Cadlights PLS-50 nano skimmer review

Hi all, just thought I would post a review about a skimmer I recently purchased, the Cadlights PLS-50 nano skimmer.

A little background, I currently have 29g biocube, medium stocked with 3 fish. (Pair of clowns and a royal gramma). Nearly every nano skimmer I have tried in the past was a joke and ineffective. I was using a tunze 9002 previously, and while its a decent skimmer I was never satisfied with the quantity and quality of skimmate it produced. ( it could only produce very wet skim)   I read about and was impressed with the design of the new cadlights pipeless skimmers and when I saw they had a nano version, I had to try it. I've been running it for a couple weeks now and have been very impressed! The specs on this skimmer are as follows:

CAD Lights patented Pipeless design
-patented Locking system for holding settings
-Air injection
- Pin-wheel impellers
-100% Aquarium grade Cell-Cast acrylic
-up and down adjustable bracket
- 3-piece assembly thats easy to disassemble

Specs:
-Dimensions: 3.5" x 3.25" x 15"
-Speed: 190GPH
- Air Draw: 187LPH
- Noise emissions: 5dB over audible sound
-Aquarium Capacity: 10G to 50G
-100% Cell-Cast acrylic
-easily disassembles in 3 pieces
-Built in Professional Bubble-Plate
-Lock knob for tension control and full lock
-sliding tank mount for higher or lower settings
-CAD Lights TIA Pro skimmer pumps

Pics!

What comes in the box

Pump and pinwheel impeller

All put togetther

In the tank for the first time to break in. This is chamber 2 of my biocube, will also fit in chamber 1

Few days worth of skim. A little wet but I'm still dialing it in.


After using this for a couple weeks, I have been impressed! The sweet spot for me is at 6" water depth. (Measuring from the bottom of the pump) but im still dialing it in. It took about a week to fully break in and the skim gets darker each day. I highly recommend this anyone looking for a quality nano skimmer.
Pros:
-SMALL footprint, this should fit in the back of most aio style tanks
-VERY quiet, seriously I can barely hear it running
-Affordable
-Produces tons of foam! way more skimmate then any nano skimmer I have seen. (blows the tunze out of the water)
-Easy to set up
-Simple to adjust, just twist the skimmer body.
-Quality construction and design

Cons:
-no instructions in the box. Wasn't a big deal though because its easy to figure out. (There is a video on youtube that explains things very well.)
-Although its very easy to adjust, its very touchy. Once you find the sweet spot though you are good to go.
-Takes about a week to start producing consistent foam.



Edited by kellerexpress - September 14 2013 at 12:30am

Does it fit into Chamber2 with the media basket? Can you close the lid?

It fits with a media basket, I'm using it with an intank media basket in chamber 2.

How easily does it fit in chamber one? I'm thinking of putting one in chamber one of my biocube HQI not sure if it will fit though :/

Fishfinder07 wrote: How easily does it fit in chamber one? I'm thinking of putting one in chamber one of my biocube HQI not sure if it will fit though :/

It fits easily in chamber 1, you won't be able to use the back cover though unless you cut a hole for the cup to stick out.

Nice to see a nano - sized skimmer that actually WORKS

Mine's on order. Should be getting it this weekend :)

I've been running one of these on my 29g zoa tank for a few months now and I also love it! I have no fish in there and a refugium, yet it still pulls a full cup of dark skimmate every week. I skim more on the dry side and therefore have the skimmer raised to about a 5" water level. The only problem I've had is that it didn't come with any mounting screws for the bracket on the back. I've talked to CADlights and they haven't responded to me or the store I got the skimmer from.

K so even with mine like 4-5 inches above the water line the second I plug it in it just fills all the way up and overflows...any suggestions?

Sounds like you have the skimmer too deep in the water. It works best in 5-6 of water, measured from the bottom of the pump. Then adjust the bubble level to the top of the reaction chamber, just before the cup neck. Also keep in mind it takes about a week to break in.