skimmer Recommendations ?
- Thread starter bear 01
- Start date
If you really want a needlewheel the only route to go is one that is powered by a Reelfo pump such as a Hammerhead, also known as the Orca. You could probably build your own if your handy and have the tools. Or go for a cone skimmer from Premium Aquatics. They are powered by red dragon pumps.
Marc
bear 01
New member
hi marc do you have a sketch of a needlewheel skimmr DIY
that i can use for a reference ?
I see that a lot of the large reef tanks use the Bubble King skimmer
can anyone that use them give a recommendations ?
Do they justify ther price ?
Yeah they are very simple to build. I can send a couple pics to your email address. Send me a PM...
Marc
GEO built me a very special large skimmer for my particular application of 1200 gallons. I have a 18" cell cast diameter by 3 foot main body, total height is just over 60" and it is fed with a beckett injector & Iwaki 70 RLT, then it is recirculated with a beefy Baldor Reeflo NW pump. The top twists off for easy cleaning and it skims like a pro
I LOVE SKIMMERS
I LOVE SKIMMERSGEO built me a very special large skimmer for my particular application of 1200 gallons. I have a 18" cell cast diameter by 3 foot main body, total height is just over 60" and it is fed with a beckett injector & Iwaki 70 RLT, then it is recirculated with a beefy Baldor Reeflo NW pump. The top twists off for easy cleaning and it skims like a pro
Got any pics??? I heard of Geos skimmers. Never tried them. they look huge.
Marc
There are a couple pics on the first post of this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1821402&highlight=equipment
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1821402&highlight=equipment
Thats one hell of a skimmer. How does it work though? You have a beckett and an Orca running at the same time??? Have any more pics of the skimmer alone in operation? Could not see because it was blocked in the photo.
Marc
I'll see if I can get a few pics from my photobucket account. It did not originally have the beckett feed, it was just fed with a feed pump and no beckett. With the large volume of water it holds, the Baldor NW worked sub-optimally even though it produced skimmate. Since the addition of the beckett feed pump, it skims nasty dark green-black gunk. If I don't clean it weekly, there is a 1/2" of sludge along the top 6" of the skimmer neck. Seriously impressive.
Have you ever thought of replacing the smaller reeflo pump with a Hammerhead pump? For that diameter skimmer a Hammerhead would be the way to go. Then you wouldnt have to use the beckett, unless you still wanted to...
Marc
bear 01
New member
Yeah, we thought of that, but the NW impeller doesn't work in the Hammerhead pump, or at least that was the story a while back.
Contanct Chris at www.reeflopumps.com, Chris has a needlwheel impeller specially made for the Hammerhead pump now. He has them in stock. Or you might look at the Hammerhead Gold series and have Chris replace the impeller with a needlewheel. That Hammerhead only runs 297 watts!!! Pretty good for that size pump. It will definelty help.
Marc
Untamed12
New member
No, it was built by reefmania. I modded it by adding another 9" of height.
It has bulkheads already in place to add 2 more Sedra 9000 NW pumps, but I don't have the space and the 4 pumps seems to be doing a good enough job for me right now. One of the pumps is pulling through an ozonizer.
Here's a photo of it. I've got it wrapped in black stuff so that there is no coraline growth in the body of the skimmer. Which reminds me...there is no need (IMO) to build these larger skimmer bodies out of acrylic. It just adds to the cost. Any solid, non transparent pipe/PVC would do the trick. This is why you can get an RK25 for about the same price as an RK10AC!
Cool, I might have to try this!! I have a Hammerhead Gold just itching to get some use here at the house
I will give Chris a call. I have to say I am not sure this skimmer's performance can be improved though, so I will see what Geo thinks first
bear 01
New member
Cool, I might have to try this!! I have a Hammerhead Gold just itching to get some use here at the house
if you can please keep as informed
I might be tempted to build one for my system
Marc,
Your skimmers are great yes. The new needle wheels are something to compete with. I own a shop and have worked direct with you I mean lifereef and seen many skimmers. The beckets pull crazy gunk the black not green stuff, the life reef does a great job and the skimmers like bubble king are really untouchable. the price is crazy for thouse and make it hare to accomplish for the average guy. which is where a good crafted skimmer like yours comes in. the quality is untouched with life reef.
Your skimmers are great yes. The new needle wheels are something to compete with. I own a shop and have worked direct with you I mean lifereef and seen many skimmers. The beckets pull crazy gunk the black not green stuff, the life reef does a great job and the skimmers like bubble king are really untouchable. the price is crazy for thouse and make it hare to accomplish for the average guy. which is where a good crafted skimmer like yours comes in. the quality is untouched with life reef.
jh2pizza
New member
I got to put in another one for Geo products. I have a 8 x 48" custom Geo beckett. I cannot say enough about his attention to detail and quality of his products. I cannot recall any thread bashing his workmanship. Not sure what mine would be rated for as far as tank size, but we have a heavily populated 180 with 2 very large tangs and a total of 14 fish and it has no problems keeping up with the load.
I have only seen a handful of Life reef products. I cannot comment on their performance as I have never used one. The only thing I can comment on is the quality and gauge of the material and their craftsmanship. They just seemed inferior to George's work..
I have only seen a handful of Life reef products. I cannot comment on their performance as I have never used one. The only thing I can comment on is the quality and gauge of the material and their craftsmanship. They just seemed inferior to George's work..
roiy
New member
+1 Joining the question - leaving the venturi\becket skimmers aside which needle wheel skimmer would do the job and give best performance on the suggested tank ?
As for needlewheels, the only one I would ever recommend would be one powered by a Reeflo orca pump. Or a red dragon, but those pumps are up to $1000.00 a piece!!! Cost wise and perfomance wise I would choose the Reeflo over any small powerhead pump.
Marc
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