The Life Reef Skimmer Club

[xabo]

Been running mine for about a week and all I'm getting is clear water in the cup.

 

[Johnseye]

I'm running a BLDC 8 internally for my manifold, Panworld 100PX-X for my return and a Panworld 100PX on my skimmer. All the watts on these three pumps are not heating up my tank water like I hearing the Vectra does.

Not sure how that's possible. What's been drilled into my head from many "experts" on this site is that watts are watts. I even tested a Fluval and Vectra and they both heated the tank similarly. I used a Kill A Watt to measure power draw at the wall.

 

[bayoupr]

Not sure how that's possible. What's been drilled into my head from many "experts" on this site is that watts are watts. I even tested a Fluval and Vectra and they both heated the tank similarly. I used a Kill A Watt to measure power draw at the wall.

I have a kill-a- watt meter also I use. When I remove my sump for a good cleaning (about every six months, regular cleanings in between) all three pumps are down for a day and my tank temp goes from 78 to 79. 1 deg max. If adding a 80 watt pump is going to raise temp's by 2 deg or better, then something is not right with the pump. I had a Fluval 6 for awhile internal and barely raised my temp.

 

[bayoupr]

Been running mine for about a week and all I'm getting is clear water in the cup.

How high is the water level in your skimmer? Is the cup filling fast (how much do you collect in a day)? How old is your system and what is your bio-load? Running the water level too high can cause this. Also, how dense are the air bubbles in the skimmer?

 

[EvMiBo]

Been running mine for about a week and all I'm getting is clear water in the cup.

How high is the water level in your skimmer? Is the cup filling fast (how much do you collect in a day)? How old is your system and what is your bio-load? Running the water level too high can cause this. Also, how dense are the air bubbles in the skimmer?

also, what pump on what body?

 

[xabo]

also, what pump on what body?

VS3-30 w/Mag 18. System is about 5 years old. Have level set just below the Life Reef label. Have seven fish and a few corals. Seems to have settled down a bit.

 

[xabo]

 

[xabo]

Sent pictures to Jeff and he says skimmer's running too wet.

 

[Johnseye]

I have a kill-a- watt meter also I use. When I remove my sump for a good cleaning (about every six months, regular cleanings in between) all three pumps are down for a day and my tank temp goes from 78 to 79. 1 deg max. If adding a 80 watt pump is going to raise temp's by 2 deg or better, then something is not right with the pump. I had a Fluval 6 for awhile internal and barely raised my temp.

There are more factors at play. Ambient temp, how close to the safe range around 79F your other devices get you, and what the other devices in your water are.

 

[bayoupr]

Panworld 100PX-X return pump = 93 watts
Panworld 100PX-X skimmer pump = 82 watts (changed out my 100PX)
BLDC 8 manifold pump = 58 watts
Tunze powerhead pumps probably another = 30-35 watts
Total Watts = approx. 265-270.

All of this on a 120 and temp only 1 deg higher with this running.
One 80watt Vectra raises tank temps by 2deg and more, must be some very small tanks. Ambient temp, I keep my house temp at 71 all year round, so you can throw this theory out the window.

 

[bayoupr]

I see the confusion, when my pumps are shut off for a day my tank temp drops 1 deg. Earlier post I made a mistake by stating it went up 1 deg (yes, this would be strange).

 

[shaggss]

The screw on the top of my gate valve is rusting. I contacted Jeff and he likened it to GFO which makes sense to me. Should I leave it or remove it?

 

[SausageArm]

Starting your first reef tank with that volume seems really daunting to me. Have you thought about just a 100gal display and 30ish gal sump? Might save you a BIG headache. YOLO I suppose.

Also, fwiw, I've had 4 different skimmers in my ~8 years in the hobby, and my lifereef is my favorite so far. You'll get several other people who will say the same about [insert name here] pinwheel skimmers.

A small tank dodn't interest me at all, had tropical fish for years, wanted a big tank and also fancied trying marine, so here we are... tank has been planned and implemented for a long time, not rushed into.

I don't know. A lot can go wrong a lot faster in a small volume tank. Things happen slower and are harder to screw up in a large volume tank. Everything's just bigger and more expensive.

I'm hoping the larger volume will help stability a lot.

My train of thought was that things are going to go wrong regardless, since it's the first setup. And with a tank of that size compared to a say 100g display + 30g sump it's going to get really expensive really fast. I don't want to discourage anyone.

Depends what and how much you read and research, no two reef starter hobbyists are alike, some will learn nothing whereas others will read all there is to read prior to getting the tank wet, i'm in the middle somewhere.

You'll not discourage me, don't worry, and it's always good hearing opinions and critique, especially when people are constructive and honest with it.

 

[SausageArm]

I've finally got around to getting my aquarium and VS3-72 skimmer up and running, it's got the upgrade option 8" collection cup, Mazzei 978-2 venturi and is being supplied by a Jebau Jecod 15000 pump which gives 8000LPH (approx 2000GPH) at 2m (approx 6 feet) head.

I have an issue with the collection cup lid being lifted by foam and foam slowly spilling out, please see the photo below.



I have the water level set around 1/2" below the start of the 3" diameter neck.

Am I right in thinking I need to reduce the water level in the skimmer body to prevent this happening?

 

[EvMiBo]

Looks like you're skimming just great. Usually that's a good water level in the body, but not sure if it's different for 72" bodies. Seems like it's working well...

I might try something like a paper weight instead.

Enjoy all that volume! Sounds like you've got a good start.

 

[Hitch08]

Sausage - How many days has it been up and running?

 

[SausageArm]

Looks like you're skimming just great. Usually that's a good water level in the body, but not sure if it's different for 72" bodies. Seems like it's working well...

I might try something like a paper weight instead.

Enjoy all that volume! Sounds like you've got a good start.

That seemed to be the level others set their skimmers at, which is why I did so.

The paper weight could be an option but I think the foam would come out of the vent hole instead.

Sausage - How many days has it been up and running?

Skimmer has been running for 11 days.

First I had the venturi plumbed in to the upper port on the collection cup, but it drew foam and skimmate sludge into the venturi airline. A few days ago i plugged the upper port and had the venturi airline drawing air from the room not the cup, then the foam started to spill out.

But surely drawing in foam/skimmate lumps cannot be good for the venturi.

 

[azjohnny]

But surely drawing in foam/skimmate lumps cannot be good for the venturi.

To keep the venturi clean you can submerge the end of the airline into a cup of hot RO/DI water, the hot water will get drawn into the venturi

 

[iced98lx]

Have the same issue on my 24 incher. My airline would get plugged up pretty quickly via sucking in foam, and the vent had foam plugging it, eventually the air pressure and foam lifted the lid. My plan is to make a bigger vent hole capped with some carbon. Also working on a muffler for the air intake. I haven't had issues with the venturi getting clogged when its not pulling air from the cup over the last couple months.

 

[Johnseye]

Have the same issue on my 24 incher. My airline would get plugged up pretty quickly via sucking in foam, and the vent had foam plugging it, eventually the air pressure and foam lifted the lid. My plan is to make a bigger vent hole capped with some carbon. Also working on a muffler for the air intake. I haven't had issues with the venturi getting clogged when its not pulling air from the cup over the last couple months.

Let me know when you get that muffler created and how it works out.