Ice Cap K2 Skimmers

[Bluefish9]

Originally Posted by Jeremy1988

Yeah I have the K120 on my 90 gallon and yeah its bada**. Just phenomenal design and build quality. Thing will do some skimming let me tell ya. Yeah super quiet, great pump on it, you name it, it's got it. I'v had mine for about 5 months now I guess.

Thats great to hear. Im building a 150xh FOWLR. Im not sure if I want to go with the k2-160 or k2-200...


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[sleepydoc]

Just how quiet/noisy is it? I'm looking to get a new skimmer and noise is a big concern since my tank is right next to the TV in the family room. Right now, when I turn off my current skimmer, the noisiest part of my system is the soft whine of the Waveline DC 10000 return pump.

Also, how consistent is the skimmer? Since you got it dialed in, does it need much adjustment?

[Joey waid]

I have the 120 and I can barely hear it. They are very well built and easy to adjust...

[Jeremy1988]

[QUOTE=oranngetang;24699107]Have you been able to get it dialed in to pull a dark skim?

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Yeah I have fiddled with it a bit here and there. I dont have a refugium, and I have a manifold where my gfo reactor output goes into and my UV reactor output goes into my protein skimmer section. I use Coralvues ice cap sump as well with filter socks. I have a 90 gallon reef tank and honestly I cant get my nitrates above 0! I feed it quite a bit and everything. I have about 70 lbs or 80 of LR and yeah I guess its doing its job because like I said cant get my nitrates to raise at all and thats even if I dont do water changes for about 3 weeks. I do a 15% change anyways just because. I have it set around 90% closed I guess and the top air intake wide open and not restricted. I also have the blue line that is used for something else capped off too. I cant remember what its used for. Plankton reactor maybe? I also only have 2 dartfish in the tank as of now so maybe that is the lack of nitrates. I just have a fire shrimp CUC and 5 sexy shrimp. My skim mate right now looks mostly dark brown but it seems like it will put about half an inch of solid stuff into the cup and get coated really heavily along the inside of the neck and top of the cup cap if that makes sense. Hope the info help. I will say I'm not impressed with coral vues customer support program either. I do like the skimmer though.

[oranngetang]

By contrast, I'm running all the way open, and still collecting about 2 cm of light, watery skim daily. My skimmer is a little too deep. Will raise it up when able and tune it in.

The blue line is for ozone.

[Kyl]

Originally Posted by sleepydoc

Just how quiet/noisy is it? I'm looking to get a new skimmer and noise is a big concern since my tank is right next to the TV in the family room. Right now, when I turn off my current skimmer, the noisiest part of my system is the soft whine of the Waveline DC 10000 return pump.

Also, how consistent is the skimmer? Since you got it dialed in, does it need much adjustment?

I cannot hear the pump on the 120 with the cabinet doors open, and there's just a bit of a hiss from the air intake. With the doors closed, you can't hear anything from the outside.

Exceptionally pleased with it being my first sump skimmer purchase.

[Bluefish9]

[QUOTE=Jeremy1988;24700418]

Originally Posted by oranngetang

Have you been able to get it dialed in to pull a dark skim?



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Yeah I have fiddled with it a bit here and there. I dont have a refugium, and I have a manifold where my gfo reactor output goes into and my UV reactor output goes into my protein skimmer section. I use Coralvues ice cap sump as well with filter socks. I have a 90 gallon reef tank and honestly I cant get my nitrates above 0! I feed it quite a bit and everything. I have about 70 lbs or 80 of LR and yeah I guess its doing its job because like I said cant get my nitrates to raise at all and thats even if I dont do water changes for about 3 weeks. I do a 15% change anyways just because. I have it set around 90% closed I guess and the top air intake wide open and not restricted. I also have the blue line that is used for something else capped off too. I cant remember what its used for. Plankton reactor maybe? I also only have 2 dartfish in the tank as of now so maybe that is the lack of nitrates. I just have a fire shrimp CUC and 5 sexy shrimp. My skim mate right now looks mostly dark brown but it seems like it will put about half an inch of solid stuff into the cup and get coated really heavily along the inside of the neck and top of the cup cap if that makes sense. Hope the info help. I will say I'm not impressed with coral vues customer support program either. I do like the skimmer though.

I just got the IceCap sump today. Looks awesome except that UPS must have dropped it 1000 times and cracked the hell out of it

The company I ordered from is shipping me out another one as we speak. How do you like it?
Im debating on which k2 skimmer to get right now.. The 160 or 200? Its for a 150g fowlr.


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[sleepydoc]

Originally Posted by Kyl

I cannot hear the pump on the 120 with the cabinet doors open, and there's just a bit of a hiss from the air intake. With the doors closed, you can't hear anything from the outside.

Exceptionally pleased with it being my first sump skimmer purchase.

Excellent! I've been looking at getting a new skimmer. Was thinking about a RLSS, but they've basically disappeared and customer support seems to be as hard to find as the skimmers. Looked at the Vertex Omega, too, but I like the design of the Icecap. I may end up springing for one.

Originally Posted by Bluefish9

Im debating on which k2 skimmer to get right now.. The 160 or 200? Its for a 150g fowlr.

For a FOWLR the 160 should be fine; you don't need the same water quality you do for corals, so if you're at the upper edge of the skimmer's capacity you should be fine.

[sleepydoc]

One other question- Is there enough room between the inner and outer rings of the lid/cap on the collection cup to mount a float sensor? It looks like it in the picture, but I can't tell for sure. On my current skimmer there's only about ¾" between the inner ring on the lid and the outer wall of the collection cup, making it too narrow for a standard float switch.

[royy13]

I have the Icecap K2 50 on my 20 long. Very impressed with it. It is pretty quiet, especially compared to my old Lifereef on my 90. I'm happy with the skimmer up to this point.

[oranngetang]

Originally Posted by sleepydoc

One other question- Is there enough room between the inner and outer rings of the lid/cap on the collection cup to mount a float sensor? It looks like it in the picture, but I can't tell for sure. On my current skimmer there's only about ¾" between the inner ring on the lid and the outer wall of the collection cup, making it too narrow for a standard float switch.

IMG_0505.JPG

Not sure if this helps or not. Couldn't find a better tape k2-160 cup.

IMG_0504.JPG

Here is 10 days of dark stinky skim at 90% gate and 10.25" depth.



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[sleepydoc]

Thanks for the pic - is that the skimmer cap or the cup? The issue I have with my current skimmer is the distance between the outer cup wall and the ring that hangs down from the cap. It seems to be pretty narrow on most skimmers. If it's 3 cm, that's definitely better that what I have now.

[joecc]

I'm considering buying the K2-160 for a 75 which will probably be heavily stocked at one point, 40 breeder sump.

I had made up my mind to buy Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2, but read some concerning threads about faulty impellers and cracked pumps on the Aquamaxx and am thinking about alternatives.

Does anyone know if the K2 uses the standard Sicce PSK 600 as a replacement pump? I know the Aquamaxx does not, its modified.

Aquamaxx Co-2 or K2 160, which one?

[ksed]

By the way it looks on the picture, its stock.

[sleepydoc]

Yeah- that's what it looks like to me, too. Virtually no one puts up pics of the impeller, so it's really hard to tell, though. Either way it will be easier/cheaper to replace a standard pump vs a 'customized' Sicce pump like aqua max uses.

[sleepydoc]

so i just ordered an Icecap K2-160 skimmer. I'll post pics of the pump & impeller when it arrives.

[ksed]

Great choice . I think it's one of the best skimmers for your money and least expensive to repair if needed.

[joecc]

Originally Posted by sleepydoc

so i just ordered an Icecap K2-160 skimmer. I'll post pics of the pump & impeller when it arrives.

Please do!! Thanks!

[oranngetang]

I've had my 160 running for a little over a month now I believe. Skims about 5 mm of dark green from my 92g system daily, there are 0 to 0.25 ppm nitrates at any time in this tank. I don't use a fuge or other means of nitrate absorption beyond a minimal amount of GFO.

Epic skimmer for the price. I'm fairly well stocked too.

[sleepydoc]

Mine came yesterday. Here's a pic of the PSK600 pump and the impeller. Hard to tell for sure, but it looks like a stock impeller. Replacements can be found for $40.

We'll see how the skimmer does. I wanted a quiet skimmer, and while this one is quieter than my old ReefOctopus, it's still fairly loud.


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[oranngetang]

Loud to you or I may be different. I'd give it time to break in. The only audible sound of mine over water flowing through the sump, is the air intake whistle. Closing the cabinet door silences it.

The fan on my MH housings, and the water falling through the overflow are both significantly louder than this skimmer is, on my setup.

[sleepydoc]

I'll give it some time; I've only had it 2 days so far, so it's too early to draw many conclusions. So far I've run it in a bucket with some vinegar water for 24 hours and now have just put it in my sump.

It's definitely quieter (and smaller) than my last skimmer. I measured the sound with my iPhone and got about 50 db for the Icecap skimmer vs just under 60 for my old reef octopus. I can't guarantee how accurate the app measures levels and your ear hears different frequencies and different noises differently, so the comparison can only go so far, but the dB meter would indicate that the Icecap skimmer was about half as loud, which I would subjectively agree with. There's the hiss/rush from the silencer and a low hum from the pump. It's about as loud as my Waveline DC10000II pump, but I've heard people describe that as inaudible which it most definitely is not.

[joecc]

I spoke with Coralvue. They confirmed that they use the stock Sicce PSK series pumps and impeller with no modification.

I'm probably two months away from pulling the trigger on a skimmer. K2 owners, please continue to provide feedback on your experience.

[Kyl]

I think since each series is a different pump you are going to get different noise profiles. I can say that the 120 continues to be near-silent, with only a slight hiss in the sump from the air intake. With sump doors closed (exposed rear), it's inaudible. It pulls out some ugly sludge, and I would buy it again if I didn't have one yet.

[Potatohead]

Does the 120 use the Sicce 200 or 400?