PLS-50 Elite II and Mode Aquariums

[Maximus93101]

I thought I would take a moment to share my recent experiance with Mode Aquariums and ordering a PLS-50 Elite II Protein skimmer.

First, it is well documneted that these skimmers are very hard to get and that Mode Aquariums has been quite unresponsive in any communications made to them.

On a whim, I decided to Google Mode Aquariums and see where they were located. The address was in Rancho Cucamonga, CA and to my suprise, was only three miles from a work site that I support (I am in IT)

This past Wednesday, I had to go to said site, so I took a detour to see if I might be able to buy a skimmer in person at their shop. Upon arrival, I was met with a suite that was clearly closed and vacant. I decided to go to the business next door and ask if they had moved out. The nice man at the counter said "Yes, they had vacatded the premesis a couple moths ago".

The next day (Thursday) I read Toddah's thread about having just bought and received a skimmer from them. Scratching my head as this did NOT jive with my experiance the day before, perhaps they just moved? Maybe they are fulfilling skimmer orders but no longer building aquarium? Who knows for sure. I was highly interested in getting one of these for my own 50 Gallon AIO (Click on my build thread for details) so I decided to place an order, fully expecting to kiss $179.99 goodby.

To my great shock and amazement, I received a notification from Paypal that same eveing that a shipping label with tracking number had been created! the next day (Friday) I got a notification tat itr had shipped, and long story short, received teh skimmer late this afternoon (Saturday)

In ;less than 48 hours, I had ordered and received a PLS-50 Elite II Skimmer. Granted, I only live 40 miles from their reported last location, but I was extremly happy and totally taken by suprise at the quick turn-around.

I will do a quick review of he simmer here later tomorrow, as there are some slight differences to the skimmer being shipped than the the PLS-50 Elite II videos on YouTube and ever what is still shown on the Mode website. This should probably be a v3 of the skimmer, but early observations show a couple of differences, or tweaks to the design shown on ModeAquariums.com

 

[blaxsun]

Are they still operating from another business address somewhere else?

 

[Maximus93101]

To my surprise, around 4:00pm, less than 48 hours after I had ordered it, this non-descript brown box showed up on my doorstep.

A quick unboxing had an instruction card (whcih was just north of being completely useless) and all of the parts neatly packed in a foam box.

Using the picture from the Mode Aquariums Website for comparison, here is the "old" version and i will point out as many differences that I can find between what is shown and what was delivered to both myself and Toddah.

First, the version I received appears to have a different pump, OR... it's a red version of the same pump. (Pretty sure its i a completely different pump) As you can see from the picture, the pump is not threaded and is just friction fit into the bottom of the skimmer. I was a litle concerned at first, but the fit is nice an snug and I got over it.

Next, the skimmer cup has been redesigned and is where the majority of the new features/changes come into play.

Now, the collection cup has an integrated silencer ibuilt into the cup. As you can see, there are two ports on the bottom of the cup. The large one on the left is the drain which comes WITHOUT a plug (more on that later) The smaller port on the right side of the bottom of the cup is the built-in air silencer. The old version had a silencer as a separate attachment. I kind of like this change, as you dont have that old dongle flapping around (and we all know how painful THAT can be! - Badda-BING!)

The next picture shows some sort of adjustable air inlet on the collection cup lid, with no notification on how it is to be used. Will need to fiddle a bit to figure it out.

The next difference is that the collection cup does not have a stopper plug on the bottom drain, but it does come wit an ~9" length of hose and a faucet style end piece. It would have been nice if they had incleded a propper stopper for the cup as well, but I kind of like this change in general.

Pictures of the collection cup neck and collection cup flanges. Not sure if the older version. had these or not. I was under the impression that they were just friction fit, but I could be wrong.

Here it is in my tank, moments after giving it power. It is hard to see, but below the collection cup junction, there are lots of bubbles.

As i write this, i realize that I negelcted to take a picture of the unit fully assembled. (See Toddah's post linked on the post above if tyou want to see more pictures)

What has not changed from the previous version is the high quality, sturdy plastic. (It seems quite solid) and the ports on the bottom. to control wather flow and the air bubbles. As in the previous version, twisting the skimmer body while it is hanging on the tank allwos you to open and close the ports on the bottome of the skimmer to increase or decrease the flow, raising and lowerig how far up the neck the bubbles travel.

When I had seen Toddah's post, I had originally though this was a completely differewnt skimmer. I don''t believe that to be the case. I think it is still teh same skimmer, but with a couple of tweaks or "itterations" if you will... This might also help explain why they were hard to get for a while. Different parts and retooling held up by global shipping and supply chain issues? Just a guess?

All I can say is that if you are looking at getting one, they seem to be readily available and my turn-around time was about as fast as one could expet. I am VERY pleased so far.

Regardless, hope to get it dialed in and get some thick, nasty, skimmate going.

 

[Maximus93101]

Are they still operating from another business address somewhere else?

I am not 100% sure about the aquarium construction portion, but they are definately fulfilling skimmer orders at this time. They could quite possibly be running this portion out of someones garage (Disclaimer: this is Just a guess on my part, I dont know that for a fact) OR... They have very recently moved and the Google machine has not caught up yet.

Regardless, They seem to be shipping skimmers at this point in time. I'm glad I jumped on this when I did. At the moment I am VERY happy with the purchase.

 

[Maximus93101]

As I woke up this morning I was giving some thought to where they are opperating. CLEARLY they are opperating out of SOETHONG, whether it's a new location or as I said earlier,s omeones garage/basement. Then it hit me... Look at the return address shipping label! In doing so, I found the following...

Mode Aquariums
12223 Highland Ave, CA Suite 106-5
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

A quick Google search of this address shows a strip mall, so I think it is safe to assume that they simply moved to a different location. This might help explain why their communication was so poor during the months of February and March for some R2R members.

I won't be in the area again for a couple more weeks, so I can't verify this, but perhaps someone local to Rancho Cucamonga CA could do a drive-by and check them out?

As of now, yes, it appears that they are still in opperation and opperating out of a comercial space (vs Garage/basement)

 

[Maximus93101]

OK, something of a design flaw (IMHO) that I just picked up on...

I went to go clean out the collection cup for the first time, and I was quite impressed with the dark, gunky skimmate that was collected. So far, as far as actual skimming is concerned, things are going quite nicely.

HOWEVER.... When I went to remove the collection cup, I realized that the "Built-in silencer" which has a venturi air tube the goes from the pump to the collection cup, this venturi air tube must be removed/disconnected from the collection cup every time I want to remove it for cleaning.

That kind of sucks.

I think I would have preferred the old-style "dongle" type silencer. I may be forced to utilize the drain with some longer tubing into a gallon jug or something similar. Unfortunately, they only give you 9-10" of drain tubing which just wont cut it.

First world problems, but other than that, the skimme seems to be performing quite well.

 

[Maximus93101]

Since this is a skimmer thread, I thouhgt I should show the obligatory "Skimmate Collected" photo. The collection cup was almost full, so I took ths shot before emptying it. Skimate is a dark tea color and little wet (looking to try to get it only slightly dryer). Loving this little guy, so far!

 

[Haacheew]

I bought mine back in Feb. 17, 2022, it was the version 2. It only took 9 days from the day placed the order to it reached my doorsteps and with good email communication notifying me order placement and shipping, etc. I don't know why some people having so much problem of getting it.

With all the major re-designs and "improvements?", yours should be named version 3. If you can photo and post the entire skimmer from different angles, and a bit in-depth review after a month of use, it will be appreciated.

How's the noise level to you? - Mine sometimes can be a ted noisy every now and then, but it is quiet most of the time. It still happens even after 3 months of use. Wierd!

How's the skimming adjustments? -Mine is "UBER UBER" sensitive. One or two millimeters turn will cause skimming overflow (I am not exaggerating). So its very annoying every time after removing the collection cup for cleaning, it requires a few minutes for re-adjustment becuase a lightly twist or wiggle of the collection cup would cause this chaos.

I had used Aquamaxx HoB 1.5 (still keep it for backup) and the others. Compare HoB 1.5 to PLS-50 Elite 2, HoB 1.5 is a lot noisier (my tank is in my studio, the problem amplified at night time. That's the main reason why I am using PLS-50 v2). Other than that, in terms of performance (HoB 1.5 is a beast!), ease of use, HoB 1.5 is a clear winner (besides that darn noise; I might be over sensitive to noise). I might do a detail comparision if I have time.

Don't get me wrong, in general, PLS-50 Elite 2 is a great skimmer and worth $190. And I am happy with it. Especially, if you are looking for an in-sump skimmer that can fit right inside your AOI tank.

These are the recent skimmers that I have used. (that NF-1 was way too small for my 20gal mixed reef tank)

 

[Cheeze]

@Maximus93101 - I just unboxed my skimmer which I had ordered about 10 days ago, can't wait to get it wet in my AIO chamber, replacing my Tunze 9004 to see if this skims better.

Mine did not come with any kind of instructions and looks different than what is on their website, but is the exact same as yours (V3 as Haacheew called it )...so might be a stupid question, but is the faucet piece some kind of collection cup drain?

And any update on how you like/dislike this skimmer?

 

[Maximus93101]

@Maximus93101 - I just unboxed my skimmer which I had ordered about 10 days ago, can't wait to get it wet in my AIO chamber, replacing my Tunze 9004 to see if this skims better.

Mine did not come with any kind of instructions and looks different than what is on their website, but is the exact same as yours (V3 as Haacheew called it )...so might be a stupid question, but is the faucet piece some kind of collection cup drain?

And any update on how you like/dislike this skimm

So far, I have been extremely happy with it. It is pulling all sorts of crud and gunk out of the water.

Yes, the faucet goes on the end of the collection cup tube and you use it to empty the collection cup. I ended up getting 5-6 feet of flexible tubing and run it to a home-brew collection containern and clean the collection cup once a week. Seems to work well so far.

Another thing I did was tighten the bottom screws just enough to make the skimmer stiff, yet easy to adjust and then labled the top riser tube ring indicating which way to twist it in order to make the water level raise higher or lower in the riser tube. That has proved to be quite helpful as could never remember which way to twist. Also, microscopic movements make a huge diffrenece in the wather height. Keep that in mind when getting things dialed in.

 

[Cheeze]

Smart tweaks!! The company should see this and use your enhancements in their next version!

 

[chrisdonzella]

Just ordered mine last night. Will update here when it arrives.

Yay!!!

 

[Maximus93101]

Just ordered mine last night. Will update here when it arrives.

Yay!!!

Keep us posted on the outcome on delivery and ultimately your impressions of the unit's performance. As I had indicated, the turn around on my order was VERY fast and I couldnt be happier with the unit's performance so far. Hope your experience ends up being as good as mine.

 

[Cheeze]

About a week in and liking mine so far. Still playing with the water height and air intake to get the right combo of skim, but seeing results in the collection cup!

Also impressed how quiet it runs (and hoping that comment didn't jinx it lol)

 

[Maximus93101]

Yes, water height adjustment is very finicky. You move it 1/2 of a millimeter and it makes a big difference. It is very touchy.

Also, mine has been extremely quiet since day one, so I think you will continue to be pleased in that area as it matches my experience with the skimmer.

glad to hear it’s working out for you

 

[Cheeze]

So I did jinx myself

Got woken up by some gurgling-like noises early this morning which at first I thought were coming from my apartment radiator, only to realize it was my skimmer. By the time I ran out of bed to power off the unit, the pump just stopped. Dead. Turned it off and on, but nothing.

Don't know why the pump failed after just a week of operation. Going to try emailing the company in the hopes something can be done to replace the pump.

 

[Maximus93101]

Oh that’s horrible! Hope you can get it straightened out. I will be pulling for you friend

 

[chrisdonzella]

Keep us posted on the outcome on delivery and ultimately your impressions of the unit's performance. As I had indicated, the turn around on my order was VERY fast and I couldnt be happier with the unit's performance so far. Hope your experience ends up being as good as mine.

Just got shipping label via paypal. Ordered it Friday, shipping today - so far so good!

 

[Maximus93101]

OK, I know how y'all love skimate pictures, so here's some before and after shots of two weeks worth of skimmate collected with the PLS-50 Elite II

Before: Yuck!!!

After: Clean as a whistle!

​

 

[Maximus93101]

As I woke up this morning I was giving some thought to where they are opperating. CLEARLY they are opperating out of SOETHONG, whether it's a new location or as I said earlier,s omeones garage/basement. Then it hit me... Look at the return address shipping label! In doing so, I found the following...

Mode Aquariums
12223 Highland Ave, CA Suite 106-5
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

A quick Google search of this address shows a strip mall, so I think it is safe to assume that they simply moved to a different location. This might help explain why their communication was so poor during the months of February and March for some R2R members.

I won't be in the area again for a couple more weeks, so I can't verify this, but perhaps someone local to Rancho Cucamonga CA could do a drive-by and check them out?

As of now, yes, it appears that they are still in opperation and opperating out of a comercial space (vs Garage/basement)

BTW - I negelected to report that work put me back into the area las weekend and was able to drive by the address listed above (This was the address on the return label when I received the Skimmer via UPS) and it turns out that this adress is a UPS store. I guess Mode Aquariums no longer has a store front, so take that for what it is worth.

On the flip side, it appears that folks are receiving their ordered skimmers in a timely manner, which is very good news.