I-Tech Skimmer Club .

[flat broke]

The small is comparable in size to the ATB Nano, so you might look at pump options in that airflow range. No one has mentioned the Eheim compact pump that's now out. It might push too much water, but with some reducer work, maybe that could be aleviated.

As far as operating depth, I was told that they worked in 5.5-6" range. Obviously that could change a little depending on the pump used.

Does anyone else happen to have any solid info on the Tunze 9410 vs. the 9420? The 9420 appears to be their answer to the Sicce, but the pic of the 9410 looks the same. Are they just running a different magnet and pinwheel on the 9410 to reduce the throughput?

As an alternative pump choice, I'm only getting 18-20 SCFH out of my Sicce with the Octo pw. If the water volume through the pump was reduced, the air figures might work in the small/100. Possibly a smaller i.d. reducer coupled with the pw offered by Reef Specialty on the Octo Extremes could be the ticket to detuning a Sicce to work in this application.

Chris

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

Would you all recommend a small for a 75gal SPS tank with:
1 yellow tang
2 ocellaris
1 leopard wrasse
1 Royal Gramma
1 Starry Blenny
1 cleaner goby

Or save up for a medium and a sicce?

Also, why is the footprint of the I-tech med. so much SMALLER than the MSX 1s? The MSX 1s footprint is HUGE! I certainly can't fit a 1S into my sump, but by the specs, I could fit an I-Tech easily... But they use the same pump?

 

[reefrubble]

A lot of R&D went into my I-Tech skimmer . This is the only Dart Needle Wheel cone skimmer , on the market ( That I Know Of ) .

Close to a year of testing , and design changes , but what a skimmer it is . It is way over sized , for my system , but I don't think you can over skim . IMO

Ted

 

[saltydragon]

dam...looks like a pretty nice skimmer...

 

[gasman059]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14152169#post14152169 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefrubble
A lot of R&D went into my I-Tech skimmer . This is the only Dart Needle Wheel cone skimmer , on the market ( That I Know Of ) .

Close to a year of testing , and design changes , but what a skimmer it is . It is way over sized , for my system , but I don't think you can over skim . IMO

Ted

Thx Ted for your info. Would u be so kind and direct me to more specs and info. Pm me if u feel is inappropiate for the forum THX!

 

[flat broke]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14152002#post14152002 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SHOmuchFUN
Would you all recommend a small for a 75gal SPS tank with:
1 yellow tang
2 ocellaris
1 leopard wrasse
1 Royal Gramma
1 Starry Blenny
1 cleaner goby

Or save up for a medium and a sicce?

Also, why is the footprint of the I-tech med. so much SMALLER than the MSX 1s? The MSX 1s footprint is HUGE! I certainly can't fit a 1S into my sump, but by the specs, I could fit an I-Tech easily... But they use the same pump?

The MSX 1S is the same cone as the MSX 2S which runs 2 Sicces. If they would have taylored the body to the output of one Sicce, the footprint would likely be smaller. I'm not a skimmer expert, but from a general design standpoint either the 1S, the 2S or perhaps both models would have to pose some sort of compromise in efficiency with regard to the match between throughput and volume.

As for your question about tank size/load appropriateness, compare your livestock list to the current tank of the month. I believe that tank runs an earlier version of the 100/small.

Chris

 

[mordibv]

As soon as John gets back with me I will be ordering the small body . I will be running my DAS BX 1 pump on the unit . It is a Aquabee 2000/1 . He advised that he has tried the same pump I have . He stated they work very well together .

The foot print he stated while also being safe is
12 ½” x 8 3/4 for the small with a 6 inch cone base .

He answered my email after Store hours the same day . I look forward to hearing from him .

 

[johnnyblaze313]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14153591#post14153591 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flat broke
The MSX 1S is the same cone as the MSX 2S which runs 2 Sicces. If they would have taylored the body to the output of one Sicce, the footprint would likely be smaller. I'm not a skimmer expert, but from a general design standpoint either the 1S, the 2S or perhaps both models would have to pose some sort of compromise in efficiency with regard to the match between throughput and volume.

As for your question about tank size/load appropriateness, compare your livestock list to the current tank of the month. I believe that tank runs an earlier version of the 100/small.

Chris

Somthing to keep in mind is the sicce can be a totally different pump depending on how it is set up.
Pinwheel=160gph/30-35scfh
Meshwheel=240gph/40-50scfh

I think this was swc thoughts with the 1 or 2 pump option.
Although looking at this theres going to be another option for smaller systems with limited space. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1548002

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14153914#post14153914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mordibv
As soon as John gets back with me I will be ordering the small body . I will be running my DAS BX 1 pump on the unit . It is a Aquabee 2000/1 . He advised that he has tried the same pump I have . He stated they work very well together .

The foot print he stated while also being safe is
12 ½” x 8 3/4 for the small with a 6 inch cone base .

He answered my email after Store hours the same day . I look forward to hearing from him .

I will be doing the same... I have an order in with him for a Small now and will have to decide on a pump.

Maybe I can retro the hydrofoamer tunze pump I have on my 9010 to work in the cone until the new tunze pumps come out.

 

[flat broke]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14153921#post14153921 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johnnyblaze313
Somthing to keep in mind is the sicce can be a totally different pump depending on how it is set up.
Pinwheel=160gph/30-35scfh
Meshwheel=240gph/40-50scfh

I think this was swc thoughts with the 1 or 2 pump option.
Although looking at this theres going to be another option for smaller systems with limited space. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1548002

You bring up a very valid point about the multiple personalities of the Sicce. But to the best of my knowledge, no one has been able to come up with consitent airflow capability by altering mesh or pinwheels. We know that pinwheels run less air than properly meshed setups, and that the MSX pinwheels have been shown to run a bit more air than the RS ones, but there is a great deal of inconsistency from one mesh job to the next. I only mention that because using the mesh to "tune" the pump to a skimmer body puts a lot of trust and a high expectation on the customer to ensure the product performs as expected.

Out of curiosity, how/where did you get the GPH numbers that accompany the airflow numbers you posted? I'm somewhat surpised that the water throughput increases in a non-linear fashion as the air increases. The numbers you posted would indicate that the Sicce has a better air/water ratio at lower throughput levels. If your GPH/Airflow numbers are accurate that holds some hope that further restriction possibly with a smaller diameter pinwheel/meshwheel could reduce throughput and increase the air/water ratio, making the pump better suited to smaller skimmers.

Chris

 

[mordibv]

We are set . He just confirmed with me .
He mentioned something about a Tunze pump 9420.040 . He was going to test but nothing set in stone for the medium model . He is shooting for 800 lph or more . He knows the pump will do 700 lph out the box .

I have no idea shomuchfun about on ur pump retro idea but I love that avatar .
Reminds me of "u stay off that bottle and i'll stay off the throttle ". NOS vs Turbo .

 

[johnnyblaze313]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14154188#post14154188 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flat broke
You bring up a very valid point about the multiple personalities of the Sicce. But to the best of my knowledge, no one has been able to come up with consitent airflow capability by altering mesh or pinwheels. We know that pinwheels run less air than properly meshed setups, and that the MSX pinwheels have been shown to run a bit more air than the RS ones, but there is a great deal of inconsistency from one mesh job to the next. I only mention that because using the mesh to "tune" the pump to a skimmer body puts a lot of trust and a high expectation on the customer to ensure the product performs as expected.

Out of curiosity, how/where did you get the GPH numbers that accompany the airflow numbers you posted? I'm somewhat surpised that the water throughput increases in a non-linear fashion as the air increases. The numbers you posted would indicate that the Sicce has a better air/water ratio at lower throughput levels. If your GPH/Airflow numbers are accurate that holds some hope that further restriction possibly with a smaller diameter pinwheel/meshwheel could reduce throughput and increase the air/water ratio, making the pump better suited to smaller skimmers.

Chris

I got these numbers with the good ol bucket and stopwatch
I dont see how these #'s are non-linear? Am I thinking this wrong?
The ratio seems to be nearly the same. Fwiw theres a bunch of users thats can get a consistent airflow numbers from mesh. Heck I can look at a mesh wheel and nearly guess what the air is going to be it's all about diameter and nothing else it's not rocket science.

 

[flat broke]

Divide the average of your airflow numbers by your posted GPH. If the air/water ratio was linear the answer would be the same.

I know there are individuals that can repeat their mesh jobs, but accross the hobby as a whole, numbers from a mesh'd skimmer done by different people vary. If I were a mfg, it'd be too big of a variable for me to hang the reputation of my company on. Nothing against mesh, it's just that if a company is doing R&D to deliver a product that delivers in a repeatable fashion. The subjective nature of mesh installation can't give the repeatability required.

If people buy a skimmer knowing that the performance is contingent upon the quality of a mesh job, that's fine. But I think a lot of people buy based upon mfg claims, and pics/experiences posted online. If they can't duplicate the results observed, they take it to mean they have a bad skimmer; when in fact, they may just have a bad mesh job.

I'm not doggin the MSX so don't worry about that. I just feel that if a company is going to charge hundreds to a thousand dollars for a product, it should work in a repeatable fashion. So if you equip the S1 and S2 with pinwheels to get that repeatability, the design becomes a compromise in some application.

Chris

 

[mightymizz]

So Im confused. Are the newer Tunzes that are coming out only going to be tested on the mediums and larges? I ordered a small body I-tech, but am not sure what pump to get. Id like to get the best reasonably priced pump for this unit. If the Tunzes are going to be tested on the small body, Ill wait for the results. IF not is the DAS pump the best currently?

THanks again!

 

[Milhouse]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14158461#post14158461 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mightymizz
So Im confused. Are the newer Tunzes that are coming out only going to be tested on the mediums and larges? I ordered a small body I-tech, but am not sure what pump to get. Id like to get the best reasonably priced pump for this unit. If the Tunzes are going to be tested on the small body, Ill wait for the results. IF not is the DAS pump the best currently?

THanks again!

The email that I got recommended either the Sedra 3500 or the Aquabee 2000 for the small. Those are the ones that have been tested on it. Since the Tunzes aren't out, they haven't been tested. I was told that they would make great pumps for the skimmer. But if you are looking at the cheapest pump that would run it well the Sedra seems like the best choice. Just go back a few pages to see pics of a Sedra run Small. Looks pretty good to me.

 

[saltydragon]

we need more pics!

 

[moondoggy4]

I believe that the Tunze 9420 should be on the med or maybe the large but they have a 9410 pump that should be great on the small.

 

[mordibv]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14158461#post14158461 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mightymizz
So Im confused. Are the newer Tunzes that are coming out only going to be tested on the mediums and larges? I ordered a small body I-tech, but am not sure what pump to get. Id like to get the best reasonably priced pump for this unit. If the Tunzes are going to be tested on the small body, Ill wait for the results. IF not is the DAS pump the best currently?

THanks again!

Best bet for a valid answer would be to email John . The Tunze pumps are just in testing stages now .He did mention using a smaller Tunze for the small . I don't think he has the small on hand to test atm .

The Sedra pump is easier to find than the Aquabee unless u want to wait .

 

[karsco]

I have been following this thread, and I am currently on the wait list to get one of the small cones as well when the next batch is ready. In speaking with John the best tested pump for the small is the Aquabee. The aquabee can be ordered here http://stores.petorama.net/Detail.bok?no=7

From my correspondance with John, the sedra 3500 also works fine but the Aquabee works better "due to the air to water ratios" that each pump produces.

Scott

 

[mordibv]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14160253#post14160253 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by karsco
I have been following this thread, and I am currently on the wait list to get one of the small cones as well when the next batch is ready. In speaking with John the best tested pump for the small is the Aquabee. The aquabee can be ordered here http://stores.petorama.net/Detail.bok?no=7

From my correspondance with John, the sedra 3500 also works fine but the Aquabee works better "due to the air to water ratios" that each pump produces.

Scott

I remember something like that .The Sedra produced microbubbles in the sump . If the sump had baffles it would not be an issue . So one is looking @ 80.00 Sedra or 129 aquabee . It would seem either is fine as leonel04? post indicated he is pretty happy with his Sedra and small body .