Hydor Slim Skim Nano Internal Protein Skimmer, 23-35 gal

Have you ever bought a product and felt overly driven to write a review on it? This is that product for me - for multiple reasons. I’ve kept several salt tanks but this 36g is the first one I’ve set up in the last few years. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on equipment and was looking for the best possible value I could find, without sacrificing performance. Google directed me to this Hydor Slim Skim Nano which had lots of positive reviews spanning pet product sites as well as saltwater forums. The price was right, even at the MSRP, but the best price was right here on Amazon.Since I don’t have a sump/refugium, I needed something that would work either in my tank or as a HOB (hang on the back) option. While this model is fully contained within the tank, I feel more secure as it has zero chance of leaking or draining the tank from within. Since this tank is on th second floor (on carpet!) that is verrrrrry important. I find that the space it takes up is negligible, and most salt tanks have just as much space occupied by overflows anyway. The size of this skimmer is very reasonable without being overwhelming.Most importantly, this skimmer is QUIET. How quiet, you ask? I have the tank next to my desk in my home office. I work from home doing customer service and it’s so quiet that it doesn’t produce any noise that can be heard in the background of my calls. I love that I can keep a salt tank next to my desk because equipment like this exists. Not only that, but it WORKS. This skimmer produced skimmate almost right away. Years ago I tried several skimmers, including ones that others spoke of positively, but my experience failed to mirror theirs. I am soooooo, soooo happy to finally have a quality skimmer that does what it’s supposed to QUIETLY and at an affordable price.And lastly: Hydor customer service is top notch. The skimmer I received was missing the suction cup magnets. I sent them a quick email via their website and received a prompt response stating that they would mail me some replacements. I received them within just a few days. (They work great, btw. They hold the skimmer firmly without slipping)Overall I give the Hydor Slim Skim Nano 5 stars for value. It works awesome and doesn’t break the bank. I love this thing and will update down the line with how it performs longterm.

I did my research before buying this skimmer. I wanted a quiet skimmer that doesn't take away from the experience of viewing my fish tank, and wanted an easy setup. Also I did not want a ugly skimmer hanging off the back with dirty skimmate spewing out.The skimmer comes well packaged and easy to use instructions. The materials used are very sturdy and not cheap. I have used it for several months and still looks new. It is in the rear of the tank, and you barely notice it is there. I was able to set it up fairly quickly (make sure if you have enough space in your tank to place it) In a few days it started skimming, and kept the tank fairly clear. Its easy to clean out the collection cup and adjust for the type of skimmate you want. It produces good skimmate and works just as specified without the noise of other skimmers in the market.Pros:Very QuietVery good quality of materialsKeeps tank cleanEasy to useLooks Good in tank.Cons:None

I have had this skimmer for about 6 months so I am ready to write a review.... If you own a nano tank this review may help you out.I have tried three different skimmers for my biocube 29 and this One I the best quality and function of all the skimmers I tried. This skimmer was able to fit it in the first chamber of the sump, and probably the largest skimmer you can get to fit in this position. It is well made and does work but with that being said. I had great success with this skimmer for the first 3 months. Nitrates were always at zero and everything was functioning great. I have added a lot of creatures since I got the skimmer and now it is just not enough to control my bio load in the tank. So if you are looking for something that will help control your nitrates at low level of stocking this will probably do it for you. It requires regular cleaning as the pump will become clogged and if you do not clean it you will burn out the motor. Also it does not require a bubble stone to work like other nano skimmers witch is great. Furthermore, people say they can't get it to skimm, this is often do to salinity as all the nano skimmers are very picky with the salinity of the water. Too high of salinity and you will have to many bubbles and it will skimm clear and fill up very quick. Too low salinity will not create enough bubbles and will not skimm. About 1.024 is the best for most of these skimmers. finally I would like to say that after playing with all the variables of this skimmer, It will not be a thick skim. It will always be a yellow slightly brown color water and really wet. So if you think you are going to get dark thick skimm you won't. But most likely none of your nano skimmers will work for a thick skimm. So if you want a skimmer that will help control some nitrates this is the one but it is not the solution to all your problems.Like I said my bio load is to high for this skimmer so I am going to remove the skimmer and try something else.At this point I have realized that you can not get a good skimmer for a nano cube, this one is the best so far, but it does not happen in the small area that you have.The solution I have came to is a refugium and a canister external filter. The refugium it is very simple to make, very cheap and works a lot better without near the effort of a skimmer. I will not be wasting any more time with nano skimmers and I would recommend that you do the same for your nano cube. Save money have better results and less effort its a win solution.Thanks for reading I hope this helped you out with your adventure,

It works well and very easy to set up. It does have a couple of flaws though that are pretty annoying. First of all you have to glue the suction cups onto the skimmer because it wont hold on to it with just the pre drilled holes. It will keep falling off and submerging into the tank. The second problem I have with it is that its a little noisy. It would be perfectly fine for a living room or something but not for a bedroom. Other then that, it works quite well and keeps the tank really clean. I think if you did some research you could probably find a better skimmer for 100 dollars but for a first skimmer its not terrible.