Review on Coralife Protein Skimmer Marine Filter by Laurie Fisher

I bought this after my original skimmer (Aquatic Life) broke after six months of use. This protein skimmer/filter is brilliant in concept but needs serious tweaking. It took several days of fiddling and fine-tuning before this device's protein skimmer actually worked. In fact, it might be better if you just buy a separate filter and skimmer. In my experience, a skimmer will not work with an air silencer. The living space was simply filled with water. Airflow control valve fully open as suggested, absolutely nothing. So. kept playing with the air valve and it started to look promising but then failed. There is no website on the internet that provides troubleshooting instructions. I called the company and they suggested everything I had already tried. Imagine the disappointment that you just bought a $45 non-skimmer filter. Anyway, I realize that if I put my finger on the air silencer tube, bubbles will form in the main chamber, but who keeps their finger on a protein skimmer forever? I just removed the air muffler pipe and finally success. Well, the limitation that comes with that is the noise and a lot of bubbles flying into your tank. Grrr! While my crazy clownfish seem to enjoy an abundance of bubbles, the rest of my aquarium doesn't have much. Just spend a little more for a better skimmer system. Paying $45 to try and get this device working isn't worth cussing and banging on the head.