crvz's hole in the wall
- Thread starter crvz
- Start date
crvz
Team RC
new skimmer on order. with the fish in QT (they're mostly tangs, remember) and the skimmer on the QT tank, I've been growing some algae quickly in the display. And I don't want to do the amount of water changes I'd need to keep up with the necessary nutrient export (it would be expensive to use that much salt). And I wanted a bit larger skimmer for this tank, and it will be nice to leave the euro-reef on the QT long term. So, SRO 5000INT on the way. Hopefully it will show up this week.
drummereef
Team RC
crvz
Team RC
Premium Aquatics called, they had not the unit I ordered in stock. And I was afeared of having to wait a few weeks or more on a skimmer when my tank is without. At first they talked me into the Octopus Cone XP3000I (which they were willing to do for the same price), but it had the smaller pump (bubble blaster 3000, instead of the 5000). I was worried long-term that I wouldnt be happy, especially if this tank continues to be well stocked with fish. I get that the cone body helps reduce turbulence, helping in the efficiency of the operation, but the air flow rate of the pump on that cone skimmer is only 1200-1500 lph, instead of 2100-2400 lph on the one I originally ordered. So I ultimately decided on going with the SRO5000SSS. Same basic skimmer, but the pump is internal to the chamber body. This may make life easier, as my skimmer section of the sump is currently about 11" deep and I may want to make a riser, a simpler prospect with the pump internal to the skimmer body.
crvz
Team RC
Skimmer pictures. It took longer than anticipated to assemble, probably beyond 40 minutes to get everything figured out. The instructions weren't so clear. But, it's wicked quiet. I expected some amount of noise from it, but I can't hear it at all in the fish room. I'll need to get a riser for it to bring it up ~4".
drummereef
Team RC
Skimmer looks like a beast! 
crvz
Team RC
Thanks guys. It's definitely in too deep of water, once it slimed up a little it was overflowing the collection cup (a result of inadequate head pressure from the water depth). I pulled the drain plug and left it running, so it's not really doing anything for me at the moment. I'll try to fabricate a riser this evening.
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Congrats on the new skimmer, Chris! We have the SRO 6000sss and love it.
flipsideleo
New member
Took ya long enough!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
crvz
Team RC
Good news for me.
How often do you perform maintenance? Screwing that base on was more of a pain than I expected, but the performance is been very satisfactory so far.A what? Is that the automated neck cleaner?
Took ya long enough!
Indeed, Leo. Indeed.
I did manage to build a riser for the skimmer. I had a 15"x18" piece of acrylic sitting as scrap, and I'll be honest; with two small kids at the house, I try to avoid making a lot of noise. Naps are the worst (when I'm trying to be productive). So I didnt want to fire up the table saw. But I did want to use a blow torch. And threaten to burn down the house. I clamped a board (note; I'd highly recommend using metal, unlike what I do here) at 4.375" from the edge of the acrylic, fire up the blow torch, and warm it up along the seam where it's clamped. Both top and bottom of the acrylic. If you're patient, and you're doing something for display, it's critical to take your time and never leave the flame somewhere for more than a second. I, on the other hand, am impatient, so I generally just leave the very hot flame in place way too long and get the acrylic bubbling. It takes way less time, and I'd say in 2-3 minutes I was able to bend the acrylic along the clamped board. Doing the second side in the image here.
Here it is complete.
This raised the skimmer to be just at 6" water depth. As a result, the skimmer outlet splashes significantly. The gate valve is 50mm, and since we're in America, I'll have to order an adapter on the intertron so I can add some PVC to eliminate the splash. CoralVue has the part, but it will take a bit to get it to the house.
flipsideleo
New member
Outstanding, man! That's exactly how I would have done it. Cleaner, easier that way.
Pretty Tundra, too. I love mine; but it'll be gone soon, making way for the Subaru.
Pretty Tundra, too. I love mine; but it'll be gone soon, making way for the Subaru.
crvz
Team RC
Blerg, the powder blue tang was dead this afternoon. And he was swimming around and eating nori this morning. Irritating to come home to see that. The purple tang is acting weird, too. I put him in the smaller tank and started to increase salinity. I don't know if it's a function of lowered salinity, but I decided to try and start with that to help the purple tang. The others I'll leave another week at the lowered salinity (that would make about 6 weeks, or 4 weeks after the last noticeable ich spot).
drummereef
Team RC
Nice work on the skimmer stand. I might have to do the same for mine! Never bent acrylic before but there's always a first time... Sorry to hear about the powder blue. Never a fun day when that happens.
Never a fun day when that happens.
psteeleb
Team RC
yes it is - it's simply one of the best $100 I invested in my tank
and great job on the skimmer stand
flipsideleo
New member
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