[DiverDude]

The Canadian content of the SWC product is valid question -particularly since we've just finished saying that the design is more or less a copy. The question is is it relevant to someone looking to buy the product ?

It may just be that a purely Canadian skimmer does not (and may never) exist. In which case, the SWC product is as close as you're going to get.

The folks at SWC could probably build their own bodies and pumps and price the product accordingly. However, there are other businesses out there that specialize in these areas and by virtue of volume, can make a comparable item at a lower cost. I think the folks at SWC are savvy enough to know that in this (or indeed ANY hobby market) it's all about price and that if they made everything themselves and charged 25% more, they'd likely be out of business pretty quick.

I haven't seen any documentation from SWC on their product but I'd like to think that it would be a LOT better than the piece of toilet paper in 'chinglish' that I got with my BM. Also, it sounds like you can actually call SWC and speak with someone who knows what's going on if you have issues and or need parts. All else being equal, just those last 2 items make the SWC a good choice in my book !