Finally received the unicorn of small skimmers

Toddah · Apr 4, 2022

At last the CADlights PLS-50 Elite II skimmer is here! I installed it this morning to replace my Tunze 9004 which worked good but I wanted a bigger collection cup.

Please excuse the water drops I rinsed it out before installing it.
So far (15 minutes) I am impressed by the design and materials used in construction. Thick acrylic and crystal clear.

The collection cup is a multi function component. No external silencer is required. Its built into the body of the cup, adjustments are easy and right on top. It has a drain hose attachment for external skimmate collection. The whole cup is easy to remove with a twistvto unlock the 3 ears holding it in place.

The pump is attached directly to the bottom of the skimmer body and looks very nicely constructed. Super quiet .
Water level in the skimmer nody is adjusted by simply turning the body of the skimmer clockwise or counterclockwise.
Everything fit directly in the first media chamber in my IM Nuvo 40 AIO.

Hanging bracket is very well constructed, easy to adjust and sturdy enough to hold everything in position.
So far other than some really poor communications and a month of silence after the order was placed with Mode Aquariums I am happy with the purchase.

Tuan’s Reef · Apr 4, 2022

Nice! how's it working? lets see some gunk this thing can pull. I am always skeptic when it comes to unicorns. lol

Tuan’s Reef · Apr 4, 2022

not sure if this is the same thing.

Toddah · Apr 4, 2022

Tuan’s Reef said:
not sure if this is the same thing.

Yup thats it.

Toddah · Apr 4, 2022

Tuan’s Reef said:
Nice! how's it working? lets see some gunk this thing can pull. I am always skeptic when it comes to unicorns. lol

2 hours in it pulling what looks like water, lots of sticky bubbles but no color yet. My tunze did a good job so I might wait until I feed today to see what develops

Toddah · Apr 4, 2022

shakacuz · Apr 4, 2022

@JonahDeMarco maybe this one will help you!

JonahDeMarco · Apr 4, 2022

shakacuz said:
@JonahDeMarco maybe this one will help you!

I'll take a look at the dimensions, i appreciate it!

JonahDeMarco · Apr 4, 2022

Where did you order it from?

JonahDeMarco · Apr 4, 2022

JonahDeMarco said:
Where did you order it from?

Also,the pump in your pics is different from all the ones I found online. Did you replace the pump?

Opus · Apr 4, 2022

JonahDeMarco said:
Also,the pump in your pics is different from all the ones I found online. Did you replace the pump?

They must of changed things up recently and not updated the pics on the website. Mine is a couple of years old and looks like the one on the website. My pump is black and the hanger is clear and not white. I'm guessing they had to change due to shortages.

JonahDeMarco · Apr 4, 2022

Opus said:
They must of changed things up recently and not updated the pics on the website. Mine is a couple of years old and looks like the one on the website. My pump is black and the hanger is clear and not white. I'm guessing they had to change due to shortages.

Makes sense, thanks for the info!

Daniel@R2R · Apr 5, 2022

Cool!

Toddah · Apr 6, 2022

Still tuning but this is after 16 hours. I have alot of adjustment left just playing now to get it down to the dark brown I got with my tunze 9004

Toddah · Apr 10, 2022

Toddah · Apr 10, 2022

4 days of skimate from my heavly fed 40 gallon. Loven it so far

TheWB · Apr 10, 2022

Congrats on getting that, it is indeed super hard to get, or at least it has been. Maybe the new parts yours has had something to do with it. Youre right, they stink at communication. Mine has been a beast and I’m sure yours will be as well. I’m going to go check their site and see if they’ve finally made the replacement pump available. The air inlet on my pump was broken when I received mine from Cadlights, before Mode took over. I repaired it but I’d like to get one that wasn’t broken as a back up.