The Life Reef Skimmer Club

[Benar]

Beautiful skimmers guys, I looked into these for a while after my needlewheel pump broke, alas it would've been too much to bring one into NZ. I ended up getting a used KZ Revolution M. This is my first time running a beckett, I'm using the Aquabee 5000, is this thing too big for 80-90gal total water volume?

 

[EvMiBo]

Beautiful skimmers guys, I looked into these for a while after my needlewheel pump broke, alas it would've been too much to bring one into NZ. I ended up getting a used KZ Revolution M. This is my first time running a beckett, I'm using the Aquabee 5000, is this thing too big for 80-90gal total water volume?

What's your bio load like? I probably would have recommended the KZ Rev S, but you can get a sure answer over at the zeovit.com forums, the community over there is very helpful. I'm running zeovit too and want to "ditch the pinwheel", it seems that zeovit users that have either the KZ Revs or lifereef are very happy. In the end lifereef is a little cheaper for me, has a smaller footprint, maintenance is less than a Beckett, and I have different options for pumps. It does help that I live in the USA and they're made here too .

 

[EvMiBo]

I am considering different skimmers for our 300g. Spoke to Jeff and he recommended a 30 inch skimmer. How quiet are these skimmers if I run it externally?

If anyone has a used one you want to sell, please contact me
My other options are atb 1050, ATI powercone 250is, used BK 300 deluxe.

Not sure what to choose

If you have the space (you're running it externally so I assume vertical space is available) I would consider getting the 36" for a 300g. I realize Jeff said 30" would be fine, but after reading through this thread a couple times the theme seems to be "if you have the vertical space, go a size larger." Not because the 30" won't do the job, you'll have more contact time with a 36" and have IMO better skimmate production. The pressurized panworld pumps seem to work wonderfully for external users btw. Of course, that's just my opinion - maybe discuss it with Jeff more, or wait until more people chime in.

 

[ken6217]

No harm running 90 elbow straight down as it would be in place of the 90 hosebarb you have now after the union. I don't know if you have enough room though given the length of the venturi and the height of the pump with hosebarbs. You would have to check.

You could also raise the skimmer up as mentioned earlier. A few bucks in materials and about 10 minutes to make.

You could also use longer tubing and run it from the venturi and then around the skimmer and reposition the pump. You will end up with another foot or so of tubing and not have to worry about kinks or bends.

Another option is to put it outside the sump. You just need to drill one hole for a 1" bulkhead for the water output from the skimmer. The venturi would be higher than the sump and so you would not need a hole drilled for that. This is how I have mine setup.

I would just order the reducer bushing on line as I mentioned before and call it a day. So if you wait a few days to receive it? If you're eager to set it up, do it temporarily with the longer tubing around the skimmer and then change it put when you get the parts.

 

[razataz5]

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.

thanks I emailed Jeff he said he would just make the cup shorter

 

[razataz5]

I would go with the 30". I have it on my 93g and it is not too big for that tank. The OP has it on his tank and it is 180 or 200.

I spoke with Jeff recently about this. I have a 135g and he basically said the 24" would be fine, BUT if my sump can handle the vertical height of the 30" I should go 30". There's more contact time, it can handle more flow, and therefore it should skim more.

I thank I will get a 30 it will be a tight fit

 

[rEeFnWrX]

You could see what the cost would be for a vs3 24 with a custom extension so you get the height you want...

 

[razataz5]

No harm running 90 elbow straight down as it would be in place of the 90 hosebarb you have now after the union. I don't know if you have enough room though given the length of the venturi and the height of the pump with hosebarbs. You would have to check.

You could also raise the skimmer up as mentioned earlier. A few bucks in materials and about 10 minutes to make.

You could also use longer tubing and run it from the venturi and then around the skimmer and reposition the pump. You will end up with another foot or so of tubing and not have to worry about kinks or bends.

Another option is to put it outside the sump. You just need to drill one hole for a 1" bulkhead for the water output from the skimmer. The venturi would be higher than the sump and so you would not need a hole drilled for that. This is how I have mine setup.

I would just order the reducer bushing on line as I mentioned before and call it a day. So if you wait a few days to receive it? If you're eager to set it up, do it temporarily with the longer tubing around the skimmer and then change it put when you get the parts.

If I ran the external like you do. How close can it be kept to the tank are how much space do I need I have 12" between my sump and the end of stand

 

[razataz5]

You could see what the cost would be for a vs3 24 with a custom extension so you get the height you want...

I just figured it would probably be cheaper just to do the 30 Will have to call and see

 

[Yogre]

I thank I will get a 30 it will be a tight fit

Mine is tight, too, there's definitely no room for a Swabbie or any sort of neck cleaning device. I think it's worth it though for the extra contact time, especially if I ever get moving and get a decent bioload in my tank.

 

[ken6217]

If I ran the external like you do. How close can it be kept to the tank are how much space do I need I have 12" between my sump and the end of stand

You may or may not want to do what I did. I didn't want to clutter up my cabinet. I have the sump and a large two chamber Ca reactor in there already and wanted to have some open space. I drilled two holes in the side of the cabinet and the skimmer is sitting outside the cabinet.

So you are saying that you have 12" to play with? (That's what she said)
For the input into the skimmer the pump is going to be in the sump and the input (venturi) will be above the sump, and then the vinyl tubing going straight down to that sump. That is no problem. The issue may be with the output from the skimmer. Ask Jeff what is the length from the back of the skimmer base to the end of the gate valve with hose barb on the opposite side. I'm not home to measure but off the top of my head, it is more than 12".

 

[clorox]

After I wrote that, I quickly realized that if I had to position the venturi vertically, it would have been too long as you correctly deduced.

Raising the skimmer in such limited space in my sump would make things trickier. I can only keep the skimmer inside the sump as the tank is in my living room. When you have a 60g cube, every little nook and cranny become precious real estate and keeping things tidy becomes essential.

Given that one of the reasons I decided to switch from the Vertex to Lifereef was reliability as well as 'set and forget', I want to do this right from the start, so I ended up ordering 3 different solutions as you guys suggested.

- 2x 45 degree angle street elbows
- 1" silicone tubing
- ultra flex pvc

That should cover it. Now I'll just have to wait for parts to arrive.

No harm running 90 elbow straight down as it would be in place of the 90 hosebarb you have now after the union. I don't know if you have enough room though given the length of the venturi and the height of the pump with hosebarbs. You would have to check.

You could also raise the skimmer up as mentioned earlier. A few bucks in materials and about 10 minutes to make.

You could also use longer tubing and run it from the venturi and then around the skimmer and reposition the pump. You will end up with another foot or so of tubing and not have to worry about kinks or bends.

Another option is to put it outside the sump. You just need to drill one hole for a 1" bulkhead for the water output from the skimmer. The venturi would be higher than the sump and so you would not need a hole drilled for that. This is how I have mine setup.

I would just order the reducer bushing on line as I mentioned before and call it a day. So if you wait a few days to receive it? If you're eager to set it up, do it temporarily with the longer tubing around the skimmer and then change it put when you get the parts.

 

[ClownsRCoo]

As promised here are some pics of my new skimmer/sump.

Here is what i got the first day it started to produce skimmate. This was about 3 days after I installed the sump and skimmer.



Here is 2 days later



Sorry for the crappy pic and since i have to have everything in my stand pretty much its jammed in there pretty tight. He left me a 6" space inbetween the sump and fuge because i planned on putting my dosing conainters and media reactor inbetween the two. Due to the lack of ample length of power cord for my ATO unit that plugs into the sensor I didnt have the room for the dosing containers in the stand. I have two ottomans for seating on either side of the tank that now houses the ATO container and the dosing chemical containers in one and supplies in the other. The fuge is 14x14x18. Its hard to get a good idea of its size since about 4" of it is blocked by the stand.

 

[ken6217]

After I wrote that, I quickly realized that if I had to position the venturi vertically, it would have been too long as you correctly deduced.

Raising the skimmer in such limited space in my sump would make things trickier. I can only keep the skimmer inside the sump as the tank is in my living room. When you have a 60g cube, every little nook and cranny become precious real estate and keeping things tidy becomes essential.

Given that one of the reasons I decided to switch from the Vertex to Lifereef was reliability as well as 'set and forget', I want to do this right from the start, so I ended up ordering 3 different solutions as you guys suggested.

- 2x 45 degree angle street elbows
- 1" silicone tubing
- ultra flex pvc

That should cover it. Now I'll just have to wait for parts to arrive.

If it still doesn't work out after that, PM me.

 

[clorox]

If it still doesn't work out after that, PM me.

Thanks so much! Will do.

 

[razataz5]

You may or may not want to do what I did. I didn't want to clutter up my cabinet. I have the sump and a large two chamber Ca reactor in there already and wanted to have some open space. I drilled two holes in the side of the cabinet and the skimmer is sitting outside the cabinet.

So you are saying that you have 12" to play with? (That's what she said)
For the input into the skimmer the pump is going to be in the sump and the input (venturi) will be above the sump, and then the vinyl tubing going straight down to that sump. That is no problem. The issue may be with the output from the skimmer. Ask Jeff what is the length from the back of the skimmer base to the end of the gate valve with hose barb on the opposite side. I'm not home to measure but off the top of my head, it is more than 12".

Got me wondering if I could turn the pump so the output faces the door and use flexible tubing to curve it back around to the side

 

[ken6217]

You can do that. Just leave enough tubing for a smooth curve so there is no kinking.

 

[d2mini]

As promised here are some pics of my new skimmer/sump.

Looks awesome!
Looking forward to October/November myself.

 

[Yogre]

As promised here are some pics of my new skimmer/sump.

Here is what i got the first day it started to produce skimmate. This was about 3 days after I installed the sump and skimmer.



Here is 2 days later



Sorry for the crappy pic and since i have to have everything in my stand pretty much its jammed in there pretty tight. He left me a 6" space inbetween the sump and fuge because i planned on putting my dosing conainters and media reactor inbetween the two. Due to the lack of ample length of power cord for my ATO unit that plugs into the sensor I didnt have the room for the dosing containers in the stand. I have two ottomans for seating on either side of the tank that now houses the ATO container and the dosing chemical containers in one and supplies in the other. The fuge is 14x14x18. Its hard to get a good idea of its size since about 4" of it is blocked by the stand.

That is some NARSTY nog after three days! Excellent!

 

[CountChoculah]

Hello everyone, so I just picked up a 155 gallon bowfront with a live reef refugium/ sump setup. I'm new very wet behind the ear per-say to a setup this detailed and advanced. I've been running a RSM 130 for years happily, nothing fancy. But now I have this and really have no idea of what I am looking at. Can you gentlemen & ladies help?