My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics
- Thread starter slief
- Start date
pmrossetti
Active member
lookin good Scott
slief
RC Sponsor
Hopefully Jim will do an update. He will be here tomorrow so we will certainly talk about that.
Just got home. Skimmer is plugging away rather nicely. In another couple days, I should have it really dialed in to my liking. In the mean time, I will let it run as is while making some minor adjustments here and there as it continues to break in. Still I'm very impressed with this thing. It's really turning out some nice foam and nasty looking skimmate and it's still just less than 24 hours from setting it up so I know it will only get better too.
Unfortunately the new Aqua Driver SCH lid didn't arrive today. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow. Worse case, it will be next week. Damn international shipments!
In the mean time, my plastic facbricator turned my new lids around for me in 1 day. I dropped the templates off yesterday around 5PM and I got the call mid day today that they were ready. Got to love the expeditious service. I picked them up on my way home and they fit perfect. I'm quite happy to have my sump completely covered again.
pmrossetti
Active member
Love the do not touch label. 
slief
RC Sponsor
Love the do not touch label.
That's for my float ATO float switches.. Fortunately my kids read.
pmrossetti
Active member
So how does the SM compare to your Vertex as far as build quality, quiet operation and whatever else?
slief
RC Sponsor
Same build quality. My Alpha was made by Bubble King for Vertex unlike the new Alphas which are now being made in China. The design however is completely different. Both the Alpha with it's Red Dragon pumps and the SM are dead silent. The SM seems to be skimming better but it also has a smaller diameter neck so I would expect that. I honestly feel that my Alpha was slightly oversized for my bio load. I have a lot of biological filtration with all my live rock in my system and all the macro algae in my two refugiums. I also have four 7" 200 micron socks removing solids so I think those things help reduce my organics enough to where the SM250 with it's smaller diameter neck will work better for my system. So far, it seems to be working like a champ and even exceeding my expectations a bit. Time will tell but I have a pretty good idea what to expect and I am certain I made the right decision for my system.
scubadan206
Member
What will you do with the Alpha, store it away for a rainy day? Will you trade it towards your next toy?
Daniel.
Daniel.
slief
RC Sponsor
What will you do with the Alpha, store it away for a rainy day? Will you trade it towards your next toy?
Daniel.
I'm going to sell it. I've already cleaned the pumps inside and out. They look good as new. The skimmer body is soaking in a vinegar bath right now inside a giant cooler. When I sell it, I will be including a brand new spare impeller as well as a brand new spare motor block for the pumps. Who ever gets the skimmer will get a perfect one with spare parts to insure it doesn't let them down for many years to come.
I always keep spare parts on hand for everything. You wouldn't believe what I have in the way of spare parts for those emergency situations.
Some of my spares include:
Reeflo Hammerhead with unions preinstalled for quick swaps in case I have a return pump issue.
Reeflo Dart with unions preinstalled in case my recirc pump fails.
Spare 1" Sea Swirl.
Spare Apex brain that is pre-programmed with all my devices and settings.
Spare EB8.
Spare Genesis Renew controller for my auto water changer
Spare Tunze 6205 and 6105 pump motor blocks.
Spare Tunze Impellers.
Spare float switches.
Spare solenoids.
Spare RODI filter elements.
You can never be too prepared and I have way to much invested in my system to be caught ill prepared. I am working on a spare pump for my new skimmer as well. I will likely go with a standard Red Dragon 2000 instead of the controllable pump due to costs and knowing that if my pump fails, it will be under warranty for the next couple years.
scubadan206
Member
Fellow spare parts hoarder...:beer: That's how we don't have any room in our garages for cars any more... Ok not quite that bad....
slief
RC Sponsor
My garage is a mess and the fish tank stuff isn't even in there.. That stuff is all outside in the fish tank shed. My garage is full of car stuff, tools, fishing gear and cars.. It's good to be a hoarder! :fun2:
I made a minor adjustment earlier on this skimmer and I'm really becoming even more impressed as the hours pass.. It's really starting to kick some butt and drive a lot of stuff out.
The last set of pictures were taken about 5 hours ago. Here is a look at it 5 hours later.. Pretty good considering it's been running for only about 28 hours and there is already over an inch of nasty stuff in the cup which is 10" in diameter.
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pmrossetti
Active member
Wow, that's amazing for that short a time.
I guess that Speedy pump must be great.
I guess that Speedy pump must be great.
slief
RC Sponsor
As silly as it souuds, it makes really nice foam. I dialed the pump back a bit too. It's running at 78%. This thing is a foam making machine. My Alpha is/was too when my organics were high but when it exhausted them in a hurry, it really slowed down until they built back up. This skimmer should prove to be less fussy as I wont need to feed it as much crap to keep it happy. I really like the pump though. To think that venturi skimmer were the hottest thing since sliced bread after wood stone skimmer and now you can adjust your skimmer pumps with the push of a button to really tune your foam head and skim. DC pump powered skimmers are certainly the future. Its a shame that most of the other DC pumps have such high failure rates. It really is a very useful feature on a skimmer. Only issue is that I keep wanting to go in the other room and push buttons. :bounce3:
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pmrossetti
Active member
By all means go push some buttons.
it's your new man toy.
it's your new man toy.
slief
RC Sponsor
It's a Bubble King Supermarin 250 with an RD3 Speedy pump.
That is the correct skimmer!
pmrossetti
Active member
Looks amazing Scott!!
