euro reef es5-2 feedback

[Shlou]

hey there,

finally took some pics for you guys, you can check them out here:

http://home.attbi.com/~louisdemers/es5-2.htm

the es5-2 is still going strong. best experience i've had with a skimmer, but considering i've only has a sea clone and a cc airstone that's not saying too much. the airstone was pretty good for its size.

shlou

 

[jersey]

Lunch, try raising the bubble level in the skimmer. The brown gunk should be accumulating higher up. See how it looks on shlou's skimmer?

Bob

 

[seahawkjohnny]

I was thinking about going with the ES5-2, but i was able to rearrange things in my sump, and I now have enough room to fit a ER6-1, I was almost able to fit a 6-2, but the bigger pump is just a bit too big.....

 

[Lunchbucket]

jersey - yep did that. i just didn't want to raise it too much at first. now that i did that about 2-3days ago i have about 1/20th of a collection cup of some dark greenish brown stuff. darker than yours shlou. i too am very very pleased now that i got it dialed in right.

once i clean it will have to get the stuff in the reaction chamber that collected when i had the water too low.

i will get more pics on the day i clean, prolly tues since that will be 1wk. will measure the skimmate (in 1/4 cups) and will take pics

this thing ROCKS!
Lunchbucket

 

[jersey]

I would leave it alone. I clean my skimmer about every 3 months. I use a OXO brand dish brush to clean the collection cup. Don't wipe it dry after cleaning just shake it dry, it will resume skimming quicker.

So far the ES5-1 appears to be a great little skimmer.

 

[Lunchbucket]

you mean clean the reaction chamber once every 3 months. i assume you clean the cup every week

yeah i ahve a round foam coffee cup brush that works great for skimmers!!

does anyones freak out when you 1st start it up after cleaning it? like foam up so much it runs over?? mine did last time i cleaned it but i dried it so maybe that is different.

how long you had yours jersey. it is the es5-2. the -1 won't come out for a couple months yet...can't wait to see what that one is like too

Lunchbucket

 

[jersey]

I have a CS6-1. I've been using it for about 7 months. The collection cup gets cleaned serveral times a week.

The new line of skimmers should capture a large part of the market. Less money, same great performance, what else could you ask for?

All the great comments in this thread will surely generate a lot of sales. The disgusting collection cup pics won't hurt either.

 

[Lunchbucket]

yeah i hear what you are saying jersey.

i am gonna post some collection cup pics later this afternoon. it needs to be cleaned after about 4-5days of actual dial in skimming. gonna measure the skimmate and get pics of stuff.

will post later, for now...off to work
Lunchbucket

 

[Lunchbucket]

alright, you ready for my 3days of nasty STUFF!!?? weak stomachs beware!!!

that is just a teaser. go here (at the bottom of the page) and see my todays update, 3 days of NASTY!! now you decide if you should buy one of these bad boys....that is an EASY YES!!

Lunchbucket

 

[Shlou]

wow, that is pretty dark lunch. mine has begun to slow down and the skimmate has darkened up, don't know if its quite that dark yet tho.

 

[pjr]

Size Matters...

Size Matters...

Does anyone have thoughts regarding if the 5-2 will work well on a 100g reef?

 

[seahawkjohnny]

I think it is too small, I would go with a 6 series...probably 6-2...this is the smallest that comes with the 5000 pump, I have a 6-1 on a 20 gal display w/ a 10 gal sump.....I was thinking about going with the 6-2 but my sump was too small

 

[Lunchbucket]

i would NOT do a ES5-2 on a 100gal. 75gal would be pushing it IMO. i would do a cs6-2 as seahawkjohnny recommended. yeah it is quite a bit more but DON"T skimp on a skimmer

Lunchbucket

 

[Shlou]

it may be pushing it, but i have no complaints with my 5-2 so far. now that its been broken in for a while it produces a cup every 4 days. i thought the thing would slow down but it hasn't. and the skim reeks! smells worse than the normal stuff i've smelt....

 

[seahawkjohnny]

the reason it hasnt slowed down is that the skimmer is undersized, once your skimmer catches up to the DOC levels, there wont be as much to pull out, my skimmer at first pulled dark skimmate, but now is more of a green tea look, but the water is VERY clear.....

 

[Shlou]

I'm running my es on a 75, not a 100. I wouldn't reccomend it for a 100 gal. But the skimmer is always undersized isn't it? I don't think an es is undersized for a 75, but i would have rather gone with the cs (would not fit in sump) just to go along with the more is better philosophy.

all said and done, the es has given me quite a bit of bang for the buck. been running for about a month now and still skimming strong (better than any other $200 skimmer i've seen), but i do expect it to level off at some point. i should mention that my results with it may be tainted tho... i had a chromis go missing a couple of weeks ago that could be spiking it.

 

[Lunchbucket]

mine has leveled off quite considerably...so i have tuned it down to try to get a dryer foam. we will see

Lunchbucket

 

[ReefRelated]

I saw one just after they were released and I would say that this is a great skimmer for the money. It really isn't that far off from the CS-6 series skimmer. I guarantee this thing is under rated, you can do more than 40 gallons with this skimmer.

 

[Pomacanthus1]

Finally! My skimmer arrived a few days ago and i just installed it. It really puts my Berlin to shame. The ES looks like it's filled with frothy milk, there's just so many bubbles. With my Berlin, you could see through the reaction chamber. It was really quite sad.

I love my new Euro-Reef! Best $200 i ever spent.

 

[Lunchbucket]

Pomacanthus1 - congrats man! you will hvae to post on the break in and the skimmate production. a dang nice skimmer for 200 huh i crapped my pants when i saw it and hooked it up. i figured a skimmer this good would be like 300

Lunchbucket