fireanthodge
New member
Is anybody out there currently using a skimmer made by Jeff at lifereef have seen some testimonials on his site but wanted to here some unbiased opinions here.
LifeReef skimmer question?
- Thread starter fireanthodge
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Fishbulb2
New member
I've used some of his other equipment such as overflow boxes and the quality is very high. The issue that you will have to come to grasps with regarding his skimmer designs is a high energy cost. Just look at the pumps he recommends using with his skimmers and make sure you understand that you can likely get similar air draws from other skimmer designs for probably about a quarter of the wattage. Wattage and energy conservation aren't always the end all be all of everything but this is a device which will run 24/7 for many many years. That can really add up. My guess is that these are very nice skimmers but you could get the job done on a small fraction of the wattage on another design.
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fireanthodge
New member
Thanks fish his work looks really clean and that is what attracted me to his products and the fact he has been in business for almost 30 years he must be doing something right.
muskiewade
New member
I own quite a few pieces of Lifereef equipment, including overflows, float switches, a wet/dry filter and a VS3-24 skimmer.
The construction of his equipment is top notch, but to be honest with you, I would not purchase another Lifereef skimmer. The venturi design is outdated and the performance isn't all that great. Simply better design options to look at, such as with the Reef Octopus skimmers.
Just my 2 cents.
The construction of his equipment is top notch, but to be honest with you, I would not purchase another Lifereef skimmer. The venturi design is outdated and the performance isn't all that great. Simply better design options to look at, such as with the Reef Octopus skimmers.
Just my 2 cents.
I bought a used setup with his skimmer and sump 1 year ago. This is my first reef tank so I have nothing to compare to unfortunately. The skimmer produces nice thick goo that I clean out every week. It does use a pretty powerful Mag 9 pump that adds a significant amount of heat to my tank. I don't really have a very heavy bioload with only a few fish and I feed very little.
Yogre
Cheesehead Reefer
I've been running the Lifereef SVS3-30 (30" tall) skimmer in my sump for over 2 years now, and I'm happy with it. It's very well built, and pulls out some nasty nog. I did replace the Mag Drive pump with a Water Blaster pump in an effort to reduce energy consumption/heat addition, and that seems to have worked out well.
Jeff is also great to work with, my venturi got gunked up, and Jeff returned my call within minutes to help me disassemble and clean the venturi.
I should note that the only skimmers I've used are Lifereefs. I must confess I'd like to try one of the newer designs such as the Reef Octopus, but funds are a little tight right now.
Jeff is also great to work with, my venturi got gunked up, and Jeff returned my call within minutes to help me disassemble and clean the venturi.
I should note that the only skimmers I've used are Lifereefs. I must confess I'd like to try one of the newer designs such as the Reef Octopus, but funds are a little tight right now.
muskiewade
New member
Yogre does have a good point that Jeff is great to work with, excellent customer service and you are talking to the person who is making the equipment. Also, it's made in the USA, something of which you can't say with many of the other options out there.
fireanthodge
New member
Thanks for everybodys input so far I am on his waiting list to have my sump built so I will have to give some consideration on wheter or not to use his skimmer also.
I've been running one of his sumps and skimmer for years. Excellent craftsmenship. Very visually apealing and he has a real eye for detail.
The skimmer has done it job over the years but as others mentioned there's alot better designed ones these days. I have never managed to get the skimmer adjusted "just right" either. Always tweak it a tad every water change it seems.
With that said I really want to replace the whole setup lol It's just way to small for my 240 tank. It'd be perfect for a 90-120 imo. My main gripe is the fuge is actually a seperate box that sits in the sump, which I thought was neat at first, but then after years of gunk buildup between the sump inner wall and the fuge outer wall it just looks plain terrible. It is impossible to clean short of breaing down the entire setup and pulling it all out from under the tank.
The skimmer has done it job over the years but as others mentioned there's alot better designed ones these days. I have never managed to get the skimmer adjusted "just right" either. Always tweak it a tad every water change it seems.
With that said I really want to replace the whole setup lol It's just way to small for my 240 tank. It'd be perfect for a 90-120 imo. My main gripe is the fuge is actually a seperate box that sits in the sump, which I thought was neat at first, but then after years of gunk buildup between the sump inner wall and the fuge outer wall it just looks plain terrible. It is impossible to clean short of breaing down the entire setup and pulling it all out from under the tank.
People will bad mouth Lifereef products because the design is outdated (skimmer) but I bought a complete setup for a 120 I set up years ago. It was the most successful system I ever ran. I think the sum of the parts equaled a pretty great system.
I still use the calcium reactor and the skimmer on another tank. The sump was the best design I ever came across and was easy to do maintenance which is the success to any tank imo. His skimmers may not be the edge of technology but they work and keep working without fiddling with it all the time which is important also.
He does awesome work, the skimmer may suck some juice but you don't have to mess with it, the calcium reactor is the bomb...best design out there, sumps awesome.
I still use the calcium reactor and the skimmer on another tank. The sump was the best design I ever came across and was easy to do maintenance which is the success to any tank imo. His skimmers may not be the edge of technology but they work and keep working without fiddling with it all the time which is important also.
He does awesome work, the skimmer may suck some juice but you don't have to mess with it, the calcium reactor is the bomb...best design out there, sumps awesome.
londonloco
New member
I purchased a Life Reef sump/skimmer combo from Jeff in 2004 for my 120g reef. It ran for 6 years, the skimmer produced nasty nasty chit, really bad. Stunk the whole house up when I emptied the cup. The system sat in a closet for a year, last year I set up a 125g freshwater tangy tank with the sump. At the same time I gave my friend the skimmer for her 125g reef. Skimmer is pulling out that nasty crap again. If you buy quality, it will last forever.
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hi londonloco, do you remember what the water level should be in the skimmer????.
thanks lucifa
Yogre
Cheesehead Reefer
In the Lifereef skimmer owner's guide, Jeff advocates starting the skimmer out with the water/foam interface about 1/2 inch below the top of the main skimmer body.
Once the skimmer has broken in, you can tweak the gate valve open or shut to adjust how wet you want the skimmer to skim.
I personally like to skim a little wetter, so I have the water/foam interface pretty much right at the bottom of the skimmer's neck.
Once the skimmer has broken in, you can tweak the gate valve open or shut to adjust how wet you want the skimmer to skim.
I personally like to skim a little wetter, so I have the water/foam interface pretty much right at the bottom of the skimmer's neck.
Has anyone with a Lifereef skimmer used a Diablo DC 5500 Pump or similar pump with the Lifereef VS3-24? The Diablo 5500 has a max flow of 1450 gph and a max head of 10.5 feet, power consumption looks like 50 watts. This seems like a good combination, with the exception that the Diablo 5500 is kinda expensive @ $219.00
Yogre
Cheesehead Reefer
I know it's not exactly what you asked, but I'm running an Octopus Water Blaster HY7000 on my Lifereef SVS3-30 skimmer.
I wanted to get rid of the energy hog/heat generator that the Mag Drive 11 was, that came with the skimmer.
I've been running this way for at least a year now, seems to be working just fine.
I wanted to get rid of the energy hog/heat generator that the Mag Drive 11 was, that came with the skimmer.
I've been running this way for at least a year now, seems to be working just fine.
I appreciate the information. I want to get the Lifereef VS3-24 skimmer for my 75 gallon reef build but would like a different pump other than the Mag's. I'm sure the Mag's are a good pump but they do seem to be a bit loud and give off excess heat.
Looking at the Octopus Water Blaster line of pumps they do seem to be quite energy efficient and powerful. The Octopus Water Blaster 5000 is rated @ 60 watts.....sounds like just what I need. The smaller Octopus Water Blaster should work for my return pump as well.....
Thanks...
Looking at the Octopus Water Blaster line of pumps they do seem to be quite energy efficient and powerful. The Octopus Water Blaster 5000 is rated @ 60 watts.....sounds like just what I need. The smaller Octopus Water Blaster should work for my return pump as well.....
Thanks...
