N
NanoCubeKid
As you know Sapphire Aquatics (SA) is a local Houston business and a MARSH sponsor.
They fabricate sumps, reactors, prefilters and do custom acrylic work but perhaps they are best known for there extensive line of nano skimmers.
This is what brought me to their site.
http://www.wix.com/sapphireaquatics/SapphireAquatics
I own a JBJ Nano Cube 28 and there are few options out there for a skimmer which integrates with the tank overflow system. SA produces such a skimmer.
So I ordered one. The NC28 model.
It came via UPS boxed, packed with peanuts and each part separately wrapped in bubble wrap. Clearly attention was made to shipping. Trust me, boxing and shipping is usually a pain in the ... and a sucking sound on the overall profit margin so when someone takes careful attention to packing and shipping you feel good about the level of attention they gave the product.
I was not disappointed. The unit looks like the pictures on the website. The build quality was professional. Seams were generally clear and free of bubbles. Gate valve moved freely as designed.
I was able to pre-read the instructions for the skimmer on the website before I got the unit. This is always a great treat when ordering. Though installation videos did not work for me (not that you really need one) the owner said they would be up soon.
The skimmer basically has 4 parts.
1. the body - includes all bubble baffles, channels and the gate valve installed. The blue and clear color scheme really looks great.
2. the pump - here there is a small footprint but looks like a really well made pump - only time will tell how long it lasts.
3. The cup - a square cup also sporting the blue/clear colors and looks great and only rises slightly higher than the stock hood.
4. The lid - the cup has a lid which also aids in the foam breakup and channels the fractionation products down to the cup.
There was a tank modification required in order to fit the skimmer into the center chamber of the overflow system on the NC28. What is needed is to remove the 1/4 inch plastic rim from the rear of the tank rim. This plastic lip servers no purpose and there is no issue removing this. Only about 4 inches is needed to be removed. A dremel could do it easy. I just placed a wet paper towel below the lip to catch all the debris from the cut. I then cut off the lip with a hacksaw blade in a simple holder. The plastic cuts very easy.
The pump simply slides on to the base unit and is then good to go. I did wash with warm clear water per instructions to remove any manufacturing byproducts.
Then slide the whole thing where the filter box used to go (anyone need to buy an NC28 filter box?) and route the air tube and cord up the side. I did use the power cord to keep the skimmer pressed fully to the back of the tank to make sure the overflow was never in danger of being obstructed.
Pop the cup and cap on, plug it in, watch your tank dissolved organics get yanked from the tank.
Do you hear that? You can't? What you aren't hearing is any sound from this thing. Very Very quiet. I cannot tell if it is on or off.
The instructions say it takes a week to break the unit in but I am getting skim-mate within an hour and now that i am running 2 days it really looks good.
Did I mention the foam? This thing creates a white foam like it were barber shop. The NC28 tank overflow system and baffles within the skimmer work together to keep micro bubbles out of the tank.
There is an adjustable gate valve that can be raised and lowered to adjust the skim-mate consistency. As the center chamber is a constant level area there are no other adjustments required and I think once I like the wetness of my skim-mate, I will not need to make any further adjustments.
The only negative I can think of is that the cup needs to be removed if you need to completely raise the stock hood. This of course is not a problem with the skimmer design just the way life is for these all in one compact units. Collections cups have to be raised and hoods are what they are. Additionally, there is a pump involved here and as it is in the tank water there is some additional heat load. So far, for me, I only see a few tenths of a degree different that what I had been seeing. Probably in the noise.
I must admit that I normally don't buy new stuff like skimmers but given that there are very few options out there and even fewer used SA skimmers for sale (I can now see why) I bought this new.
I am glad I did.
If the build quality is any indication of the units lifetime, I expect to be making tank gunk for a very long time.
Thanks SA.
PS. this was an unauthorized review and I paid full retail for the skimmer in case you wondered
They fabricate sumps, reactors, prefilters and do custom acrylic work but perhaps they are best known for there extensive line of nano skimmers.
This is what brought me to their site.
http://www.wix.com/sapphireaquatics/SapphireAquatics
I own a JBJ Nano Cube 28 and there are few options out there for a skimmer which integrates with the tank overflow system. SA produces such a skimmer.
So I ordered one. The NC28 model.
It came via UPS boxed, packed with peanuts and each part separately wrapped in bubble wrap. Clearly attention was made to shipping. Trust me, boxing and shipping is usually a pain in the ... and a sucking sound on the overall profit margin so when someone takes careful attention to packing and shipping you feel good about the level of attention they gave the product.
I was not disappointed. The unit looks like the pictures on the website. The build quality was professional. Seams were generally clear and free of bubbles. Gate valve moved freely as designed.
I was able to pre-read the instructions for the skimmer on the website before I got the unit. This is always a great treat when ordering. Though installation videos did not work for me (not that you really need one) the owner said they would be up soon.
The skimmer basically has 4 parts.
1. the body - includes all bubble baffles, channels and the gate valve installed. The blue and clear color scheme really looks great.
2. the pump - here there is a small footprint but looks like a really well made pump - only time will tell how long it lasts.
3. The cup - a square cup also sporting the blue/clear colors and looks great and only rises slightly higher than the stock hood.
4. The lid - the cup has a lid which also aids in the foam breakup and channels the fractionation products down to the cup.
There was a tank modification required in order to fit the skimmer into the center chamber of the overflow system on the NC28. What is needed is to remove the 1/4 inch plastic rim from the rear of the tank rim. This plastic lip servers no purpose and there is no issue removing this. Only about 4 inches is needed to be removed. A dremel could do it easy. I just placed a wet paper towel below the lip to catch all the debris from the cut. I then cut off the lip with a hacksaw blade in a simple holder. The plastic cuts very easy.
The pump simply slides on to the base unit and is then good to go. I did wash with warm clear water per instructions to remove any manufacturing byproducts.
Then slide the whole thing where the filter box used to go (anyone need to buy an NC28 filter box?) and route the air tube and cord up the side. I did use the power cord to keep the skimmer pressed fully to the back of the tank to make sure the overflow was never in danger of being obstructed.
Pop the cup and cap on, plug it in, watch your tank dissolved organics get yanked from the tank.
Do you hear that? You can't? What you aren't hearing is any sound from this thing. Very Very quiet. I cannot tell if it is on or off.
The instructions say it takes a week to break the unit in but I am getting skim-mate within an hour and now that i am running 2 days it really looks good.
Did I mention the foam? This thing creates a white foam like it were barber shop. The NC28 tank overflow system and baffles within the skimmer work together to keep micro bubbles out of the tank.
There is an adjustable gate valve that can be raised and lowered to adjust the skim-mate consistency. As the center chamber is a constant level area there are no other adjustments required and I think once I like the wetness of my skim-mate, I will not need to make any further adjustments.
The only negative I can think of is that the cup needs to be removed if you need to completely raise the stock hood. This of course is not a problem with the skimmer design just the way life is for these all in one compact units. Collections cups have to be raised and hoods are what they are. Additionally, there is a pump involved here and as it is in the tank water there is some additional heat load. So far, for me, I only see a few tenths of a degree different that what I had been seeing. Probably in the noise.
I must admit that I normally don't buy new stuff like skimmers but given that there are very few options out there and even fewer used SA skimmers for sale (I can now see why) I bought this new.
I am glad I did.
If the build quality is any indication of the units lifetime, I expect to be making tank gunk for a very long time.
Thanks SA.
PS. this was an unauthorized review and I paid full retail for the skimmer in case you wondered
