The Life Reef Skimmer Club

Hello,

Was talking to Jeff a few months back about a VS3-48 for my 250g and was getting ready to pull the trigger, but still had some questions about a pump to pair it with. He recommends the BL 40HDX, but from what I heard they are somewhat noisey. Never had one so can't be sure. All my pumps and sump are located in the living room just behind a false wall. For reference my current return pump is an Iwaki MD30RXT and I can't even hear it. Which I think mainly is because it has no fan and is passivly cooled. Its specs seem almost the same as the BL (BL:1270gph/13' head vs IW:1140gph/13.5'head). So I wouldn't mind buying anohter one, but does anyone have any experience or suggestions for a quite/efficient pump with the VS3-48. BTW, also have 2 DART pumps for CLs and can hear them turn on and off. Thanks,

Jon...
 
I have had a Blueline 40HD (not the HDX) and the fan can be heard for sure. I don't know if it can be heard behind the false wall you have though.
Ken
 
The blueline does have noticeable fan noise but its tolerable. I would recommend a rubber pad to reduce the vibration hum for sure
 
kris101 said:
The blueline does have noticeable fan noise but its tolerable. I would recommend a rubber pad to reduce the vibration hum for sure
Click to expand...

Thats won't do it. There is no vibration. Just a fan noise. I already have mine on rubber feet.

It's not an annoying noise. Just sounds like a fan.
Ken
 
I wanted to write a quick summary of my take on the LifeReef Skimmer I purchased from Jeff a year ago. As with everyone's replies about Jeff, I too had a pleasant conversation with him when I purchased my equipment. I ordered a complete sump, refugium (which I no longer use) and skimmer setup. Before I had a Precision Marine sump and reef octopus skimmer. After receiving my equipment, I set it up over the weekend. The first thing I noticed is the skimmer was not producing as much junk as the reef octopus. I waited another 2-3 days and noticed the same thing. I swapped back to the reef octopus and kept the Life Reef in the garage to deal with another day. Fast forward a few months and I find this thread and all the positive reviews on the life reef skimmer. I thought I'd give it another shot. I removed the Reef Octopus and put the life reef back in. Same story. I was wet foaming quite a bit but no junk. I took a video and sent it to Jeff. He said everything is fine. Just wait a few more days. I fine tuned the skimmer and waited. I had to make a 2 day trip to Tucson recently so this was the perfect opportunity. I also have a drain under my tank the skimmer opens to. I decided to leave the drain output off so I can see what the skimmer picked up. When I opened the door to my house, I was greeted with some nasty odor. When I got closer to the aquarium, I noticed what the odor was. I have never seen the kind of junk the life reef pulled out of the water. It was so nasty, dark, and smelly. I was sold! I cleaned it up immediately and let it run. I'm happy with the simple, tried and tested design of the lifereef.
 
One thing I wish Jeff would improve on is the time frame to get his equipment. Many people may not be willing to wait months for equipment. I can honestly say, it's the best quality stuff I have ever seen. The wait may be worth it if you want perfection.
 
sunilp said:
I wanted to write a quick summary of my take on the LifeReef Skimmer I purchased from Jeff a year ago. As with everyone's replies about Jeff, I too had a pleasant conversation with him when I purchased my equipment. I ordered a complete sump, refugium (which I no longer use) and skimmer setup. Before I had a Precision Marine sump and reef octopus skimmer. After receiving my equipment, I set it up over the weekend. The first thing I noticed is the skimmer was not producing as much junk as the reef octopus. I waited another 2-3 days and noticed the same thing. I swapped back to the reef octopus and kept the Life Reef in the garage to deal with another day. Fast forward a few months and I find this thread and all the positive reviews on the life reef skimmer. I thought I'd give it another shot. I removed the Reef Octopus and put the life reef back in. Same story. I was wet foaming quite a bit but no junk. I took a video and sent it to Jeff. He said everything is fine. Just wait a few more days. I fine tuned the skimmer and waited. I had to make a 2 day trip to Tucson recently so this was the perfect opportunity. I also have a drain under my tank the skimmer opens to. I decided to leave the drain output off so I can see what the skimmer picked up. When I opened the door to my house, I was greeted with some nasty odor. When I got closer to the aquarium, I noticed what the odor was. I have never seen the kind of junk the life reef pulled out of the water. It was so nasty, dark, and smelly. I was sold! I cleaned it up immediately and let it run. I'm happy with the simple, tried and tested design of the lifereef.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity what model skimmers (LR and RO) did you have? Thanks,

Jon...
 
I can't remember the reef octopus model. It was a compact design in sump with pump under the skimmer. Size wise, it was much larger than the lifereef skimmer.
 
kris101 said:
Ken
It won't make a difference. the water level in the skimmer is set via the return valve. back pressure or lack there of is already in play when you set the water level in the skimmer. So in other words, even if you were to raise the skimmer above the sump water level, you would have to close the valve to achieve the same level as if it were submerged Hopefully I explained that ok! :D
Click to expand...

I just installed a LifeReef VS2-24 also. The way mine is setup, the output is just under the sump water level. Had the same question/concern Ken did here.

I think the responses are right to some degree. If the output is underwater, adjust the valve to compensate. However, I think its still a problem if the sump water level is not precisely constant... the difference for the water exiting the skimmer at water level and 1" below, or 1" -> 2" is a big difference. Much better to have the water exit above the water level... if the sump level changes, the skimmer is not affected.

My sump level does vary by about 1" depending on various things. Moving ski skimmer output above water is easier than fixing the sump level variation.

But now I have to silence the splashing noise! What do people do for that? I was thinking of a big piece of foam, that should do the trick?

-droog
 
droog: Suggestion I did on another skimmer I had with similar issue. Take the horizontal output line from the skimmer and add a "T" fitting in place of the 90* elbow you have on there now that directs the water down into the sump. With the "T", connect one side that will go down into the sump and exit underwater. On the other side direct it up about a foot or so. The big difference you are doing is breaking the siphon by having the pseudo vent above it. So now it wont matter where you exit underwater. Overall you will still have a little noise because of the open top but it should be a lot less then your original situation. Also would not suggest using a foam pad. Its not stable and will change over time slowly getting clogged and could cause a siphon and affect you skimmer settings. However you could put a foam block on top of the "T" vent to try and quite it a little more. Should be more stable there since no contact with water. Hope I explained this ok and maybe it will help. Thanks,

Jon....
 
The water coming back to the sump from the skimmer is about 1 1/2" above the water level I put a 90 elbow on it and angle to the water. I really hear no noise. It certainly is not louder than any other pump etc I have on the tank.
 
Thanks guys. I did use a "T" on my old skimmer (a big ReefOctopus 5000 SSS) but I think I made the above water piece too short for it to work properly. That was a much wider output than the LifeReef anyway, so I need to attach a different piece.

I'll try this or an elbow with hole drilled on the top. Did you use a piece that was threaded onto the output? If you have a link to an online vendor that carries the piece that would help a lot actually.

I'm based in China and the PVC fittings are all metric sizes. I might be able to find one here or worst case mail order from the us. I've seen this done with a PVC sleeve holding the tube to the output which would kind of work too. Rather just "do it right" in one go though.

-droog
 
I just ordered a 36 inch skimmer from Jeff. I received his wet dry and just opened it this week. He needs to use about 90 percent less packaging and lower his shipping costs but I guess at least it was safe.
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