The Life Reef Skimmer Club

[ksed]

interesting to see the difference.

I haven't bought one yet. None in the country to buy.

This skimmer purchase is purely elective. I decided to try something different than my Alpha 300, and that I would go for one with a long riser tube that operates on a Mazzei injector vs the same needle wheel technology of the BK/Alpha 300 types.

The Alpha is very close to the BK SM 250/300 in the way it operates, needle wheel, etc. Great skimmer, but I am curious about the LifeReef. I haven't heard a bad thing about this line, and they have been around for 30 years.

I had an Orca 200 with a Beckett injector years and years ago, but never a Mazzei based skimmer.

Who knows, I may buy a BK SM 250 as well and do a direct comparison. I am an admitted equipment junkie.

 

[ken6217]

I haven't bought one yet. None in the country to buy.

This skimmer purchase is purely elective. I decided to try something different than my Alpha 300, and that I would go for one with a long riser tube that operates on a Mazzei injector vs the same needle wheel technology of the BK/Alpha 300 types.

The Alpha is very close to the BK SM 250/300 in the way it operates, needle wheel, etc. Great skimmer, but I am curious about the LifeReef. I haven't heard a bad thing about this line, and they have been around for 30 years.

I had an Orca 200 with a Beckett injector years and years ago, but never a Mazzei based skimmer.

Who knows, I may buy a BK SM 250 as well and do a direct comparison. I am an admitted equipment junkie.

If there is any downside to needle wheel skimmers, I have always thought that with my Alpha 300 I have to skim wet to get the best performance out of it. Never been an issue for me, as I have always skimmed wet. Cone skimmer technology, as I understand it, is based on making the exposure time of the bubbles to water longer. A broad base on the bottom and bottle neck small diameter opening at the top is how this is achieved. In the LifeReef skimmers it is old school with a tall reaction chamber. I think I can play with dryer skimming with this type of skimmer better than I can with a BK. I may be wrong, but whenever I have tried dryer skimming in a cone type, I get a huge buildup of goop on the inside of the riser tube. Wetter skimming helps stop this, but then you only can do one type of skimming.

This is where I'm at as well. I have a BK on my tank. Have used needle wheel skimmers for years now. I have seen so much about Lifereef, I wanted to see for myself if it is as billed, or if everyone is drinking the Koolaid.
Ken

 

[AcroporAddict]

This is where I'm at as well. I have a BK on my tank. Have used needle wheel skimmers for years now. I have seen so much about Lifereef, I wanted to see for myself if it is as billed, or if everyone is drinking the Koolaid.
Ken

I figure instead of trading a needle wheel for a needle wheel, trade the needle wheel for something different. Not new technology of course, but something I have not used yet.

 

[Piper27]

Who is recirculating their their skimmer? Lets see the setup and pumps your using.

I was thinking about running my life reef again since I added 80 more gallons to my 100 gallon system. I am not sure if I should leave the 2' extension in or not. I probly should. Also wondering what 2 pumps I should use (at least what size in gph) if I set up my life reef as a recirculating skimmer?
I have a mag 18 and a iwaki 55 rlt laying around. But I am trying not to drill the sump...

 

[Speed]

I'm a Life Reef owner. I'm finishing up a 125g build and sold a brand new Reef Octopus XS-200 and bought a SVS-24 before I even put a drop of water in my tank.

One of the reasons for this is Jeff. He spent an awful lot of time on the phone with me. Answered all my questions and even educated me.
I asked about a custom collection cup to deal with a stand clearance issue.
Jeff said "Sure,I'll make whatever you need!"
There simply is no substitute for customer service. You'll never get the CEO of Reef Octopus (or any mass produced skimmer company) on the phone to discuss you're skimmer. (Let alone customize something for your particular application)

The Life Reef is a well made tool and Jeff's craftsmanship is excellent. It's so nice I almost don't want to use it....LOL

Should be getting things wet in the next few weeks and will definitely share my thoughts.
I don't have anything to compare it to but I'm still very confident I made the right decision.

 

[ken6217]

To me, recirculating skimmers are the way the way to go. You can feed the skimmer the amount of water to be processed per hour as you wish. Then you have a separate pump to operate the venturis.

This is the skimmer I am currently running. It is Marine Technical Concepts. It has a Blueline 40 for the two Mazzei venturis and I also use a small Eheim pump as a feed pump. The skimmer is 48".

I am getting rid of it because it is in a bedroom and the Blueline pump is too loud. Also as you can see, it is a tad too big for where it is. It is perfect for a dedicated fish room.

Now with all of that said, it is the best skimmer I have ever used. Better than the BK, H&S, SWC, Warner Marine, and Deltec that I have owned. This skimmer just works and works.

So I was curious about the Lifereef skimmer and that's why I bought it. My future plan though is to have MTC make me a 30" recirculating skimmer with one Mazzei venturi and be able to use a submersible pump to operate the venturi.
Ken

 

[ksed]

Ken
Do you find to have more skimmate than the pinwheel skimmers.

 

[d2mini]

Ken, another option is to run your skimmer on a timer so it runs during the day and not at night while you're sleeping.

 

[Piper27]

How many gph are you feeding the skimmer and how big is your total system in gallons?
Nice skimmer, basically all the same parts as a life reef. Ugh thoes dual mazzies are sexy! That's some nice bubble action for a 1260 gph pump too. Thanks for sharing!

 

[AcroporAddict]

Regarding internal pumps, I've been looking at the Sicce Syncra 10 after reading another thread about it in this forum, as it is 2500 gph @ 145 watts vs the mag 24 at 2400 gph @ 245 watts. costs a bit more than the Mag 24 by about $60.

The Diablo DC internal pump by Reef Octopus that could be used as well.

 

[ken6217]

Ken
Do you find to have more skimmate than the pinwheel skimmers.

The skimmer is running two weeks today and so there is breakin to contend with. It does pull out more skimmate but is the quality of the skimmate which is good. I get chunks.
Ken

 

[ken6217]

Ken, another option is to run your skimmer on a timer so it runs during the day and not at night while you're sleeping.

That's a good idea actually. However the beast is too big for where it is as you can see and MTC is taking it back. Another RC member is putting on his tank. I think 265g display tank.

BUT, you might have solved my dilemma in trying to figure out a how to get a submersible pump to run the recirculating part of that other 30" skimmer that I mentioned.

Btw, if you want the moderator to delete these posts, please do so as this is a Lifereef thread.
Ken

 

[ken6217]

How many gph are you feeding the skimmer and how big is your total system in gallons?
Nice skimmer, basically all the same parts as a life reef. Ugh thoes dual mazzies are sexy! That's some nice bubble action for a 1260 gph pump too. Thanks for sharing!

Well don't laugh. It is 90 gallons plus about 15 gallons in the sump. However this makes the skimmer even more impressive that it pulls out what it has. It replaced a Bubble King Double Cone 150.

Actually the pump is not 1260 gph. That is the 40X. The 40 is 795 gph. It is a pressure pump. You couldn't really use a non pressure pump for this application.

I'm not really sure how many gph the feed pump is doing as I didn't measure it. The pump is adjustable. Probably 200-300 gph. If I was keeping the skimmer, I would have measured and tried to be at about 200 gph.

Not exactly the same. MTC acrylic thickness and quality is better. Looks like Bubble King.
Ken

 

[Piper27]

I am Definatly setting my life reef back up, but without the 2' extension. Probly going to use a ehiem 1260 or 1262 for the feed pump and the iwaki 55rlt for the recirculation. Very excited to get her cleaned and plumbed up. :celeb1:

 

[jformani]

acropor....any updates on this skimmer? wondering how you compare to the big name skimmers you have used in the past?

 

[inetmug]

I like the website. I would get the sump 250 if I got it. I may get it.

 

[clugo]

Hey guys. Just bought and received my svs 2-24 in sump skimmer last Friday. It replaced the deltec I had for the past 11 months. The deltec seemed to work Ok, but not great so I called Jeff and poof; a new skimmer shows. I absolutely love it. I don't touch it or even look at for days now.

I did have one question regarding the outbound water leaving the skimmer. Some of you have mentioned that you have it above the water. Mine sits just under the water level in my sump. Jeff said that was fine.

Any thoughts or past experience?

Thanks.

 

[ken6217]

I just received my 30". I asked Jeff the same question. To me it definitely would cause some back pressure having the water exit underwater. Will it make any measurable difference? I don't know. Jeff said it wouldn't make any measurable difference.

My sump water level is 8" and I think the exit is 7" I'm going to raise the skimmer an inch only because I'm obsessive - compulsive.
I don't think it will make a difference either way though.
Ken

 

[clugo]

I've thought about raising my cuz I'm also compulsive but I'd want to build a stand for it out of acrylic becuz I'm not very good w eggcrate

 

[AcroporAddict]

acropor....any updates on this skimmer? wondering how you compare to the big name skimmers you have used in the past?

Nothing yet...I just ordered the skimmer a couple ago and I probably won't get it until the end of May. I think Jeff has a 4-5 week lead time on these models. He is a one man show, and builds everything himself.

I am currently using my Alpha Vertex 300. Probably sell the 300 after I get the ReefLife VS3-60.