Mojo~ reviews the SWC150 BMK

[mojo]

Ok, I have been running this skimmer for several weeks now. I bought this skimmer from here.
SWC150 BMK

Ok, Well the skimmer came in packaged fine and I got it right away. As Luke only lives about 90 minutes from me.
So what would one expect from a $195 swc skimmer? Well the Skimmer has an overall good feel to it. Not cheap like some skimmer do. Not a tank either. But overall pretty good feel to it. The skimmer seems to be built pretty well compared to other skimmers in the same price range. One thing I did not notice right away but the all the parts of the skimmer that are white appear to be injection molded. Not machined from a sold piece of acrylic. I am not sure of the blend of plastic . HDPE maybe? Nt certain. I am sure this is done to keep the price of the skimmer down. Not really an issue. More of a observation really. So dont let that keep you from looking at this as an option.

The skimmer pump is the atman 2500. Overall a inexpensive functional pump pulling about 600 lph. Pretty solid really. other skimmers in the same price range are pulling 400 to 650 lph of air. So all in all its pulls pretty good air for a pretty low cost pump. Other pumps like that in the vertex in 100 pull about 450 lph , the bubble blaster 1000 pulls about the same 420 to 450 lph of air.

So with that said, How does it stack up and perform? Well The skimmer runs pretty well. It doesnt make much noise. Not a bk skimmer but not as loud as some of the others I have tested either. I cannot hear it run at all when I shut my stand door. The "gate valve " is really a wedge pipe with a handle. Not a true gate valve. It does work well but a tiny adjustment goes a long way. The skimmer comes out of the box pretty much plug n play.

So how about some nog shots...

AS you can see it has pulled some pretty dark nog over two weeks on my 40g breeder. I think if you are on a budget of $200 this will be a really good option for those with a display tank of 40 to 90g. probably a perfect fit on a 75g tank.

Mojo~

 

[ReeferRob]

Mojo what water depth did you determine to be the sweet spot? Its hard to tell but is there a nipple on the bottom of the collection cup to drain/connect to a remote waste collector? How does the head attach?

 

[mojo]

yes there is a nipple, there is a oring on the neck of the cup that slips in. Pretty typical design there. I found 7 to 8 inches to work well. around 9 inches you start to run out of adjustment. it will work at 9 inches. but I think 10 is too deep.

 

[ReeferRob]

Looks like you have the same sock holder as I do next to it, what are the dimension of that particular chamber you have it in? What would be the smallest chamber it would fit into?

Thanks by the way!

 

[mojo]

Ill have to go look at my notes. Just shipped it out to its new home. Doing a 65g build and will be looking for something new for the build.

 

[mojo]

6.5x9

 

[mojo]

here it is next to a gen 3 Vertex in 100. Vertex smaller reaction area but longer neck. Just different. We will see how they compare

Mojo~

 

[skinz78]

Right on Mojo, I have really been thinking of getting one of these some day.

 

[mojo]

change

mojo~

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Luke has NEVER tried to get you banned for anything. I have no idea where you got that from, but those type comments should be left to yourself.

 

[mojo]

rev sent pm,



Mojo~

 

[dougers31]

Nice write up. I have been going back and forth on what skimmer I could use on a 60-80 gal system I'm planning. Was thinking of going with the vertex 100 or similar ($200-$250) skimmer, just hoping it would work well with bio pellets if needed.

 

[mojo]

I would get something with a higher water turnover rate if using pellets.