The Life Reef Skimmer Club

hobbzz said:
It's a custom 8" diameter, 42" height. My thinking was that the venturi doesn't create the same kind of pressure as 18' of head, so that would be just as irrelevant. You are simply guessing based on paper ratings, I'm speaking from real world experience with these two particular pumps in question, running on the same skimmer, through the same venturi. I never said the lagunas are better than mags, just close. Are you getting so offended because of my choice of the word "comparable"? If so I apologize for offending you. In the grand scheme of things, when pressure rated pumps can push water 50', the difference between a mag and laguna is relatively small. Hence my use of the word comparable, not "exact".

No one in this thread ever said a mag or laguna would be better than a dc. Myself and someone else simply stated that, personally, we don't like dc pumps yet from a reliability standpoint. A controller is just another added point of failure.
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Fwiw, I'm not one bit offended, you never insulted me, I just don't agree with your original comment. Ultimately, I'm here trying to spark conversation and get some more answers regarding these skimmers and pump combinations.
 
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Regarding the pumps, its as simple as a pressure pump will work better. Your forcing water through a small hole so a pump with a good pressure rating will work better than a pump without one. So imo if your going to get a lifereef, go ahead and get a good pressure pump to run it. Of course a regular pump will work, but its not going to run near as well as the pressure pumps and if your going to do it, mine as well do it with the best options available.
Also i agree with hobbzz in that i want my equipmment to be as sound as possible. I dont want a new pump with potential issues of parts or controllers. I prefer the tried and true pumps like mags, reeflo, and iwaki. I csn see the difference in a pressure vs regular pump just in the thickness of the bubbles. Thats enough for me to choose which one i want. :)
 
Piper27 said:
Regarding the pumps, its as simple as a pressure pump will work better.
Click to expand...

I don't think it is that simple. There is a difference between pressure rated pumps and the pressure rating of pumps. From everything I've read and from personal experience, most external pumps are going to have better pressure rating than internal. Pressure rating has to do with the pumps ability to perform with back (head) pressure. This is also where performance curves become important.

The 100px hobbzz is using isn't a pressure rated pump like the 50px-x that I run. bayoupr found he had better performance from non-pressure rated external pumps. He found the air draw to be too great and the mixing/contact time thrown off accordingly with the pressure rated pumps.

I have a 100px I want to eventually compare to the 50px-x, but I want to have that system more stable before I start tinkering around. I do know that the 50px-x blows the Eheim 5000 away as I stated earlier in this thread.
 
The 100px hobbzz is using isn't a pressure rated pump like the 50px-x that I run
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The 100px is rated for a higher pressure than the 50px-x. 50px-x is rated for 1100 gph at 13.1 ft. The px100 is rated at 790gph at 21.0 ft. I found that the skimmers I ran worked better with a pressure rated pump to a certain extent. The 150ps was too much pump for the skimmers I had (except the one Hobbzz has which I never tried with anything over the 100px)
 
You actually have that backwards. The 50px and 100px are pressure rated.

http://premiumaquatics.com/products/pan-world-model-50px-external-pump-md30r-equivalent.html
http://premiumaquatics.com/products/pan-world-model-100px-external-pump-md40r-equivalent.html

Your 50px-x and bayoupr's 100pxx are not pressure rated, they are circulation (flow) rated.

http://premiumaquatics.com/products/pan-world-model-50pxx-external-pump-md30rx-equivalent.html
http://premiumaquatics.com/products/pan-world-model-100pxx-external-pump-md40rx-equivalent.html

Bayoupr first tried the non pressure rated 100pxx (1270 gph) and found that it didn't perform as well as the pressure rated 100px (790 gph). That's why he sold the skimmer with the 100px, because it worked better due to it being pressure rated.

If a pump is offered in both a pressure rated version and a circulation (flow) rated version, the pressure rated version will have a lower max flow but a higher pressure rating and max head rating (usually around 10+ psi, 20+ feet/head) . The circulation rated model will have a lower pressure rating and lower max head rating (usually around 3-6 psi, 15+/- feet/head) , but higher max flow. Past a certain point in head, the lower flow pressure rated pump will actually catch up and push more gph due to its ability to work against the increased pressure better, as you correctly stated.
 
For me, the pumps similar to the iwaki 55rlt work better than the little giant thats not a pressure pump with about 1250gph, on the 4' and up models. What size skimmer was bayoupr using? I am sure the smaller versions will work better with different pumps. The larger versions might be different. I have not noticed any situation where too much air was being pulled into the skimmer, and i dont know how i would notice without an measuring tool. Even with a noticable difference in the looks of the bubbles, the thing still skimmed really well without a pressure pump :)
 
I have not noticed any situation where too much air was being pulled into the skimmer
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When I ran the 48" with the ps150, I had to keep the water level around 3" below the bottom of the upper flange. The foam head was about 3" thick with that pump wide open and I found that the foam was unstable going up through the neck. I installed a ball valve on the output of the pump and tuned it down so that I could get that thick foam head going up the neck.
 
Well I will get to do a comparison for those interested. I ordered a Laguna Max Flow 2000 and also a Mag 18. I figure I can use whatever one that performs the best for the skimmer and the other for a mixing pump in my saltwater bin.
 
The Life Reef Skimmer Club

Adam G said:
Well I will get to do a comparison for those interested. I ordered a Laguna Max Flow 2000 and also a Mag 18. I figure I can use whatever one that performs the best for the skimmer and the other for a mixing pump in my saltwater bin.
Click to expand...


Using them on a 30"?
 
Good choice. I think they have the 978. Mine came with the 1078. It'll be interesting to see how they perform on a different venturi.
 
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