to each their own, but I will add this: the only time I ever had an unexpected overflow, dripping saltwater onto electricals (yes, I made that positional mistake) in using this skimmer model... is that the sponge was clogged and became less permeable and impeded efflux. For a while, the sponge apparently seemed ok but actually it sat a little loose and was lower than snug... and when I topped up my tank, the buoyancy of the sponge forced it to float higher and tighter against the pipe bottom... leading to overflow of the skimmer.
If you like the mechanical filtration, you can get a canister filter, or put the sponge on the intake pipe (take an AquaClear sponge and make a small snip, then force the pipe into the sponge tearing it as you shove it). It will get annoying as it will surely clog every few days or so.
As for the micro bubbles, there will be fewer after a break-in period, and also can be eliminated if you play around with the water level (turn the tapered pipe) such that there is more off-gassing of water within the chamber before outflow.
Hope this provides you with some options... but definitely watch out for that overflow issue. Otherwise it's a great skimmer.
|