Reeflo/Sequence Skimmer Club

[LCD]

Here are some pics of my cup from reefspecialty

3 weeks ago getting a vinegar bath in the dishwasher-

This is it after 3 weeks. Although it has been skimming great from day one.

Look how tiny the bubbles are in the neck

6 days of skimmate in my collector cup-

 

[benf]

I just got my Reef Specialty cup today...much nicer than the original.

I also opened the air hole on the venturi to the next size larger hole and cut off the narrow end since the hose is much larger than that anyway.

For those running the skimmer, i would suggest a monthly cleaning of the venturi...after talking with Mike at Reef Specialty i looked at mine and sure enough it had build up in it. Now i have tons of bubbles!

 

[LCD]

hmm im going to go check out if I have build up on my venturi right now

 

[BreadmanMike]

Everyday I let the venturi suck a cup of hot RO water down. Then I have a small brush that I stick into the venturi to free up whatever might be in it.

I still take it apart and clean it evry two months because this method doesn't keep it spotless.

 

[benf]

How often do u guys clean the skimmer body, not just the cup and neck?

 

[BreadmanMike]

I clean the body when I clean the pump.

 

[benf]

so thats every 2 months? how often for the neck and cup?

 

[BreadmanMike]

I clean the neck and cup every week when I do my water change and once on the third or forth day in between.

 

[drstupid]

i'm finding that my 200 skims better dirty. about 2-3 days after cleaning the cup, it really hits its stride. about 7-10 days and it's not pulling as much and needs cleaning again.

i took the fitting off my venturi while the pump was running to look for buildup, there was some there but nothing close to obstructing the air intake. how many folks are running ozone into theirs? it seems like a lot of you are. is it possible that's contributing to the buildup of the deposits in the venturi?

no one's really said it, but i think this is a significant design flaw. the fitting on the venturi is the part that requires about 80' of teflon tape to fit properly. removing that monthly to check for blockage is a PITA, there's a lot of tape to clean off the threading before retaping and reinstalling the fitting.

breadman, you have way too much energy dude. send some my way.

 

[Tagareef]

I drilled the venturi hole straight down...a lot easier to clean now. I also have the skimmer permanently plugged into a watt meter to indicate when it needs cleaning.

 

[jpa0741]

I finally get to post some pics in this thread. I got my tank filled yesterday and fired up my skimmer. I have the water level all the way down for now (probaly for a couple weeks). My new tank is setup with almost all lace rock and dry sand, but still had a little skim this morning, even with the water level all the way down. I will tell you this skimmer is pretty impressive. You can checkout my build log here if you like http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1321123&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

[drstupid]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12205647#post12205647 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tagareef
I drilled the venturi hole straight down...a lot easier to clean now. I also have the skimmer permanently plugged into a watt meter to indicate when it needs cleaning.

if i put anything associated with the reef on a wattmeter my wife would be terribly upset. and i hate to upset my wife.

so you drilled out the hole, are you using the same fitting? do you just tape it up until it holds water when the pump is off (thinking of power outage flood)?

 

[Tagareef]

As you know - The factory hole turns 90 degrees toward the needle wheel and is impossible to clean thoroughly without disassembly. With the new hole I just ream it out with a long drill bit straight down the air valve. Yes, there are now 2 holes in the fitting, but it's only going to pull as much air as the air valve will allow.

Modify at your own risk!!!

(It works great for me!)

 

[reefyguy]

pics tagarareef

 

[jessicalynn1086]

i would like to see that as well please

 

[benf]

3day update since upgrading the cup to the Reef Specialty cup;
The skimmer has come alive! I see more and better skimming in the past 3 days even when running ozone compared to the past 6 months of running it stock. Well worth the investment...thanks Mike!

Ben

 

[olemos]

TAGAREEF, on your new dart gold motor, are you using the old impeller, or the one that comes whith it?

 

[BreadmanMike]

You have to use the NW from the old pump.The gold pump comes with a standard impeller.

 

[Tagareef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12247218#post12247218 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by olemos
TAGAREEF, on your new dart gold motor, are you using the old impeller, or the one that comes whith it?

Yes, I took the needle wheel off of my standard Dart and installed it on the Gold pump.

The Dart Gold is available in a needle wheel version...it's called an "Orca Gold" as seen here on Zenman's 250

I opted to but the standard Dart Gold because it was easier to sell the old Dart after the upgrade.

 

[Tagareef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12217473#post12217473 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefyguy
pics tagarareef

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12222045#post12222045 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jessicalynn1086
i would like to see that as well please

Sorry for the delay...I haven't been home much lately. I'll try to get some pics for you this weekend.

Luis