The Life Reef Skimmer Club

yeah I guess. Lol. I live in hot florida so I didn't want any pump inside my sump. The set up will be the LF-150 w/svs3-24, external skimmer, external return pump with 24in refugium.

ALL set up for my 55g reef savvy. Overkill I know but it will be going behind the counter of my office. I figure I have all that space behind the wall. Might as well use it. Plus I'm a big proponent of big filtration system. And I want people to have googly eyes when they see the filtration system powering such a small tank. LOL.
 
What pump were you using on what body, what is the sump water level, what was the water level in the skimmer body?

I was using a Sicce Syncra 5.0 pump which is rated at 1321gph. Spec for flow and head pressure on that pump is almost identical to the Mag 9. The Mag9 is not sold where I live and I needed 240v power supply.

My sump water level is constant at a shade under 8". I set the water level in the skimmer to be near the flanges below the bottom of the thinner neck.

I'm now using a Vertex Omega 180i which I am "happy" with. Compared to the LifeReef VS3-24, the 180i is
- extremely quiet
- uses only 27% of the power needed to run the lifeReef (28w vs 105w)
- is set-and-forget

I say happy in quotes because I don't see the evil black sludge that others are posting here and my bio-load is quite high. Issues I had trying to use LifeReef

1] The Sicce silient pump with Mazzei venturi attached was noisy
2] The water output from the skimmer was noisy (rushing splashing water sound)
3] Skimmer would either not skim or overflow

It turns out that issue [3] was partially my own fault. The sump water level was not stable - this I have now fixed.

Issue [1] may be fixable with a vibration dampening sponge or pad, but I think the 100W pump is always going to be noisier than the 28W one (both are manufactured by Sicce).

My sump is under the DT in my dining room, so issue [2] was a problem. The output was a threaded connector, so perhaps a screw in fitting with a barbed hose adaptor to get the output under water would fix this. Unfortunately I couldn't find an adaptor to fit. Jeff told me that he sent fittings (and charged me for it) but the shipment was lost in the post and I gave up.

If my sump was in another room I would have stuck with LifeReef (a nice big tall one!). I liked the chaotic way it seemed to work. The bubbles seem to tumble around like an actual washing machine with different sizes and I think better contact time than my needle wheel vertex. When the foam does rise up the narrow neck, it seems to shoot up which has to be better at exporting particulate matter. Its cool to watch too (I spend ages watching it!).

Net-net, it seems to be the VS3-24 would be superior skimmer if I could set it up well. How much better is difficult to say, and given the extra noise and power draw, not sure its worth it in my case.

-droog
 
Was the noise coming from the pump itself? Did you disassemble and inspect it? They come with suction cups so I wonder why it was so noisy..? I believe I've seen others here use the same pump with success, so I just wonder if it was an issue with the pump itself..

Bummer you couldn't get it working the way you would have liked.
 
So I just installed the skimmer. Turned it on and had to turn it right back off! This pump feels way stronger than any other skimmer pump I've had. I was so startled I couldn't turn it off before it overflowed.

Lol.

So, I guess I will have to get some kind of elbow to fit onto the water exit pipe, to divert it downward, because it shoots out of the body so strongly.

-edit- ok, got it throttled back a bit from intense turning of the wheel, it is still strong and I want to have a back up idea in case the pressure needed for proper dialing in makes it shoot oit explosively. I haven't figured out the sweet spot yet.-- end edit

I didn't expect this because my sro has a similar water exit strategy and I dont have to curb the flow at all.

What size elbow or what have you should I get? Or am I setting this up incorrectly?

Svs24 w/mag 9
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My sro 2000int w/bubble blaster stock model
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I'll let it run with a wider opening over night so it can lay low and to give it time to breathe. But look at those bubbles!
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Lol, ok, last post until someone else does. I'm too excited.

I got it set pretty well. Water line around 1-1.5inch from the black acrylic.

Still need the downward facing tubing so as to reduce splashing and evaporation.

Less than 24hrs and bubbles in the top!
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You may want to secure that vinyl tubing on the inlet of the skimmer and on the pump better. I would hate to see that pop off and have a fountain spraying out of your sump.
 
Thanks! Yes, I forgot about that last night. Originally I was just going to test run but then let it go all night. I have some zip ties for it.

Let me do that before I forget.
Thanks!
 
Thanks! Yes, I forgot about that last night. Originally I was just going to test run but then let it go all night. I have some zip ties for it.

Let me do that before I forget.
Thanks!

You should get a new hose... that is way to little on the niplle. I wouldn't trust a zip tie or hose clamp on that
 
You should get a new hose... that is way to little on the niplle. I wouldn't trust a zip tie or hose clamp on that

Yep, I was about to reply the same. You want to try and make sure the entire barb is covered on both the pump and the inlet. Then I would use Nylon Ratcheting Hose Clamps.

Ratcheting-Hose-Clamp-2T.jpg
 
Great, thanks folks! So, I'll pick up the ratchet clamp.

Is the hose itself too small? I think that is 3/4" hose.

I can make it a little longer it's just so hard to push on especially at that angle.

I want to keep the tibe to 7b max so it can still sit on my skimer stand. I didnt expect that all of the pvc tubes are siliconed so I cant change the orientation of anything
 
Fwiw, the sch.80 barb fittings are not tapered, so you should be able to slide hosing on all the way. Sounds nasty but a little lick inside of the hose goes a long way. ;) After that, nylon hose clamp and you're good.
 
Thanks again guys.

Uhm. ..I placed a good amount of saliva in the tube and was able to push it on much further.

I'm heading to work now so I've turned it off and will tend to the clamps after a trip to home depot.

I'll have to cut a 7" tube, the pump is floating a quarter inch or so the way it is now.

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There isnt any noise from the pump. It's just the splashing sound. Which I actually dont care that much about. My overflow is louder!
I just care about the spray of water which increases salt creep in the sump.

My skimmer stand allows the skimmer to sit in about 6" to 7" of water.

I just dont want the water to spew out, contact air, splash (you can see the water splash area in the most recent picture).

The skimmer itself isnt noisy at all.
 
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