Today I installed the Sapphire Aquatics Solana / Cardiff Nano Skimmer which I had ordered from my LFS several weeks ago and picked up last week. This is replacing the skimmer which I had installed to replace the stock skimmer but was disappointed by how much maintenance it required. This skimmer is a drop in replacement for the stock skimmer.

The following are unpacking pictures:

Installation:

I set up a five gallon bucket with water and vinegar mix to run the skimmer in for the first 24 hours to ensure I get any manufacturing residue removed and to speed up the break in time.

Observations & Notes

2009-11-26: Break In Period
Breaking in skimmer in a 5 gallon bucket solution of Vinegar and Water

2009-11-28: Installed
Installed today and all seems well

2009-12-15: Status Update on Performance
So far I am very happy with the skimmer. Skimming great and it is very quiet!

2009-12-27: Mesh Wheel Issue
I notice a decrease in performance so I took it out to clean. I notice the airline was kinked so I replaced with a more rigid version. When I got to cleaning the mesh wheel, I realized most of the mesh had disintegrated from the wheel. I have emailed Sapphire Aquatic’s technical support to see if this was a known issue or just an issue with mine as I have only had it installed for a month.

2009-12-28: Mesh Wheel Issue – New Wheel Finished Development
Just finished reading a thread over at Nano-Reef.com about a few others having same issue with a new and improved impeller in works as we speak. Hope the improved version with an epoxy covering does the trick.

Before I had found the thread over at Nano-Reef.com, I emailed Sapphire Aquatics asking about this last night. Kyle from Sapphire Aquatics had already emailed me by 10am after a long holiday. Impressive! I ordered replacement today.

2010-01-17: Mesh Wheel Issue – New Wheel Update
After receiving a second mesh wheel as the first had an issue with the mesh falling off as it was not glued down properly to replace the original mesh wheel which disintegrated, my observations after installation is the wheel is more efficient than the original mesh wheel. This has been a bit of a problem as I have dropped the gate all the way to lowest setting but still filling cup in about 30 minutes. I am going to assume I am experiencing another break in period so I will give it a week before trying to raise the skimmer until proper skimming occurs.

2010-01-22: Mesh Wheel Issue – New Wheel Efficiency Solution
When I replaced the mesh wheel with the new and improved version which became available at the beginning January, the mesh wheel was too efficient causing skimmer to overproduce bubbles causing skimmer cup to fill instantly. A solution has been identified and installed which appears to have resolved the issue. By placing an airline 2-way valve inline of the pump’s air intake and before the air silencer, fine tuning is possible correcting problem.

New issue people may have is it appears Sapphire Aquatics has stopped production as their direct purchasing link from their website is no longer available so replacement parts are not available. Reports are also indicating the skimmers are no longer available at many of the retail channels indicating possible short term or long term production shut down. Final details are pending but does not look good by these initial reports. Hopes are this is only temporary or another explanation.

2010-02-06: Final Word
With the new mesh wheel and the 2-way valve to fine tune, this skims excellent! Bad news, Sapphire Aquatics has officially went out of business which is a huge loss to the nano market.

2010-08-04: Update
Still going strong and skimming great. This continues to demonstrated by assisting the system keeping the nutrients at or near undetectable levels. With the new mesh wheel and the 2-way valve modification, I would have recommended this skimmer to everyone. The mesh wheel is still going strong but realize one day I will need to find solution when it needs replaced. I am not fond of having to do my own mod by using fish line and Enkamat Mesh as you then have to deal with the balance, fouling, and durability issues.

As time passes, my dream of someone stepping in to take over Sapphire Aquatics is becoming more and more a pipe dream.

Conclusions

With the news Sapphire Aquatics has stopped operations, it will be a moot point but once the improved epoxied mesh wheel was installed and a 2-way airline valve installed, it skimmed great and is super quiet. Hopefully someone will take over operations or a new nano skimmer comes to market which addresses the deficiencies of others on the market.

DISCLAIMER: Your results may very as each system is very different from another. For my tank parameters and environment, this was my observations and conclusion. This was not a controlled experiment so there is a potential for a very large margin of error.

References

Feldman, Ken S., Kelly M. Maers, Lauren F. Vernese, Elizabeth A. Huber, Matthew R. Test. “The Development of a Method for the Quantitative Evaluation of Protein Skimmer Performance.” Advanced Aquarist’s Online Magazine. Jan 2009. Reefs.org Publication. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/1/aafeature2. Accessed on 26 Nov 2009.

Feldman, Ken S., Kelly M. Maers. “Further Studies on Protein Skimmer Performance.” Advanced Aquarist’s Online Magazine. Jan 2010. Reefs.org Publication. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/1/aafeature. Accessed on 22 Jan 2010.

Today I purchased and installed the Euro-Reef Nano Skimmer for Solana 34G – NS2.5-3 on my 24 gallon Cardiff. I purchased from a LFS and quickly brought it home and installed. I had to modify the hanging bracket by taking off about 1/4 inch from inside back glass clamp to free up space for the skimmer body as it appears the Cardiff has a smaller chamber behind the skim box where the old stock skimmer was installed.

The following are some unpacking pictures:

Prior to installation I cleaned with vinegar water but skipped the couple day soak which some people do prior to installation. Right away I am excited as there is great foam head which is a good indication it will do a great job skimming compared to the stock skimmer.

I will update in near future with progress and ongoing review with more photos.

Notes & Observations

UPDATE 08-02-2009: I have been using for a few days and been playing around with it to get the best skim for my tank. Right now I like to skim a little wet as I want to drive down nitrates which have been hovering at 26.4 ppm for several months using the full ZEOvit system. Today I performed a water change and scrubbed all the live rock with a tooth brush to get all the Bryopsis and or Cyanobacteria off which has also been plaguing my tank for awhile. I am impressed compared with my old stock skimmer as the Euro Reef Nano Skimmer immediately started skimming this out as shown by this picture a few hours after procedure.

UPDATE 08-23-2009: It skims great! The bad news, it is temperamental as you have to constantly tweak it to adjust for atmospheric changes and you have to clean the sponge at least every week or you will run major issues with overflowing problems. It is so temperamental, I turn it off when I know I am going to be away for more than 24 hours.

UPDATE 08-30-2009: The days it is adjusted to correct height and sponge is clean, I love it. The fact it needs adjusted almost daily or clean sponge every 5-7 days, I hate this skimmer’s design as it will overflow daily. I think I have it adjusted correctly getting great skimming, the next thing it is over flowing and making a mess of everything. I give up on it. Ironically as I look up finishing this update, the skimmer cap is bouncing up and down with skim overflowing the back of my tank.

UPDATE 09-20-2009: I have not changed my opinion much. It skims great when you have it adjusted correctly and sponge is clean. As the week goes on, the sponge as expected gets more clogged requiring you to adjust height of skimmer higher or it will skim over splashing salt spray all over everything. I travel typically one week out of the month so this just not work for me as I have to turn off the skimmer or I will have a complete disaster when I get back. I just returned from a three consecutive weeks on road during the weekdays and had to have it off the entire time as I could not baby sit it and do not expect my wife to do this for me. If you like tweaking your skimmer daily, go for it. For me, I will be researching skimmers for one to replace this one as it does not work for me.

UPDATE 10-08-2009: I have it dialed in when I am able to clean chamber and sponge every five days. I have a new issue, the pump has started sounding like a mini lawn mower and can not figure out why. By my description, you should be able to tell I am not very happy about it and have had to set it up on a timer so it is off when I am trying to sleep. Cleaning and soaking in vinegar has not helped. It is actually very funny to me as I solved an issue with my closed loop pump noise issue a few days ago to only have this pop up a few days later. I have never had such problems with pumps and noise until lately.

UPDATE 10/30/2009: Ordered a Sapphire Solana / Cardiff Nano-Skimmer to replace this skimmer. Ironically, the pump noise is not as loud and it is skimming great. I just do not have patience to deal with it anymore. My LFS asked me when I asked them to order the new skimmer as they were the ones to sell me the Euro-Reef Nano if I had contacted the manufacturer as they have heard great things about their customer service. I had to respond no as I am not that person. I do not want a handout or replacement. I expect when I pay money for a product, it works. If not, I move on as my time and mind in most instances are worth more than it takes to do anything else.

UPDATE 11/06/2009: Still waiting on the Sapphire Skimmer. The pump noise is back and again sounds like a mini lawn mower. Can not wait to take this out of service.

UPDATE 11/15/2009: Still waiting on the Sapphire Skimmer as it has been backordered as the alloy mesh wheel has been redesigned for it. The Euro Reef blew it’s cup three times this week for no apparent reason as I did not add anything out of the ordinary to the tank causing it to over skim. Two of the times, I had noticed the large bubbles up into the skimmer cup neck which was a normal daily occurrence for this skimmer and I compensated by adjusting it up as part of daily routine so the large bubbles would only be in the body. This is usually only adjustment needed for the day to keep the skimmer happy. Unfortunately, this was not the case this week as I only had to come back a couple hours later to find the cup blowing its top putting everything already skimmed back into my tank. Sucked as I had some good skimmate filling half of the cup which was put back in my tank.

Conclusions

The Euro-Reef Nano Skimmer is nicely made and skimmed great when it was dialed in and sponge was clean. For my tank set up, I could not run the skimmer without the sponge as others have been able to do successfully. With the sponge clogging every 3 to 5 days and then causing the cup to spill over without warning, the skimmer in the end was more frustrating than worth the great skimming it did when it was performing. Because of this, I can not recommend skimmer unless owner is willing to clean the sponge every few days. For me, I am now trying another skimmer and hoping it skims as great as the Euro-Reef Nano without the problems.

Update 01/15/2010:
Euro-Reef is no longer processing orders and is in processing of switching ownership to a new company called Reef Dynamics. More information can be found at Reef Builders

Update 01/21/2010:
The Nano Reef portion of the business is now being operated by Nano Reef Systems and there appears to be a new bottom design for the skimmers. Wonder if this would allow the skimmer to be run without bottom in my tank?.

DISCLAIMER: Your results may very as each system is very different from another. For my tank parameters and environment, this was my observations and conclusion. This was not a controlled experiment so there is a very large margin of error.

Performed water change and some maintenance. Cleaned the Skimmer and pump. Realized airline supplying external air to skimmer pump was disconnected when working on tank last weekend. This is suspect to have influenced the lower than normal pH this week.