Decided on swc 160 or did I?

[Myka]

Originally Posted by beginnersluckpg

The pump being in the skimmer? Not sure if that's a good idea at all the more I think about it

That's one of my reasons for buying! I LOVE the pump being inside the skimmer. The inlet to the skimmer is still accessible from the outside of the skimmer, so it's not a big deal. The pump is easy to get out too...the bottom of the skimmer screws off so you clean the skimmer and pump.

The restart issues that Brett (lastlight) is talking about is why I upgraded the impeller on the Sicce. From reviews I read, the Red Devil seems to completely solve the restart issues. I never ran mine without the Red Devil, so I can't compare, but mine doesn't have any restart issues. The power fade is something else entirely though...that doesn't sound good!

The Vertex are good skimmers, I like the cone design better though, and I don't think I will buy another cylinder shaped skimmer again. The cone appears to be more efficient to me.

I ran a EuroReef RS-180 on my tank before I bought the SWC 180 cone. The skimmers are very similar in specs and the SWC skims the pants off the EuroReef. Plus, the SWC is dead silent and the EuroReef is very loud. EuroReef is still quite a respected skimmer, and was industry standard for a long time.