Lee's Protein Skimmer Counter Current, Large

I seldom go out of my way to write reviews for products I order on Amazon as I order so many, and honestly, most of the aquarium related items I purchase are either "everyone-knows-it" stuff or just...bad.I have recently set up a new Nano Reef in a Waterbox 20 Cube. The overflow chamber comes with a filter sock, but it was very annoying to clean out and replace so often because it was so small. I opted to toss the sock and wanted to instead pull nutrients with a nano skimmer (if I was able to find one that could fit and wasn't stupid expensive and/or terrible.)I have always been reluctant over the years to bother with nano skimmers at all, especially ones that use an airstone. More often than not, they don't fit or are total junk and a waste of time and money (looking at you, Coralife nano skimmer)I saw this and, if I am being honest, looked like more junk again. But there were way more reviews than normal for such a product of people saying it actually works. Looking at the prices for the various sizes, I figured that I could probably swing it just because I was curious. I purchased the small size.Out of the box, it looks like 110% crap. Flimsy, doesn't seem to hold together right, the latches and suction cups look really bulky and bad. I wound up tossing the cups and clasp just to make it fit (not the fault of the skimmer).This skimmer has two different air lines, which I had never seen before in a simple air stone skimmer. Thankfully I had an old airpump laying around with 2 outputs which I hooked up.After going through a somewhat vague instruction list, I got the thing up and running using the included airflow valves. It took about 15 minutes of finagling to get it just right, but that's not too bad in my opinion.So, if you read this far you might be like "he's done a lot of complaining. What's with the 5 stars?"Well, let me tell you why. THIS. THING. WORKS.And I don't mean that it just works and blows bubbles up the cup. I mean this thing works REALLY, REALLY well. Within the first hour of use it was pulling tons of gunk out of my little nano reef. (The first 3 pics with little water) I was blown away. I let the thing run for 2 weeks and it is CONSISTENTLY pulling crud out. It can be a little wet, but I know it is still being efficient since the skim eventually gets drier and drier and what water does collect is a horrid brown color with noticeable solids floating around.When I consider things for review, I consider the price point, the sophistication of said thing, and how effective it is at it's price point. And for what this thing is, it is the best. Without any exaggeration, this thing has been more effective, easy to use, and all-around better than some $150+ skimmers I have used using electric motors and such. Without a doubt this is THE best nano skimmer I have ever used in my days of reefing. After pulling the thing out of the box I was certain it was going to be in the tank for a day before being tossed into the garbage. 2 weeks later and this thing isn't going anywhere.EDIT: The small size was much smaller than I thought (my fault, never really bothered measuring since I wasnt expecting it to be any good). I think I will get a medium or large for even better efficiency.

the build quality on this thing is atrocious. The main body falls apart if I grab it the wrong way and it even appears that whoever built it used a hacksaw to cut the pieces that make up this contraption, it's very shoddy craftsmanship.However, it does work as advertised. The foam column builds up well enough if you have it adjusted correctly, and it does indeed collect all the foamy crap it's supposed to. I don't know how it will do in the long run, but for the time being it doesn't appear to be a waste of money. If it works over time I'll be glad I got this instead of the usual 100$+ protein skimmers.

So far I have had a good experience with this skimmer. You will read a lot of reviews on here saying how to adjust it, or that you need 2 pumps, etc. I am using a single pump, a JW fusion 500, it has 2 outlets and seems to be plenty of power to run this skimmer and it cost ~$15.00. My best results for adjusting have been to do the obvious, read the box! Close both valves completely, then you will adjust the line that is marked "adjust first" till the bubbles coming up the small tube are about 1/4"-1/2" apart, once that is done, slowly open up the second line, until the foam raises up about a 1/2" past the waterline. Once I followed these steps, it almost immediately started skimming, and now 4 days later, my tank seems to have reached an equilibrium and getting a darker colored dry foam. As others have mentioned, the plastic is VERY cheap, but not so cheap that it will crumble from normal use. I have not glued any pieces together, like some others have and I have had no problems (it still wouldn't hurt, I just did not). my only complaints are with the collection cup, the lid on mine was a tad warped and doesn't sit flush on the cup. It was nothing that a couple rubber bands and some redneck ingenuity couldn't fix though. The small hole on the lid is my other complaint, the foam comes through it and can be unsightly and overflow off of the cup. These are issues I can live with, while others may not be able to. Overall for literally a fraction of the cost of most skimmers, this one does the job, and seems to do it well. It may also be worth mentioning, my tank is a FOWLR setup, and I am more of an average joe, cheapskate. For the reef tank enthusiast, you may be after more, but then again, If your a reef tank nut and spend large amounts of money on corals and what not, you're probably not even considering reading any of these reviews. All in all, I recommend it for anyone who is on a budget and doesn't wipe their rear-end with $100 bills.

I got it today, set up was simply putting some parts together, and skimming is not my topic.Construction is very flimsy, one of the legs that is used to hold the unit via suction cups is broken, so it doesn't stay firm. also, the union points on the base and the top cone are not tight, it is a stay in place by nothing, removing the skim cup can easily move the top part, and the center tube is not held secure in the bottom base, nor the stone and tube, if you let say need to adjust the height of the unit, this would mean seeing it disassemble just by trying to move it.once in place it stays (barely) together and the material is akin to a thick plastic cup so it holds not tension if it does, it look to be prone to crack easy. if you hold the unit by the rim, ( with no suction cup, it easily disassemble before your very eyes, i have a gold fish that would do short work if this unit in a matter of hours. ( not kidding, any 8 month old goldfish has enough strengths to dislodge all the elements )

I bought this item a little over a week ago. I now wish I hadn't bothered. I've messed with this skimmer off and on almost everyday. I can never seem to get it just right. It is either spewing foam into my tank or the foam is too low from the collection cup to do any good. If you have a full time job, don't even bother as this requires a lot of time to get adjusted and if you're like me, you still don't have it working. Cheap price for a skimmer but all I got is a foaming chamber that is doing nothing beneficial.

Pulls out nasty stuff from the water, seems to be doing it's job on my 30 gal tank. It will need an additional air pump with at least 2 outputs, one for the air diffuser and one for the counter current.~ 6 months update:As I'm starting to stock my tank with fish and corals, this skimmer is starting to fail to remove waste like it used to, and I wouldn't say I overstocked my tank (2 clowns, 1 cardinal and a mandarin).With the money you put in this, an air pump and tubings, I wouldn't recommend or tank of 30 gallon or larger, maybe a nano 10 gal.I ended up getting a reef octopus, but wish I wouldn't be cheap and go it that from the start.

Workers well for the price

They're a bit tricky to install, but once you figure it out they work amazingly well. If you search for a YouTube video by an aquest known as "Oswald's Reef", he provides some great information.

This thing is garbage. Been trying to dial it in now for 3 days to get good bubbles and nothing. I'm only giving it 1 star cuz the unit came on time and intact. Save ur money!!! Very disappointed.

For the price, this skimmer does a great job! Defiantly pulls a lot of gunk from the water