The Life Reef Skimmer Club

[ken6217]

I have a Mag 12 on my svs30 and my tank is only 93g.

The pump should be sized for the size of the skimmer, not the size of the tank.

 

[razataz5]

how much clearance do you need for the 30 I only have 31 inches of clearance under my stand will I be able to get the cup off

 

[ken6217]

I think you need about 31 3/4" or thereabouts.

Jeff said he can cut down the height of the head a little and also not put that round thing (weight?) on top of the lid. That's about 1/4" on itself.

The neck length will remain the same.

 

[bayoupr]

the pump should be sized for the size of the skimmer, not the size of the tank.

+1

 

[bernie lyons]

skimmer performance

skimmer performance

I'll give you MY opinion. I have the SVS3-30" with the Mag 12. I have also an MTC 36" recirculating skimmer and have been changing them out from time to time. Prior to these, I had a Bubble King Mini 160 and a Bubble King Double Cone 150 on this same tank at different times.

To get my opinion across, I'm not going to say which skimmers performed better. I will just say that my tank always looked good regardless of which skimmer I was running and there has never been any change in terms of getting any algae. So maybe all of these skimmers are "good enough"?

Now with that said, both the Lifereef and the MTC are easier to run as they don't get the calcium deposits in the venturis that the two BK needle wheel skimmers did.
Ken

Ken , not to put you on the spot but in one of your earlier post's when you hooked up the MTC and the lifereef skimmers for the first week or so , you said that both skimmers outperformed your previous skimmers by quite a bit ? IE:darker skimmate and more of it .
Are you saying that you is not the case now ?
Also, I've also owned pinwheel skimmers in the past and quite frankly never really found them to clog up with salt creep faster than venturi's ?

 

[Yogre]

how much clearance do you need for the 30 I only have 31 inches of clearance under my stand will I be able to get the cup off

Stand clearance is not an issue with Lifereef. When I decided to upgrade from a 24" to a 30" I checked with Jeff about a custom height and he said "no problem". I emailed him the height from the bottom of my sump to the underside of my tank, and he cut the 30" down just a bit, I think he took the 1" I needed out of the cup height.

 

[ken6217]

Ken , not to put you on the spot but in one of your earlier post's when you hooked up the MTC and the lifereef skimmers for the first week or so , you said that both skimmers outperformed your previous skimmers by quite a bit ? IE:darker skimmate and more of it .
Are you saying that you is not the case now ?
Also, I've also owned pinwheel skimmers in the past and quite frankly never really found them to clog up with salt creep faster than venturi's ?

Bernie,
I wasn't addressing how any of the skimmers performed. What I was saying that if I look at my tank, I have no algae and there has never been any increase in algae regardless of which of the 4 skimmers I was using. So my point was that maybe all of them are "good enough".

I don't want to get into skimmer comparisons on this thread as I don't want to be sitting at the same table as Rounder. :loll:

I have always gotten calcium deposits in the venturi of every pinwheel skimmer I have ever owned: H&S A150, Deltec TC2060, Warner Marine MF121, both Bubble Kings. To me it was a PITA to take them out of the sump, soak the venturi and/or pump in vinegar, take a tooth pick and pick out the crap, and then put it back in the sump etc.

 

[azjohnny]

Here's a quick tease from Jeff on my skimmer.

What pump and injector will you be using? I never thought of asking Jeff to go with a wider diameter body, I wish I would have done that

 

[bayoupr]

What pump and injector will you be using? I never thought of asking Jeff to go with a wider diameter body, I wish I would have done that

Will be using the Mazzei 1078 injector. I will start out using a Panworld 40PX I have. This pump work great on my 48" so I figure it should be good for this skimmer.

 

[EvMiBo]

I will start out using a Panworld 40PX I have. This pump work great on my 48" so I figure it should be good for this skimmer.

Maybe this isn't the place to ask this question, I don't know.. But, that pump is rated at 1270gph, it seems like it's a bit underkill since people are running mag12's on 30" bodies, even then some people are running their 30" bodies up around 1800gph. Why not (if you have that large body) get a higher output pump? Is it partially because it works well at higher head pressures? I realize this is what Jeff recommends on his website, but I'm just trying to connect the dots. It seems like that tall body could withstand a pump that is significantly larger.

 

[bayoupr]

Maybe this isn't the place to ask this question, I don't know.. But, that pump is rated at 1270gph, it seems like it's a bit underkill since people are running mag12's on 30" bodies, even then some people are running their 30" bodies up around 1800gph. Is it because it works well at higher head pressures? I realize this is what Jeff recommends on his website, but I'm just trying to connect the dots. It seems like that tall body could withstand a pump that is significantly larger.

My bad, will be using a 100PX which is the same as a Blueline 40HD, 790gph, pressure rated. I find the pressure rated 100PX pump work better then the 100PX-X. I ran the 100PX on a 30" and it was too much. When I stepped it down to a 50PX the 30" and 36" skimmer ran great. Forcing water through the injector with the pressure rated pump seemed to work better, IMO.

 

[EvMiBo]

My bad, will be using a 100PX which is the same as a Blueline 40HD, 790gph, pressure rated. I find the pressure rated 100PX pump work better then the 100PX-X. I ran the 100PX on a 30" and it was too much. When I stepped it down to a 50PX the 30" and 36" skimmer ran great. Forcing water through the injector with the pressure rated pump seemed to work better, IMO.

Man oh man these panworld vs. blueline model numbering and lettering is confusing.. :crazy1:

Can you explain the "pressure rated" part of these pumps? (Again, if this is too far off topic I can move it to PM's or something). It seems like pressure rated vs. non-pressure rated gph values are way different.

I'm not even using one of the pressure rated pumps (will be running the skimmer in sump), I'm just curious how people are running them externally.

 

[rEeFnWrX]

It really depends on how much vertical head height you have.

Pressure rated pumps will have a much higher maximum head height but lower gph. Ideal for pumps that are ran in the basement and pumping to the floor above. In theory I'd your pump is in your stand pressure rated is not necessary but some prefer it.

As to how it affects a skimmer I am unsure. I would imagine with our venturi a pressure rated pump running at 3 ft of head height at 1k gph should provide the same skimming performance as a non pressure rated pump running at 3 ft of head height and 1k gph?

Once you get into the 4' - 5'+ skimmers then pressure rated my provide more stable performance? Can anyone confirm this?

 

[azjohnny]

I can see a pressure rated pump drawing more air, a venturi works on the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet. More pressure going in provides more suction

 

[bayoupr]

Can you explain the "pressure rated" part of these pumps?

Panworld 100PX = 790gph at 21ft Head Pressure
Panworld 100PX-X = 1270gph at 13ft Head Pressure

I find that when your pushing water through a small orifice like the injectors have the higher pressure pump works better. I also noticed an increase in air draw with the higher pressure rated pump (seemed to force the water through the injector with a greater velocity). I found with the higher flow lower pressure rated pump I lost a good bit of flow and air draw. One thing, you can't run to great of a pressure rated pump like the 150PS (I did this and the flow and air draw were too much for the 36" and 48" skimmer (never tried it on the 60"). I was pulling 45-50scfh on the air and unless you want a huge foam head (like 3-4" thick, unstable) this is not the pump to run. By the way, this skimmer will be in my sump plumbed to my external pump.

 

[rEeFnWrX]

Panworld 100PX = 790gph at 21ft Head Pressure
Panworld 100PX-X = 1270gph at 13ft Head Pressure

I find that when your pushing water through a small orifice like the injectors have the higher pressure pump works better. I also noticed an increase in air draw with the higher pressure rated pump (seemed to force the water through the injector with a greater velocity). I found with the higher flow lower pressure rated pump I lost a good bit of flow and air draw. One thing, you can't run to great of a pressure rated pump like the 150PS (I did this and the flow and air draw were too much for the 36" and 48" skimmer (never tried it on the 60"). I was pulling 45-50scfh on the air and unless you want a huge foam head (like 3-4" thick, unstable) this is not the pump to run. By the way, this skimmer will be in my sump plumbed to my external pump.

The velocity of water passing through the venturi would be the same as long as the GPH is the same between the two pumps?

So if you have a 1500gph pump pushing 1k gph and then you have a 1100gph pressure rated pump pushing that same 1k gph you should have the same pressure/velocity/flow?

So maybe what you were obtaining a more ideal flow with the pressure rated pump than you were with the other? Now if your outlets are different on the two pumps and one has to convert into a smaller pipe that could affect the pressure... but still the pressure/velocity would be based on the gph being obtained not the pump?

or am I missing something?

 

[bayoupr]

The velocity of water passing through the venturi would be the same as long as the GPH is the same between the two pumps?

So if you have a 1500gph pump pushing 1k gph and then you have a 1100gph pressure rated pump pushing that same 1k gph you should have the same pressure/velocity/flow?

So maybe what you were obtaining a more ideal flow with the pressure rated pump than you were with the other? Now if your outlets are different on the two pumps and one has to convert into a smaller pipe that could affect the pressure... but still the pressure/velocity would be based on the gph being obtained not the pump?

From past experience running both the 100PX and 100PX-X the 100PX outperformed the 100PX-X pump. The outlets were the same and the input configurations were the same. So this tells me that the higher flow 100PX-X was losing a lot of flow through the injector restriction. I also noticed with the 100PX I had to open the gate valve on the outlet more as compared to the other.

 

[rEeFnWrX]

Reason I ask on my new tank I am going to be running a Reeflo Dart/Snapper hybrid or the hammerhead/barracuda on a manifold. About 50gph going to my refugium, then 1k-2k going to my LR and the rest into the return line.

So with your input I will get the gold version which is pressure rated and not a big difference in price at all(although it's maximum head height is only a few feet more than the standard pump). Just need to figure out if I want to get the snapper/dart or hammerhead/barracuda. Will be running with 5.5ft head height.

 

[ken6217]

The pressure pump versus a flow pump of the same numerical model (i.e., HD 40 and HD40x) will have a different impeller and output size.

Pumps made for flow don't take back pressure well and that's why a lot of people use pressure pumps for venturi skimmers, and especially beckett skimmers.

Remember, a 1" venturi is not 1" ID. It tapers which causes back pressure.

 

[bayoupr]

ken6217, that's the sum of it.