SWC Extreme 160 Skimmer Review

So I have had the Extreme 160 for over a week now. First off... don't get confused with the SWC 160 cone skimmer. Not sure why SWC would use the same number for two different skimmers for two different sized tanks...but it is what it is. This is the Extreme series cylinder skimmer rated for 75g-125g. It is powered by a very well known and reliable Sicce PSK2500. For this test, I used my 2500 with a Warner Marine red wheel.

Got it unpacked. Things come well packed as most do.



There are not much directions, but not much is needed. Not too hard putting together some PVC.



Got it in the sump and it broke in as normal. Started producing within 24 hours and got better from there.



OPERATION

The skimmer did pretty well. It was quiet, and most of all, a very small foot print. My skimmer section is 10" and I did not need a stand for this. I ran it at 10". It was actually pretty nice to have such a small unit. The turbulence in the body was pretty minimal. Actually much better than it's bigger brother the Extreme 200. The cup was easy to remove. Plenty of silicone o-rings everywhere and water level adjustment was easy to dial in with the wedge pipe.

It produced good skimmate. Could run wet or dry, although I never saw the need to run it shallower than it was. I was happy at 10", but it would be happy to 8".

What I didn't like.

So there are some things I'm not too thrilled about. First off, the skimmer cup is very small. Actually, I could not touch the bottom with my fingers, and I don't have fat hands. Now I didn't have to dump it every day, 3-4 probably, I'm just surprised how skinny the cup is. It does have a drain to run to a cup.

Next, most skimmers that have the pump on the bottom just allow the pump to shoot straight up. They don't drill holes in the bubble plate above the outlet so it will not just shoot through. SWC's new cones are like this. On the 160, an elbow is used to direct flow side ways.





The elbow causes a lot of backpressure. I was surprised to see the same pump I use on my skimmer, that gets 14 LPM, only get 8 LPM on the 160. I took the elbow off and it got 10 LPM... but then of course the water just blew through the bubble plate.

If it was mine, I would remove the elbow and then fill the holes above the outlet.



I would just blank out the 9 holes above the outlet with silicone or a piece of plastic. I feel the holes in the bubble plate are plenty big enough to loose a quarter. Point being is I think it can be tweaked a bit to do better. Even with the holes not blanked on this one, turbulence in the body was not increased all that much.

What I did like.

The Extreme series is a cylinder line. SWC has cones too. The two new small cones can do 50 to 90g tanks. This 160 is a space saver design with the pump under the body. It is a very compact design. For those of you out there with 90g tank and not much room in the sump, I would recommend this skimmer. Also, the pump just fits to the bottom of the body and is held there with two silicone o-rings. So it is very easy to remove the pump and the whole skimmer does not need to be taken apart to get to it.

The bottom line.

Honestly, a Sicce powered cylinder can handle up to 180g tanks. Just look at the Extreme 200. As for other cylinder skimmers, there are better designs out there for this size range. If I was in the market for a cylinder to put on my 90g, I would probably look else where. Mainly because I am very spoiled with a very large collection cup on the skimmer I have and I would hate to loose that.

However... as usual, SWC makes a quality skimmer at an affordable price. They do not overrate this skimmer. The rating reflects the lower air draw numbers. Where this skimmer does shine is the space saver foot print. A quality build, with a quality pump, in a very small space. This skimmer can handle the 90-120 range and would do very well on a 75g with a 10g sump. If you are short on space and in this range, this is a good skimmer to be looking at.

 

great review powerman , thank you

question , how does this compare in terms of performance versus the closest matched rated cone skimmer you have tested?

Steve

 

Reviews written this well are seldom sights anywhere. Thank you.

 

The only cone I have had is mine. A Warner Marine K2. One of the best cones on the market. It's rated from 90g to 180g.

So not only is it a very good design, it is more than enough for my 90g. I have not tested any of the new cones or ones closer rated to my tank. I want to test out a SWC 160 cone.

Even though there was a couple things I wished were different on this one, it is a good performer and I would have no problem running it on my 90g. I have played with several Sicce powered skimmers and a Sicce 2500 is a good pump for a very popular size of tank.....75-180g. so I know what to expect from them.

 

No, thank you kind Sir.

 

Wow! Thanks for the informative and descriptive write-up.

Well done. Objective and informational.

I didn't know you were in the market for a skimmer. Did you acquire another tank, or are you a testing facility now?

 

Just playing around.

 

Good review. I have a SWC xtreme 160 for my 90g. I agree with most of your review, although the smaller collection cup doesn't bug me since I like to empty it out every few days anyway (I find the sump starts to stink with all that skimmate present).

It does do a very good job skimming my tank, which is quite heavily-stocked. I definitely agree that they do not over-rate their skimmers. The only thing I have to add is that mine is a bit noisy. Not sure if I have a defective pump or not, but I find it quite loud once it is running. Would I buy it again? Maybe. But I'd probably look for a quieter one first.

 

And to be fair... this is not a big skimmer, that is what the Extreme 200 is for. After thinking about it, I remembered I could not touch the bottom of the coloection cup in my BK Mini 160 either, but you could take that neck out. It was such a breeze to clean. So ya, not the only one, I just have a pretty big skimmer and it has a HUGE cup, so I'm a little biased there.

Some Sicce can be a bit buzzy. However, there are so many out there... the majority are nice and quiet. Some times it's just that way.