Review on AquaMaxx HOB-1.5 Hang-On-Back Protein Skimmer - Maximized Efficiency for Optimal Filtration by Ryan Hare

Whatever I paid for this skimmer, its performance after a week of use was disappointing. First, when it works, it fills my tank with air bubbles. Not a few. Not even a little bit. clouds of bubbles. The skimmer itself goes through frothing cycles which will hopefully resolve themselves over time. For the first few days I had to set the bowl as high as possible. So high that I had to attach an extension hose to the overflow (it was an inch too long and made a mess on the floor). Even when I set the cup to the highest position I could make, the foam it produced was enough to lift the lid and overflow, causing a mess behind my tank. I somehow fixed it by folding the coins, four quarters, onto the cap so the cap wouldn't come loose. I still had water on the floor, but not as much as I would have if I hadn't used the coins as a scale. And then he stops. I mean foaming. So I put my cup down. Wait an hour or more and the volcano will erupt again and I'll have water on the bottom. I hope this will clear up over time. My second problem is blisters. This skimmer's design uses a sliding plastic plate that fits into a curved track inside the skimmer. One side of the track is a pump that pushes the foam up. On the other side is a reservoir that drains water back into the tank. If you want to get to the pump, you have to remove this plastic plate. This is a very poor design as the rail it goes into isn't waterproof and you can't waterproof it if you ever want to get back to the pump. This causes the bubbles generated by the pump to seep into the return tank in the tank. Sometimes a few bubbles, sometimes clouds, but always bubbles. I do not like it. I do not like it at all. You can buy a foam element to fit over the outlet tube that is supposed to catch bubbles but firstly I don't want a piece of foam taking up space in my aquarium and secondly IF YOU KNOW THE DAMN, LEAKING BUBBLES WHY DID NOT THIS SUPPLY IS INCLUDED! I regret purchasing this item.