The Life Reef Skimmer Club

Harry_Y said:
What would be the proper mazzei venturi for a 36" skimmer and a Mag24 pump?
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When I ordered my VS3-36 from Jeff I got the Mazzei 978, I than upgraded on my own to a 1078, I didn't see that much difference ( 25% at the most). I have a SP4 pump
 
I just started my VS3-72, all my fish got moved into the 465 from the 240 yesterday. I unfortunately lost my owners manual in the move, I talked to Jeff a little bit to make sure it was set up right, but don't want to keep bugging him. How long should I expect before I start making skim? I have 11 fish, some rather large. All I have now are tiny bubbles going up the column. Thanks for any input.
 
Maybe 2-3 days, I see a big difference in mine depending on how much I feed the tank. The more I feed the more it skims, which makes perfect sense.
 
I bought a used skimmer and Jeff was really helpful. He emailed me an owners manual to help me set it up
 
So I installed my LR SVS3-30 (smaller cup due to cabinet Height) five days ago.
A brief update:
I have a 180 with a trigger systems 36 sump. When I put this system together I went with a CAD lights TAI-1220 skimmer (fit my budget). The CAD lights was a pain to dial in and I wasn't impressed with the workmanship or output.... very tedious.

I am loving the Lifereef skimmer. This skimmer has a small footprint so it fit in the return section of my sump. All other skimmers that can handle larger loads I had found that the footprint is much larger so I would have needed a new sump or external skimmer.

I went with the Mag18 that is recommended by Jeff. I was concerned the pump would raise my temp but figured I would give it a try. If the Mag18 posed a heat issue I would use it for my, in the plannning stage, water mixing station improvements. I am happy to say I have not seen an increase in temp... maybe 1/2 degree. The pump also seems pretty quiet imo...

The Skimmer is easy to adjust and I love the spigot on the cup. I can empty it when needed without turning the skimmer off removing the cup and such.. I'll still clean it weekly or biweekly though.

The wife and I were watching TV last night and she said the tank water looks ALOT cleaner/clearer. :thumbsup:
 

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Thinking of upgrading the pump on my SVS-24. Currently have the stock Mag 9.5 and am unhappy with the temperature increase it is causing. Narrowed my search down to two pumps either the Waveline DC6000 or Deepwater BLDC7. The Waveline has a max output of 1585GPH at 55Watts. While the Deepwater has a max output of 1900GPH at 43Watts. Being that the optimal GPH level of the 24 is around 1600GPH I would need to run the Waveline full speed but the Deepwater could be ran slower. This would mean the Deepwater would consume even less power than the Waveline and in turn less heat back into the tank. Just wondering what others thought of either of these pumps.
 
No experience with either pump, but after a quick search they're basically the same price. Why not get the deepwater bldc7? It's wattage is lower, and is a bit stronger, but gives you more room to tweak settings. That'd be my choice anyways, if it were up to just the two.

I think the 24" can handle highest setting on the deepwater bldc7 (but never tried), would be interesting to see how it performs and the air draw numbers..
 
GatorAlum05 said:
avoid dc pumps like the plague. that's my advice. just get a sicce 5.0 at 105w.. i'm sure it'll run less via skimmer.
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Why? Have you actually used DC pumps or just heard the stories?
Jebao DC9000 still trucking on my 30 with zero problems, been about 12 months so far.
 
Hi All!
I think I'm new to the club, probably. I'll know for sure once I get a pump andplumb in a new sump today.
I have a few questions, though. I bought a used LR skimmer. It had a few cracks that were repaired with acrylic glue. It holds water with no leaks. As such, I got it for 20 bucks without a pump. How can I tell what unit it is? I'm pretty certain it's a SVS-23, as it has the flange that thumbscrews together and a 6-1/2 square base. How can I tell if it's the in sump or external unit? The red gate valve has a rusty screw in the middle of it, which I find weird. I assume I can replace it with any gate valve from HD, etc, right?
The valve itself should be out of the water when installed, right? So I'll have to build an eggcrate stand for the skimmer, I guess...

It'll be replacing a Coralife Super Skimmer 125. Which is a PITA to keep dialed in, but works at very dry skimming...

I'll post some pictures in a few minutes. I'm waiting for them to get to my iPad...

Thanks!
Brian
 

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WBrian said:
Hi All!
I think I'm new to the club, probably. I'll know for sure once I get a pump andplumb in a new sump today.
I have a few questions, though. I bought a used LR skimmer. It had a few cracks that were repaired with acrylic glue. It holds water with no leaks. As such, I got it for 20 bucks without a pump. How can I tell what unit it is?

---- Snip ----
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Welcome to the club (I'm also fairly new),

As Jeff (LifeReef) told me the internal and external models are the same with the only difference being the pump.

as far as the rusty screw, is it possible just to replace the screw?
 
EvMiBo said:
Why? Have you actually used DC pumps or just heard the stories?
Jebao DC9000 still trucking on my 30 with zero problems, been about 12 months so far.
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I would NEVER recommend anyone anything that I haven't tried. FYI

Yes, I've had a dc pump from coralvue in my povdc2 skimmer. The diablo DC5500. Died on me just a month or so ago in my reef octopus skimmer just as the two year mark went by, voiding me of any warranty replacement. Thus I replaced the entire skimmer with another lifereef. In all my years, sicce is most tried and true.

I will never recommend a dc pump. EOM
 
Was it a diablo? They have 1 year rotor warranty and 2 year motor warranty. How long before it died?

I agree, Sicce makes great pumps - but to say one should avoid dc pumps like the plague when there's several people running them happily seems misleading to someone just joining the discussion.
 
EvMiBo said:
Was it a diablo? They have 1 year rotor warranty and 2 year motor warranty. How long before it died?

I agree, Sicce makes great pumps - but to say one should avoid dc pumps like the plague when there's several people running them happily seems misleading to someone just joining the discussion.
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it died as the 2 year mark went by and coralvue went ahead and retired the pov version thus leading me to buy an entire new lifereef skimmer.

i think there's a reason why jeff always goes with the tried and true pump. i stand firmly by my statement.
 
Tired and true does not mean other methods are not better. Otherwise we would all still be riding horses to work as opposed to driving. Everything evolves and has initial hiccups. With all the people happily running DC pumps in one fashion or another coupled with some of the bigger name brands stepping into the game your statement is a bit over the top.

Even swapping out the mag pump for a sicce is stepping away from the tried and true with a more efficient version of the mag in the sicce...
 
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