Review on 🐠 EHEIM Skim 350 Aquatic Filter by Christine Rogers

We added this Eheim 350 surface skimmer pump to our oldest son's Fluval Spec V (5 gallon) reef system. The Spec V aquarium system has a very small return pump; Although the outlet is aimed at the water surface, it creates a slight wave at the surface, which is likely to reduce gas exchange at the surface. Another consequence of the small return pump is that the water collection hole on the filter wall cleans the surface very little. Most of the water entering the filter occurs at the bottom of the water inlet. (Some people block the bottom air intake in their specs to force the surface air intake to do all the work. I see this bottom air intake as a safety feature, so I won't block it.) V-Tech causes a lot of surface buildup surface, particularly at the far end of the tank opposite the filter wall. Even changing the water twice a week is not enough to keep the surface clean. We knew the Spec V would benefit from a larger run, but it was meant to be a small amount from a small device. A Coralia Nano Powerhead was considered but from experience on our 10 gallon reef even that would be too much current. Next came the tiny Eheim 1000 Powerhead, ready for the job. Then we found the Eheim 350 surface skimmer. It appears to be an Eheim 1000 motor head redesigned with a surface skimmer attachment and was actually cheaper than the Eheim 1000 at the time. So it was the Eheim 350. I've always been a fan of Eheim products . Well built and well engineered, this model didn't disappoint either. The device consists of several main components that are connected to each other: a water intake tray with a floating surface and a tube for self-adjustment to the waterline; The top of the housing contains a small block of open cell pre-filter foam and the bottom which houses the power head and has a well built easy to use flow restrictor adjustment. The power cord connects to the bottom of the unit, but there's a cord retention clip on the back of the top case that allows the cord to easily exit the top of the tank without putting too much pressure on the three small, interchangeable rubber pieces. Suction cups on the back of the sub block. Together these parts and attachment points form a very strong structure. It should also be mentioned that the pump unit has the typical Eheim quality feature of a durable ceramic impeller. The installation is very easy; Basically just point it in the direction you want the outlet to flow into the tank and slide it into the cup at the right depth so that the downspout moves down a bit to allow for evaporation or other water loss. I would suggest placing it right after covering the waterline. On the Spec V tank, we placed it on the opposite corner of the wall, diagonally across from the return pump, which turned out to be where most of the scale accumulated. This placement also created a good clockwise circular flow in the tank and directed the Eheim outlet directly onto the inlet wall of the Spec V filter. And, kindly, the Eheim outlet in the tank is shallower than the spec return on the surface. It really mixes the tank from the top.bottom. In less than 30 seconds after plugging in the power cord (about 4 feet long), Eheim completely cleaned the Spec V tank of all surface scum. We reduced the flow rate to almost the absolute minimum and still increased the flow significantly on the Spec V, but all cattle seemed to appreciate the extra flow. We have found that the Eheim Drip Pan can suck in a small amount of surface air from time to time, even on a low flow setting. This can happen more often if you have set your stream rate widely. Therefore, from time to time, you get a tiny trickle of microbubbles in your aquarium. But at low flow rates (which are actually not that low) bubbles are not a problem at all; they are small enough to quickly find their way back to the now crystal clear water surface before they can stick to rocks or glass and cause irritation. Aside from the occasional baby whimper as air enters the skimmer bowl, the Eheim 350 runs completely quiet and cool. And his energy hunger is only 5 watt hunger. We are in the process of ordering another Eheim 350 for the middle son's 5 gallon reef because the Taam Rio Nano hang on back skimmer/filter can also be useful on this system as this unit does not have surface suction. But so far our experience with the Taam Nano Skimmer is much better than others; In fact, I'd say that after hacking it up with a few minor modifications, it works pretty well - there are almost no microbubbles left of it. So Eheim 350 will be a good addition to Taam Rio. I can highly recommend the Motorkopf Eheim 350 surface skimmer.