my new skimmer! Sea Side Aquatics CS1

[flipteg]

i just wanted to show off my new skimmer it's Sea Side Aquatics CS1. i've been running a Reef Octopus 110 recirculating for a couple of years now. i think it's a 2008 or 2009 model. it is the first year model when Reef Octopus started using the pinwheel impeller. i have been running that skimmer on my 30 gallon cube. i recently upgraded to a 57 gallon rimless and wanted to upgrade the skimmer also.

equipment noise is very important to me because the tank is just less than 15 feet away from the head of my bed and i am quite sensitive to noise because i am a very light sleeper. initially, i wanted to go with the SRO 1000... it seems to be getting good reviews all around. although the pump seems to be good, it appears that it is a toss up on noise. some people claim it is completely silent, while others say it is noisy. i just can't take that chance. that's actually one of the reason why i stayed with my RO 110 recirculating for so long... because although it is not completely silent, with the cabinet closed, it is quiet enough that it doesn't bother me. i have just always been afraid to replace it with a noisy skimmer.

i ordered the Sea Side CS1 Sunday night and i just got it today! i have never even heard of Sea Side Aquatics before the night i ordered it. i now know that they are the importer for Bubble Magus. the CS1 is actually an NAC7 with a different neck coupling and pump. it was actually the Sicce PSK600 pump that made me decide to go with the CS1. after my father's experience with the older RO Xtreme 160 with the Sicce PSK2500 pump, i have sworn never to buy a Sicce product. that pump has always been rattling and noisy all the time! and after just a little over a year of ownership, it started having restart issues. to the point that the pump would not start at all by itself after being turned off. even when the power just fluctuates

after reading reveiws about the newer Sicce pumps, it seems like the company has learned their lesson regarding noise and start up. so i decided to give them a try. even though there's not very many reviews of the Sea Side Aquatics CS skimmers, i decided to buy it based on the pump and the user reviews of the Bubble Magus NAC7. this is my first in sump skimmer. with the 30 gallon cube i had before, the largest standard size sump i can fit under the stand was only a 5 gallon tank. just enough to fit a feed pump for a recirculating skimmer.

[RotaryGeek]

Looks good man. I have never heard of them before either, but at least you took a chance and hopefully it turn out good.

[TucanSam007]

Love this skimmer at well! I researched the heck out of skimmers for my 65. Couldn't decide between the NAC7, swc 160 or the SRO1000. Then I found the SSA CS1. Im surprised not many people know about these skimmers, its like a NAC7 with a better pump around the same price. The small footprint is awesome. The new psk600 pump is silent and starts up every time no problems. I think people are scared because of the old siice pumps. Here's mine just broken in today!

[flipteg]

another reason i was scared to get the SRO 1000 is because the output is designed to be above water. this is with regards to noise. on my recirculating RO, i was using a MaxiJet 400 as a feed pump. even with that small of a pump, i still had to restrict it because too much flow and the noise of the flowing water in the outlet tubes bothers me too much and i can't sleep. obviously, with an in sump skimmer, i will not be able to restrict this flow much or else the skimmer will overflow with the little amount of flow i'm going to run through the outlet tubes. with the outlet submerged, i won't have to worry about water flow noises in the pipes.

[TucanSam007]

I agree with your thoughts on the SRO. They still have to be pretty darn good though because that was what everyone was recommending. Maybe it's because of their customer service. I was also looking at the Diablo xs160 but I thought it might have be overkill for my tank. I decided against the SWC 160 because of the mesh wheel. I don't want to blow into the intake just to get the pump started, I wanted to be able to put my skimmer on a timer. I was a little nervous only seeing several all positive reviews. I saw that mojo on here was impressed with the SSA CS1 and that helped . I was impressed with the build quality and ease of putting it together/taking apart.

[wildman926]

Nice skimmer.

Who honors the warranty for the pump? I hope it is not directly with Sicce. I decided to try one of the new Syncra pumps for return, and it was extremely noisy, so much so, I had to take it out and put back the CA 4000 (Eheim knockoff). I had sent it back due to noise, and Sicce is supposedly going to put the new bearings and impeller from the new upgraded model, AFTER THEY GET BACK FROM AN AQUARIUM SHOW! Poor customer service!

[flipteg]

the 1 year warranty card that's included is a warranty card for a Bubble Magus served by the importer Sea Side Aquatics.

the skimmer is indeed very quiet. with the cabinet closed, the slight hum of the Eheim 1250 return pump is the only thing i can hear. the Eheim 1250 is not a noisy pump. the Sicce has a slight hum but it is easily drowned out by the Eheim. i wish i knew where to get rubber feet for the Eheim as that will silence the resonance in the sump and cabinet quite a bit more. sometimes, the Eheim's resonating hum will wake me up at night (yes! i'm that sensitive to noise when i sleep! i hate it!!!) i get up and move the pump's position and the hum will noticeably lessen. if there's rubber feet on that pump, it will reduce the hum quite a bit...

which reminds me, the CS1 has rubber feet!!! and the Sicce pump is resting on a rubber mat inside the skimmer. the CS1 is much quieter than the RO 110 recirculating that i have.

[wildman926]

My Sicce pump had its rubber feet, on a rubber mat, and it was so loud, it was hard to watch tv with it on. This is a return pump, not a skimmer pump.

Your skimmer is a nice one. The acrylic and plastic look thick and sturdy.

[moondoggy4]

The sicce 2500 was not intended for skimmers they have been modifided to become a skimmer pump hence the startup issue, they were very popular with the modding crowd .but like everything else something comes around better. Nice skimmer I want to get one next.

[flipteg]

when i woke up this morning, 13 hours after it has been set up, the skimmer is already broken in! it was already producing dry foam so i set the level and went to work. i can't wait to get home and check on it!

[Paulairduck]

you are going to be very happy with that skimmer, and sea side aquatics has very good customer service

[glweek]

Hey sorry to pull up an old thread bit I just picked one of these up used and was wondering at what water heiggtyou had the best luck and where did you have the bubble line set?