Gabor reviews the new products joining the Sicce Shark family. This includes nano filters, surface skimmers and marine skimmers.
Two years ago, I reviewed the first new member of the revamped Sicce Shark family. I loved the design, the functions and the flexibility of the Shark Pro filter. Now I had a chance to “test drive” the latest additions to this interesting line-up.
Let me begin with the common features shared by every member. The first thing you spot is that they are all quite square. They remind me of the wooden building blocks I used to play with many moons ago. This design, however, feels modern and fresh in this context.
Internal aquarium gears are usually unattractive and often look obtrusive in a fish tank. The Sharks on the other hand blend in well. They transition between the aquarium landscape and contemporary home interior designs perfectly.
Beside the shape, they also have a clever magnetic holder system. Thanks to these strong magnets the new Sharks stay where you put them. Just a warning: the magnets – especially the ones on the skimmers – are extremely strong, so don’t put your finger in between them.
Once in place these Sicce products will do their respective jobs quite well – and for a long time. The generous 5 years warranty you get with these products is the guarantee to that.
Sicce Shark Pro Nano
The Shark Pro Nano is the baby version of the aforementioned internal filter. Available in two sizes: the 250 and 320, suitable for up to 50l or 75l tanks respectively. It has a modular filter chamber system that you can add to if needed.
The tested Pro Nano 320 comes with three cartridges filled with filter foams. However, you can add your preferred media into the cartridges instead. The filter has three outlet options: unidirectional, multidirectional (with an option to add a venturi) or a spray bar. You can place the pump in vertical or horizontal positions, making it suitable for shallow setups, too.
Sicce Shark Mini skim
The Shark Mini Skim is a useful tool to remove the unsightly oily film from the surface of the aquarium water. It can also clear away floating debris or plant fragments.
The 4W pump unit can filter through up to 350 litres of water in every hour. This allows this surface skimmer to effectively deal with up to 350 litres aquariums.
As the glass of tanks towards the top end are quite thick and require stronger magnets the Mini Skim comes in two versions. The “basic” model is for up to 6mm, while the 350+ is for up to 12mm glass thickness.
The floating intake has a 30mm play, so you won’t need to constantly adjust the position of the skimmer. The floats special spiral design creates a whirlpool effect for a more efficient skimming.
To prevent small fish getting into the vortex the Mini Skim comes with a removable protective grill. Inside the unit you will find a 30ppi sponge filter pad for mechanical filtration. Its sole role is to trap the debris and not to provide filtration for the whole tank.
Sicce Marine skimmers
Tthe Pro Nano and the Mini Skim are useable in both freshwater or marine tanks alike. The following two Sharks are solely for marine keepers. Especially those that have no room for full-sized external skimmers.
The design of the Shark Skimmers means they fit internally within the tanks without the need for a sump. They provide the important protein removal for marine aquariums and are available in two versions.
The Skimmer 150 - as the name suggest – can service mixed occupancy reef tanks up to 150 litres in volume. In the case of SPS or fish only tanks the recommended maximum tank size is 40 litres. The larger Skimmer 300 can deal with twice as high volumes for just a little bit more electricity. The 150 uses 4W and the 300 needs 5W.
Both units have pump heads with self-cleaning impellers. While they look similar at the first glance there are differences in their operations.
The 150 utilises “traditional” diffusion skimming mixing fine air bubbles with water sucked through the grills at the bottom. On the other hand, the 300 works with a more efficient counter current technique, where the water flows opposite direction to the air bubbles.
To achieve this, the larger Shark Skimmer has an adjustable water intake at the top of the reaction chamber. This allows it to double up as an effective surface skimmer. If you are using ozone in your set-up, you can connect it easily to the 300.
Maintaining these skimmers is also easy, as you can quickly access the inner parts for cleaning. Sicce have even provided a cleaner brush to help you with the task.
Verdict:
I certainly like the new Sicce Shark range, they’re efficient, reliable and at a realistic price.