The Life Reef Skimmer Club

[ksed]

First the Eheims don't have a custom volute like the Askolls. That in it self is a problem. Eheims draw far less air than the Askolls, possibly the solution as to why one lasts longer than the other. Second take all the pinwheel pumps you have and get a PF (Power Factor) reading on them. Then take the PF reading on an modified Askoll and that might be your answer to why the Askolls may fall short. Something called going over the limit of which the pump was designed to do. As with the Eheim pin wheel it is not driven to that extreme.

well, one can hope that in 15 years people are able to run their askoll trouble free that they had purchased over these last few years. Anybody have 15-20 year old askoll pumps in service? Eheims don't appear at all to exhibit motor problems when used as pinwheel pump. many sedras around going strong for 7-10 years now. I believe in longevity, when askoll has longevity, then they earn their place and reputation(I don't consider sedra any way equal to Eheim, but they work well for a long time when taken care of and they are actually a nice cost effective choice), til then, if it is a throw away like most pumps after 5 years, it is just another pump like a sicce surround by hype but falling short in long term reliability.

Yes I am skeptical of the hype... probably 90% of products out for the aquarium industry are all hyped up and exciting at first, then fall short and are nothing but problems and headaches for the consumer... I try not to jump on any bandwagons. I did in the past, cost me money I could have saved for my daughters future... So, I ask difficult questions and weed through the hype and BS... when the final outcome is a lifereef will cost 600 bucks or so and use 3-20x the watts every minute of every day... all to simply allow me to not have to spend 20 sec. once a week with running rodi through my airline... well.... puhlese.

 

[rounder45]

Why don't you take your problems to a different forum please. I'm trying to enjoy this one ! No need for your input. If you don't care for this skimmer, go to the skimmer forum you enjoy. I own a Corvette, I don't go to the Mustang forum and diss their car.

Who has dissed the lifereef?.. putting measured results to a product is not dissing it. yeah, i asked a few extracurricular questions, but, I ain't talking about cameras am I? If you were on a mustang forum and asked about true performance, road feel, handling,acceleration(you get it).. are you dissing the product???... no! your asking about the mindset of the owners, how they feel and giving opportunity to speak why they chose the car and providing conclusions to the true measurement of the car... If you mentioned you own a corvette and they told you to go #$%@ yourself cause you wanted to learn more about mustangs... ... well... seems familiar (LOL).... see, I'm clear in my questions... they still and always will revolve around the primary focus... it is simple...what has this skimmer done for your TANK and LIVESTOCK that the previous skimmers could not deliver on???... I'm so sorry if the answer is currently.... NOTHING!!!!... I did not make the skimmer, I did not make the results... I simply asked the questions... :hammer: I even offer up a more direct comparison between competing air draw skimmers to provide a more equal comparison..

 

[ken6217]

But at this point, it's time to move on. You're not going to receive the satisfaction of whatever you are looking for here. Haven't you figured that out yet?

 

[rounder45]

First the Eheims don't have a custom volute like the Askolls. That in it self is a problem. Eheims draw far less air than the Askolls, possibly the solution as to why one lasts longer than the other. Second take all the pinwheel pumps you have and get a PF (Power Factor) reading on them. Then take the PF reading on an modified Askoll and that might be your answer to why the Askolls may fall short. Something called going over the limit of which the pump was designed to do. As with the Eheim pin wheel it is not driven to that extreme.

Eheim 1260 for reef dynamics 180E... air draw 900-960lph...
Askoll 1500 for bubble king mini 160... air draw is 600LPH...
The pumps are tuned for their air and water volume via the pinwheel assembly and venturi.

 

[rEeFnWrX]

But at this point, it's time to move on. You're not going to receive the satisfaction of whatever you are looking for here. Haven't you figured that out yet?

+1

You keep asking the same question and people have been answering. But it seems that you already have a specific answer that you want to hear and won't accept the answers we give you.

Almost like explaining why top mount intercoolers are better and more efficient for cars under 450whp vs front mount intercoolers to someone that only cares that in the end more power can be supported by a front mount even though they only want 350whp

 

[Speed]

Why don't you take your problems to a different forum please. I'm trying to enjoy this one ! No need for your input. If you don't care for this skimmer, go to the skimmer forum you enjoy. I own a Corvette, I don't go to the Mustang forum and diss their car.

this times eleventy billion

when the final outcome is a lifereef will cost 600 bucks or so and use 3-20x the watts every minute of every day... all to simply allow me to not have to spend 20 sec. once a week with running rodi through my airline... well.... puhlese.

So…it sounds like you've got the answer you were looking for after several destroyed pages.

Does that mean that you will do us all a favor and cease your participation in this otherwise enjoyable thread?
you've been accused of being a troll not for asking what you deem to be "the tough questions" but rather your "look at me" chihuahua like ankle biting approach.
its obvious you're not a fan of Life Reef so help us all out and move on and allow us to get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

[laserjim]

Just ignore him guys, he'll go away.

 

[laserjim]

Maybe the mods can do something.

 

[EvMiBo]

Would love to see some pictures and/or vids of everyone's skimmer in action.

 

[rounder45]

But at this point, it's time to move on. You're not going to receive the satisfaction of whatever you are looking for here. Haven't you figured that out yet?

Yet, I am completely satisfied as well. I very much thank you for your most recent response to my questions. it seemed very candid and honest...:love1:

 

[bayoupr]

I even offer up a more direct comparison between competing air draw skimmers to provide a more equal comparison..

This is why you need to start your own thread, "Battle of the Skimmers" or maybe, "The Art of Skimming By rounder45". No matter what answer you get it just isn't good enough for you. This is a Lifereef skimmer forum for those that are running one or for those that might be interested in one to ask questions and post pictures, ie; what pump are you running, what is your water level, how do you like the skimmer etc etc. NOT A SKIMMER COMPARISION FORUM. Get it?

 

[ksed]

Eheim 1260 for reef dynamics 180E... air draw 900-960lph...
Askoll 1500 for bubble king mini 160... air draw is 600LPH...
The pumps are tuned for their air and water volume via the pinwheel assembly and venturi.

Bud you rely like to talk bad about the Askoll don't you.
Askoll 1300 l/h on an ATB. Askoll on a BK up to 1500l/h. Not even close to what an Eheim put out. Then you start to have problems.

 

[rounder45]

+1

You keep asking the same question and people have been answering. But it seems that you already have a specific answer that you want to hear and won't accept the answers we give you.

Almost like explaining why top mount intercoolers are better and more efficient for cars under 450whp vs front mount intercoolers to someone that only cares that in the end more power can be supported by a front mount even though they only want 350whp

Well... I still have not found anyone that has compared equivalent air draw vs more or less water flow between a pinwheel and life reef... would you be curious?? Such as to how a life reef 24 with a mag 9.5 and maybe 10scfh air draw compares to a pinwheel that offers the same air draw...If you insist on pre-determined results maybe not... but... why not???... it solves many questions in skimmer performance and how it relates to tank volume... Heaven forbid a equivalent performance comparison is drawn measured and reported ...eh?

 

[Yogre]

Cool, 1800gph, if I can fit the 30" body in my sump I'm thinking jebao dc9000. You can run it at 80% (speed #3 ~1900gph) consuming approximately 56 watts, or 70% (speed #2 ~1675gph) consuming 49 watts.

These skimmers seem to be able to handle much more flow than advertised with the mag pumps...

Did you start out with a mag12? If so, did you notice a fair amount of increase in skimmate? What is your ball setting like with running 1800 gph through? Also, water level in skimmer? Skimming wet I assume?

I did start out with the stock mag 12. I switched to the Water Blaster in order to get as much heat out of my tank as possible, as I wanted to decommission my chiller. I didn't really get an increase in skimmate, but I was able to open the gate valve a bit with the HY7000, so a little bit more water gets run through the skimmer per hour. The Water Blaster pumps are not pressure rated, so to be honest I'm not sure exactly how much more water the 7000 is pushing over the Mag 12.

Not sure what the actual position of the gate is, if I had to guess I'd say about half closed, maybe a little more.

Water level is currently about 1/4" below the skimmer body flange. I do try to skim wet, as I dose vinegar and I'm hoping for as much nutrient export as possible.

 

[mikeatjac]

Well... I still have not found anyone that has compared equivalent air draw vs more or less water flow between a pinwheel and life reef... would you be curious?? Such as to how a life reef 24 with a mag 9.5 and maybe 10scfh air draw compares to a pinwheel that offers the same air draw...If you insist on pre-determined results maybe not... but... why not???... it solves many questions in skimmer performance and how it relates to tank volume... Heaven forbid a equivalent performance comparison is drawn measured and reported ...eh?

Please leave.

 

[rounder45]

Bud you rely like to talk bad about the Askoll don't you.
Askoll 1300 l/h on an ATB. Askoll on a BK up to 1500l/h. Not even close to what an Eheim put out. Then you start to have problems.

I'm not saying anything bad about askoll at all ... the fact is... it is what it is!!! .. I did not pull the number out of thin air nor did I assume anything... Hey, is that not what the askol 1500 performs on the mini 160??... my point is simple... air draw is determined by venturi design and impeller. Just because reef dynamics or H&S or Deltec or ATB balanced their air draw to their skimmers body with the Eheim, it does not mean the Eheim wont move more air and less water... it is the tuning (and overall size of the pump)that determines the air draw and water throughput..not the name on the side of the pump...

 

[clugo]

Lol!

 

[rEeFnWrX]

It's time for you to go buy a LR and flow meter to measure your air draw and do the testing yourself... As mentioned 10 pages ago.

Obviously no one cares to go through the hassle of testing something for your entertainment... We all have been through numerous skimmers and finally have found one that we are very content with. No more issues and the performance is as good as the other top skimmers with less maintenance and adjustments...

That is the point that you are missing, so stop expecting someone else to go and take the time and spend the money to test this to sell/please you when we are far happier with the LR skimmer than any skimmer we have used before it.

 

[clugo]

Amen rEeFnWrX!!!

 

[Yogre]

If others feel that rounder45 is trolling this thread and disrupting it, I'd encourage them to press the little red/white triangle under his screen name on one of his posts.

This will report the post to the moderators.

Arguing directly in the thread runs the risk that the thread will be closed, which would very much be a shame.