully removed the black base plate this time and was able to give the skimmer a thoroughly good clean. Thanks to you both for your advice.

JPC

 

[CJM70]

I went through many of these options with my Eheim 350 - it still managed to kill two fish.

IModification No.6 - stick the Skim 350 in the classified and get an APS SKIM-2 - sooooo much better than the Eheim; much faster and easier to maintain, much greater surface area skimming meaning it takes much longer to clog, a transparent body to easily spot trapped shrimp etc. I have two now and they both work great.

View attachment 152108

Looks like a much better option to the eheim. IMHO, eheim seem to be having design issues in recent years. I used to love their kit.

 

[jaypeecee]

Hi Folks,

I owe it to @Wookii for suggesting the APS SKIM-2 a while ago. It's running right now in one of my tanks and it works very well. It's also easy to clean and doesn't eat my fish!

JPC

 

[jaypeecee]

IMHO, eheim seem to be having design issues in recent years. I used to love their kit.

Hi @CJM70

I have a few Eheim products - one of which is an earlier streaming pump. Both the design and manufacturing quality of this item are disappointing. I also have an Ecco Pro 130 external filter and it's excellent in every respect. Inconsistent.

Regarding the skim350, what I can't understand is why Eheim still continue to ship these with an inherent design defect - the fact that it may suck in small fish and/or shrimp. For a trivial amount of money, this can easily be rectified. There's a whole thread here on UKAPS advising them what to do!

JPC

 

[CJM70]

Hi @CJM70

I have a few Eheim products - one of which is an earlier streaming pump. Both the design and manufacturing quality of this item are disappointing. I also have an Ecco Pro 130 external filter and it's excellent in every respect. Inconsistent.

Regarding the skim350, what I can't understand is why Eheim still continue to ship these with an inherent design defect - the fact that it may suck in small fish and/or shrimp. For a trivial amount of money, this can easily be rectified. There's a whole thread here on UKAPS advising them what to do!

JPC

I hear you, and totally agree. I think it was Richard, (the pond guru), Who recently stated on one of his YouTube videos, that eheim don’t seem to be listening at the moment, and are hellbent on cutting costs as much as possible in order to maximise profits. I don’t know what their financial status is, perhaps they are suffering as much as many people as a result of Covid and other changes in the hobby.

I know that the Chinese imports have put a lot of pressure on the more expensive manufacturers, to cut costs. Having said that, Eheim’s prices seem more expensive than ever, and they were never cheap. However they were worth the extra money.

I don’t know what current thoughts are in terms of which canister filter is the best, but the Oase range seem to be quite good at the moment. What do you use currently?

 

[Hufsa]

Richard, (the pond guru)

Ugh, take what the guru of ponds says with a large grain of salt.
Hes very good at talking smack about other brands while simultaneously pushing his own "magical" filter media 🙄
Which makes him no better than the rest in my eyes.

Hopeful hobbyists are importing it at great cost to my country, its being toted as the "best" filter media (de-throning Seachems expensive pumice) and I cant say anything about it without getting an angry mob with heavily filled canister filters after me.
Does my rant have anything to do with skimmers?
No not really, I just have this kneejerk reaction to certain names whom I think should not be viewed as the authorities they like to present themselves as

Regardless of the above, Eheim is sadly not what it used to be, that pretty much everyone agrees upon.
There doesnt seem to be a very clear cut replacement as the new "safe reliable" brand on the market, though in a few years time things could be clearer.

This thread started out being about the Eheim Skimmer but it is embarrassingly outperformed by a cheapo skimmer from fleabay.
The tread might as well be renamed "There are no satisfactory modifications, put it in storage and buy a SunSun like the rest of us"

I would love to know what they are thinking over at Eheim Headquarters

 

[jaypeecee]

Hi @CJM70

I don’t know what current thoughts are in terms of which canister filter is the best, but the Oase range seem to be quite good at the moment. What do you use currently?

I've also heard good things about the Oase filters.

I only have one external filter and it's the Eheim Ecco Pro 130, which I mentioned earlier. If and when this packs up, I'll take a look at:

Whale - FILTERS - Products and:

sera UVC-Xtreme - external filters | sera

sera UVC-Xtreme - External filter for aquariums ✔ with integrated UV-C amalgam lamp ✔ electronically controllable ✔ in two performance versions ✔ Find out more now!

www.sera.de

Sicce are based in Italy. I like their products in general but I've never used any of their external filters. Again, I like some of the Sera products but I've never used their external filters.

JPC

 

[CJM70]

Hi @CJM70

I've also heard good things about the Oase filters.

I only have one external filter and it's the Eheim Ecco Pro 130, which I mentioned earlier. If and when this packs up, I'll take a look at:

Whale - FILTERS - Products and:

sera UVC-Xtreme - external filters | sera

sera UVC-Xtreme - External filter for aquariums ✔ with integrated UV-C amalgam lamp ✔ electronically controllable ✔ in two performance versions ✔ Find out more now!

www.sera.de

Sicce are based in Italy. I like their products in general but I've never used any of their external filters. Again, I like some of the Sera products but I've never used their external filters.

JPC

I have had a sera external filter before. I found that the standard media set up allowed for a lot of detritus in the water column. But I’m sure with a bit of adjustment, that could easily be corrected. The filter itself was one of the quietest I have ever had. I actually bought it on a whim having seen a marketing video on YouTube by Sera which showed a modestly planted community aquarium. I liked the video so bought the product😂😂.

Also I do like their other aquarium products and used to swear by their bio start, even though some people poo-poo such products. I also used to use their water conditioner “aquatan“, and another product of theirs called “nitrivec“ which was supposed to help with the bio cycle. Again I don’t know whether it did or it didn’t but I have always been quite impatient with adding fish and using those products never lost a single one.