PLS-50 Elite II and Mode Aquariums

[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 delivered today

Ordered last Friday at 11pm
Shipped (from emai9l they sent) on Tuesday PM
Received today

Now to add water and get this project off the ground!~~!!

 

[Poochaku]

The same skimmer is available on alie express for significantly cheaper.

 

[Maximus93101]

Just delivered today

Ordered last Friday at 11pm
Shipped (from emai9l they sent) on Tuesday PM
Received today

Now to add water and get this project off the ground!~~!!

That's great news!

What kind of tank will you be putting it into?

 

[Gawlfa]

Thank you for this thread. I had ordered one earlier in the year, waited three weeks and nothing from the store. I tried calling them and sending emails. Nothing. I ended up canceling my order through paypal and got my money refunded. I might just have to try to order it again.

 

[chrisdonzella]

That's great news!

What kind of tank will you be putting it into?

I am 2 weeks away from adding water to my new IM 50G Lagoon AIO.

Question - the skimmer fits in the 2nd chamber but only without the hanging bracket. I might be missing something. Does anyone use it in a AIO and if so, how do you set it up to allow to make height adjustments as you dial it in?

Thanks!!
-Chris

 

[Tamberav]

The same skimmer is available on alie express for significantly cheaper.

link?

 

[GK3]

What aio’s are you guys using these on?

 

[Maximus93101]

The same skimmer is available on alie express for significantly cheaper.

If you could please provide a link, taht would be great. My search came up short. FWIW - I think its worth the $179.00 I paid. If you could give us a link in order to do the community a solid, we wpould all be quite grateful

 

[Maximus93101]

What aio’s are you guys using these on?

Innovative Marine 50 NUVO Fusion Lagoon PRO 2 AIO Aquarium with White APS Stand is what I put mine into.

 

[chrisdonzella]

What aio’s are you guys using these on?

IM 50G Lagoon AIO

It fit in the first chamber but not the second. Was wondering if I am missing something because I really want to put it in the 2nd chamber.

 

[Maximus93101]

I am 2 weeks away from adding water to my new IM 50G Lagoon AIO.

Question - the skimmer fits in the 2nd chamber but only without the hanging bracket. I might be missing something. Does anyone use it in a AIO and if so, how do you set it up to allow to make height adjustments as you dial it in?

Thanks!!
-Chris

In my IM 50 LAgoon AIO, I put it into the far left overflow chamber. My right chamber is used for the filter socks or the cage to run GFO/Carbon

 

[Poochaku]

84.0US $ 30% OFF|Seahog Dc Pump Aquarium Skimmer Dc80 24v Protein Skimmer For Nano Saltwater Seawater Marine Coral Reef Aquarium Fish Tank - Filters & Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Original PLS-50II skimmer

78.98US $ 21% OFF|Sea MagTool same Nano DC Pinwheel Pump Protein Skimmers Sump Protein Skimmer for saltwater marine coral reef aquarium fish Tank|Filters & Accessories| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

updated model

 

[Maximus93101]

84.0US $ 30% OFF|Seahog Dc Pump Aquarium Skimmer Dc80 24v Protein Skimmer For Nano Saltwater Seawater Marine Coral Reef Aquarium Fish Tank - Filters & Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Original PLS-50II skimmer

78.98US $ 21% OFF|Sea MagTool same Nano DC Pinwheel Pump Protein Skimmers Sump Protein Skimmer for saltwater marine coral reef aquarium fish Tank|Filters & Accessories| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

updated model

Nicely done!

Yes, the top one appers to be the one that is shown on the Mode Aquariiums website, while the bottom one is the one that is actually shpping from mode and is the one I received.

 

[Haacheew]

link?

Here the link:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/226...516541533639208386efa3a!20000000203554683!sea

There are different brands with the same design. I have no ideas about their quality or customers service. And most likely, sellers reside in China. You are taking a big risk for that deep discount. Good luck.

 

[Tamberav]

Here the link:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2261800229962507.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.1a7a6680xDqFtj&algo_pvid=f34f08c6-d62f-4136-84cf-d23a92ab2c70&algo_exp_id=f34f08c6-d62f-4136-84cf-d23a92ab2c70-47&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"20000000203554683"}&pdp_npi=2@dis!USD!!78.98!!!!!@21031a5516541533639208386efa3a!20000000203554683!sea

There are different brands with the same design. I have no ideas about their quality or customers service. And most likely, sellers reside in China. You are taking a big risk for that deep discount. Good luck.

thanks. I was just wondering. I had this skimmer but the original model bought from CAD and It was fantastic. It also only cost $135 when not on sale back then from CADs website.

I don’t need one but was being nosey. I actually still use their smaller elite (not version II) in a nano.

 

[Poochaku]

Here the link:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2261800229962507.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.1a7a6680xDqFtj&algo_pvid=f34f08c6-d62f-4136-84cf-d23a92ab2c70&algo_exp_id=f34f08c6-d62f-4136-84cf-d23a92ab2c70-47&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"20000000203554683"}&pdp_npi=2@dis!USD!!78.98!!!!!@21031a5516541533639208386efa3a!20000000203554683!sea

There are different brands with the same design. I have no ideas about their quality or customers service. And most likely, sellers reside in China. You are taking a big risk for that deep discount. Good luck.

I'm all for support and customer service but mode aquariums support is non-existent to begin with LOL. I think the only downside is the longer shipping time. It is very clear mode aquariums is just printing their label on the skimmer and charging extra.

 

[GK3]

IM 50G Lagoon AIO

It fit in the first chamber but not the second. Was wondering if I am missing something because I really want to put it in the 2nd chamber.

The second chamber is 4”x3.7”. The skimmer footprint is 3.25x3.5. So it should fit, however the industry is notorious for listing dimensions like this but not including the dimensions of the mount to hold it. My guess is if you removed that, it fits in the second chamber?

 

[GK3]

The second chamber is 4”x3.7”. The skimmer footprint is 3.25x3.5. So it should fit, however the industry is notorious for listing dimensions like this but not including the dimensions of the mount to hold it. My guess is if you removed that, it fits in the second chamber?

Although is just realized this is what mode has on their website but that is the second generation one pictured. The one on allied show it as being larger.

 

[GK3]

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.

View attachment 2646715

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.

View attachment 2646716

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.

View attachment 2646740

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.

View attachment 2646726

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.

View attachment 2646717

View attachment 2646723

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.
View attachment 2646727

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.

View attachment 2646728

View attachment 2646729

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.
View attachment 2646730

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.

Do you mind measuring the diameter of the top of the collection cup? I am curious if it matches Modes measurements (which pictures the older skimmer) or if it matches what alliexpress shows (pictures the newest model)

 

[TheWB]

Do you mind measuring the diameter of the top of the collection cup? I am curious if it matches Modes measurements (which pictures the older skimmer) or if it matches what alliexpress shows (pictures the newest model)

I have the Cadlights version of this skimmer in an IM Lagoon 50 and it fits in the 2nd chamber perfectly. I know there are others on here who have ordered this new one from Mode and it has also fit. If the size has changed recently then that would definitely be a bummer because it’s the best skimmer hands down for smaller tanks as long as it fits.