Aquarium Systems VISI-JET-Protein Skimmer, piece of junk? *pics*

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BavarianBuilt

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Jul 2, 2008
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When I was first piecing together my aquarium a few months ago I stumbled across a guy on craigslist selling a protein skimmer and a bag of live sand for only $40. I immediately jumped on the deal. The live sand was great, the protein skimmer however, not so great. I don't know if its the way I have it set up but this thing does not seem to work right. Its the Aquarium systems Protein Skimmer & Visi-Jet Power Head. The whole thing seems cheap and the instructions included are horible. I've had it running for a month and have yet to empty the collection chamber. There is a little foam in it but not enough for it to collect. I've got 35lbs of live rock, one clownfish and five hermit crabs btw. Here are some pictures of the box and the third picture down is how I have it set up in my tank.







My question is, in the instructions it says not to submerge the skimmer in water past the red zip tie. It's very vague on this so I'm assuming it's talking about the top zip tie. Even when I have the skimmer set in the water just at the top red zip tie the "power head" that creates the bubbles for skimming is not fully submerged in the water. You can see the power cable in the back corner and I've very nervous to submerge that in my tank on what seems to be a very cheaply made protein skimmer. Also if you notice the black tube coming out of the red knob, that is the "intake" for the skimmer. Seems a bit odd and it makes a lot of noise, which is why I have the tube tucked behind the tank.

Any input, comments or advice would be great. Also, if anyone has a good, relatively inexpensive (~$100), protein skimmer that I should maybe replace this one with that would be great as well. I have a 44 gallon corner tank. TIA! :)
 

Fishieness

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Jan 14, 2006
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you preeeetty much hit the nail on the head. It's a piece of junk. haha
I would honestly recommend just getting a new one and seeing how much better a job it does. Try fiddling with the water level a little more in the mean time.
 

OgreMkV

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Apr 26, 2007
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I would consider pulling the power filter off. Or filling it with live rock rubble instead of the normal filter pads (unless your water is cloudy). I've read that filters tend to be nitrate machines and dump more than you want into the tank.

I would suggest you add a couple of powerheads and look into the octopus or remora HOB skimmers... especially if you're going for reef.

I've got a 46 gallon bowfront. It'll have the remora AquaC HOB skimmer (with a maxi-jet 1200 powerhead), two korylia 1 powerheads and a aquaclear 30 powerhead. I don't have a sump or anything either, so I'm going to have to have a very light bioload (few fish).
 

BToast

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Jan 6, 2008
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I also have a Remora. It was not to expensive, and does a great job. This is from a guy who has had more than I would like to admit, including the piece of S you currently have. Research is key. Hope you find the best one that fits your needs without breaking the bank. Good luck!
 

BavarianBuilt

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Jul 2, 2008
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I'm bumping this old thread because I have some new questions.

I still haven't bought a new protein skimmer yet, tank is still doing great. I was poking around looking at the protein skimmers at drfosterandsmith.com and noticed that they sell the exact skimmer that I have. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+4427&pcatid=4427 After reading the testimonials people seem to be able to get these things working great. I'm just real confused at this point as was hoping someone could tell me if mine is properly set up. In the picture there is a flow regulator gauge on the outside on the powerhead for the skimmer. The way I have mine set up that gauge faces inward, towards the tube, and it not readable unless I seperate the power head from the tube. I pretty much use it as a powerhead since I have never successfully gotten it to skim. The tube is also tinted on mine and it makes it impossible to see if it's working OK. This is a temporary solution in the mean time until I buy my Remora HOB.

EDIT: Some conflicting reviews from Amazon users how seem to be having the same problem as me, lol http://www.amazon.com/review/produc...ing=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar
 

spranzos

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Jun 23, 2009
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i took a look at your testimonials and they seem to be fake and made by the website operator, try making one yourself...
 
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