Sea Side Aquatics CS Series Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer Aquarium Skimmers at Linens 'n Things

On October 11, 2012:
Excellent skimmer, well constructed and easy to assemble. Seems to be breaking in after two weeks and is starting to pull some dark skimmate. An air silencer would have been nice, but overall the unit is quiet - I can't hear it with my tank stand closed.

On September 9, 2012:
I have now owned this skimmer for three months on a recommendation from a well know skimmer guru on RC. I could not be happier. Its quiet and above all it skims great. I highly recommend this skimmer. You can buy a 600 or 800 dollar skimmer elsewhere and it will probably skim better, but you will never see the difference in your reef and your corals wont care. Save the money and put it into LEDs or better pumps to move the water over your corals.

On August 8, 2012:
I've had this skimmer running a couple weeks now, and so far it's great. I had a bit of trouble with the Venturi fitting a little loose, but SSA sent me a replacement with no hassle. Great customer service too. My CS1 is almost silent. I have to turn off everything else in the sump to hear it. I like that the exit for skimmer water is below the water level in the sump, so no splashing noise to address with gate valve mods. Break-in seemed to just take a day or two as things stabilized. I actually noticed the foam starting to dirty in the first 10 minutes, which surprised me. The wedge pipe is working fine, and is easy to set. I have a steady water level for the skimmer, so haven't had to adjust too much since break-in. I like the o-ring style collection cup. Much easier to deal with than a bunch of screws. I don't use a external waste collector, so I like that removing and cleaning the cup is under five minutes. So far, I'm loving the skimmer for the $236 sale price. I couldn't get a better skimmer for less money. That's cheaper than the nac7, with a better pump, for a better price.