I’d like to start off by thanking Michael at Aqua Digital for giving me this opportunity. I’m a big fan of home reef technology and being able to play with it first hand is exciting!
In this review we will be looking at the Canadian Skimmer Company’s CSC-400.
CSC-400 at a glance:
At first glance this thing is a pure work of art, it’s a true statement of innovation without the price tag. Here are some features I noticed during the un-boxing.
Skimmer Cup
- This is fitted with a twist lock design. Removal of the skimmer cup is easy and hassle free, I’ve played with some other skimmers that twist off like a bottle cap and can get quite annoying.
- There is a hole placed in the skimmer cup for easy extraction of skimmate. This is a simple but effective design (barbed fitting). To make full use of this an airline tubing and valve would need to be purchased.
Skimmer Body
- This is a cone skimmer which does have a seam at the back of the skimmer, although not very noticeable.
- The acrylic is crystal clear and has a perfect finish to it. Truly a work of art.
- The body is secured to the base using 4 thumb screws, you can likely have the body off in under a minute.
Skimmer Base
- This skimmer uses the base and a variable gate to control the flow (water height) of the skimmer. This design allows for the extremely small footprint (11.5x11.5 inches).
- The base holds the two Cicce PSK 1200 pumps. These pumps are easily maintainable and accessible (I’d say 2 minutes from fully assembled to disassembled where you can get at the pumps).
Skimmer Air Intake
- There is an intake per pump, this allows you to control the amount of air available for the pumps. These are easily accessible and tunable.
- The intakes have nipples that allow you to attach tubing for external air (Some people like this feature to help more fresh air enter the tank)
Skimmer in general
- The skimmer sits 22.5 inches off the ground, measured from the base to the top of the skimmer cup. You will likely need another inch to remove the skimmer cup from the skimmer.
- The baseline water level is suggested at 180-250mm (7-9.8 inches).
I will keep this thread updated with progress.
Thanks for looking!
