Ice Cap KS-200 Protein Skimmer

[spedly]

Yesterday I received my new Ice Cap KS-200 protein skimmer from Reef Supplies. The skimmer comes with a Sicce PSK-1000 pump. I've no experience with this pump but it comes highly rated.

The build quality is exceptional. The body is all PVC and high quality acrylic. It beats the pants off the Tunze skimmer it is replacing. It reminds me very much of Vertex in terms of quality and attention to detail.

It is amazingly compact for such a large skimmer. My sump area is quite cramped with only about 24" for height. The skimmer fits perfectly in the drain chamber of my Trigger Systems Ruby Elite sump with still lots of clearance to remove the cup. I was quite surprised - I thought that it would be a much tighter fit

Assembly was easy. It doesn't come with instructions however there is a video online to guide you through it. It took about 20 minutes to get everything together.

Operation seems very quiet but there is a noticeable hissing sound. I'm confident that it will quiet down considerably in the coming weeks after it breaks in. The small user guide that comes with it says it can take up to 4 weeks for it to break in.

Overall I'm very happy with my purchase. I feel that I got a lot of bang for my buck. It looks really nice in my sump. Hopefully it lasts a long, long time.

[theokie]

Glad to see that some people are giving these skimmers a chance. On paper they sound awesome, so much so that I am really tempted to phase out a few of my other ones as the advertised airdraw to power draw is unrivaled.

Is there any chance you have access to a kill-a-watt or similar to see what its actual power draw is?

[spedly]

Originally Posted by theokie

Glad to see that some people are giving these skimmers a chance. On paper they sound awesome, so much so that I am really tempted to phase out a few of my other ones as the advertised airdraw to power draw is unrivaled.

Is there any chance you have access to a kill-a-watt or similar to see what its actual power draw is?

No sorry, I don't. I have an Apex but I can only view an aggregate of amps being used.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's only been running in my system for about 24 hours and I'm very pleased with it so far.

[theokie]

Originally Posted by spedly

No sorry, I don't. I have an Apex but I can only view an aggregate of amps being used.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's only been running in my system for about 24 hours and I'm very pleased with it so far.

well you could shut all the other outlets off on the apex, and let it run just the skimmer for a minute. Should read about .5 amp if its 60ish watts of a stock PSK-1000 or .18 amp if it really is the 22w that they are claiming.

The reason I ask is the wattage and airdraw of this pump is so much better then the stock PSK-1000. I find it hard to believe what coralvue claims. Now I can see the air draw being better by running a custom volute, but if they are running a stock motor block I can't really see how they achieve their claims. I ask this as I have a fish room and grow operation so every watt counts, in my quest to run my "hobby" as efficiently as possible

Sorry to bug you, but just an inquiring mind that wants to know if it really is as good as it claims. As if it is, its more efficient then the Red Dragon and Abyzz DC pumps for a L per watt number

[spedly]

Well as luck would have it it's water change day. I did what you said. Turned everything off but left the skimmer on. Fusion showed 0.9 amps. When everything is off it idles at 0.3 amps. So I assume the skimmer uses 0.6 amps. How does that compare to the Red Dragon?

[theokie]

Originally Posted by spedly

Well as luck would have it it's water change day. I did what you said. Turned everything off but left the skimmer on. Fusion showed 0.9 amps. When everything is off it idles at 0.3 amps. So I assume the skimmer uses 0.6 amps. How does that compare to the Red Dragon?

Thanks for the data... so that means its roughly 72ish watts... which is about what a normal PSK-1000 would draw (advertised as 67w). So its not as efficient as they claim, but makes sense as they used a stock motor block. so its no where near the Red Dragon needle wheels but is still a very great value. I was just very confused with all the vendors advertising it as only 22watts, when every other PSK-1000 draws 67 watts.

The 60 watt RD is 2500L for 60 W so 41.67 L/W

The PSK-1000 is 1000L for 67 W so 14.9 L/W

where as: As Advertised its

1000L for 22W so 45.46 L/W a major difference


You can see why I was excited when it was first announced, though I was highly skeptical as how they could achieve that using the same motor block. Still is a very good reliable pump.

[theokie]

Something I completely forgot:

You could have also checked the sticker on the side of the pump, as it is required by low to list the power draw... most PSK-1000 I found online list it as .56 amp

[spedly]

Good to know. I'll take a look at the sticker in the next day or two. Like I said in my original post my sump area is pretty cramped so it's a PIA to take it out. But you've piqued my interest. I might have a chat with Ray and submit a support ticket at CoralVue if they're advertising 22W but that's not what I'm getting. I'm glad that you replied to the thread!

[theokie]

Ray is aware of this, as I brought it up to him when he first announced he is carrying it. He is going to look into it further, as when he first asked coralvue they said it is 22w. But now coral view lists the stock PSK-1000 as the replacement part something is fishie

[theokie]

Ray is aware of this, as I brought it up to him when he first announced he is carrying it. He is going to look into it further, as when he first asked coralvue they said it is 22w. But now coral view lists the stock PSK-1000 as the replacement part something is fishie