The Life Reef Skimmer Club
There seems to be a club thread for every other major skimmer, so why not Life Reef? :thumbsup:
Ever since I got mine there seems to be more and more threads popping up so I figured we could have one common thread for pics, questions, reviews, etc. I'll start. The following is from my build thread post, here.. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2144250 Quote:
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2878/9...9d847342_o.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2821/9...0b3a1cc1_o.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/9...0a958d80_o.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/9...1ffe9d32_o.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7438/9...af4bc302_o.jpg |
And then I posted this…
Look at all this fish poo! That's all the junk my giant cone skimmer was leaving in my tank! :headwally: This was the first 6 days of skimming. Got it last friday afternoon and it didn't start foaming until late saturday morning. Ended up being 2.5 quarts (over half a gallon). http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7346/9...b3698631_o.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3809/9...1aea746a_o.jpg |
This is the latest pic i have.
It's been like 10 months or so and the skimmer hasn't missed a beat! http://bluelemonphoto.smugmug.com/Aq...00gReef-XL.jpg |
Very nice update with pics. LifeReef is tops on the list to switch whenever I decide to do so.
Is that tee in your last pic on the airline for your ozone? What manner is the collection cup fastened to the body? |
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Here's my 48". Pay no attention to the height of my intake plumbing I am lowering this after my post. This is about 36hrs running since I cleaned the skimmer Tuesday evening. I clean my skimmer every 2-3 months, don't know why I just do it.
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Yes, it is for the ozone, but that particular T was temporary. I had broken the original and had to pick up a replacement.
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It would be best if there were another "elbow" on the cup for that connection. It could be on the lid, replacing the open hole so all air drawn in will go through ozone, or on the side of the cup next to the current air elbow. The one on the side may not ensure the ozone will be drawn in fully though. It would have to be tested. The tee will introduce dry air all of the time, instead of the moist air, to keep the injection nozzle clean. Your thoughts? |
The way it is set up now keeps the venturi clean. No clogging, no maintenance, no muss, no fuss! :)
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d2mini, what's the tee with the orange knob for?
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Good idea. I thought it was an adjustment for the water inlet off the pump.
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How do you know where air is actually being pulled from with the tee there? Or is it drawing from both ozone and cup, and the injector just sees "less" humid air? |
You'd have to speak to Jeff to answer those questions.
All I can tell you is what I posted earlier... that the skimmer hasn't skipped a beat. :) |
^^^^ +1. Has not missed a beat yet.
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I started out with Lifereef in 1994 with a VS-24 and have had 2 more since!
I am currently running a VS3-30 external. I still have a pretty small bio-load since it is a new build but its pulls black gunk consistently. I really like having the flexibility to change this to in sump or change the pump to pretty much any one I want to use. Years ago on another build, I had a VS3-48. the photo attached is when I first turned it on and wasn't even dialed in. It was on sump full of curing live rock and It was pulling gunk instantly. I have ran other quality cone skimmers- I admit I got caught up in the hype and wanted to try it. I went back to Lifereef. I cant give quantifying data as to why Lifereef is better than skimmer A or skimmer B :deadhorse: but it passes the eye test. My tanks seem to be healthier and I really like not having to "tweak" the skimmer to get consistent performance. Set and forget |
What water depth do you guys have the skimmer sitting in?
Ken |
My 48" is in 10" of water.
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Ken |
Check my pictures above in this thread. Above but plumbed down below.
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I've been running a VS2-24 external for over a decade on my 120.
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I've got an SVS3-30 running in sump, had it for about 4 years now. Very happy with it.
Will try to post some nog shots when I get home. |
So I recently switched from dosing to a calcium reactor, and back when i was dosing I was getting a lot of precipitate clinging in thin sheets to my sump and unknowingly... my skimmer inside the body! I was looking at it this weekend and notice that even though it still seemed to be skimming fine I noticed that I didn't seem to have as many bubbles in the body of the skimmer. I could actually see the pvc pipe inside the body which is normally obscured by bubbles. So first I ran just the pump in a vinegar bath, but that didn't seem to do anything. Then I checked the whole venturi area and that seemed pretty clean. That's when I had noticed all the build up inside the skimmer. So i broke it all down and started hosing out the body. I had sheets of calcium carbonate or whatever it was falling out in big flakes. After getting all of that out of there, I put it all back together and ran it in a vinegar bath for around 4 hours. After that I opened it all back up and wiped it all down, all squeaky clean. Once that was done I put it all back in my sump and started it up. BAM! The body was completely thick, milky white... completely opaque with bubbles. This was like 10pm at night. By the next morning I had a half inch of nog in the 8" cup. Might have had more but I had accidentally left the drain valve open. Oops. :)
Here's the "after" pics... http://bluelemonphoto.smugmug.com/Aq...2_200gReef.jpg http://bluelemonphoto.smugmug.com/Aq...1_200gReef.jpg |
Dennis,where in the skimmer body did you get the buildup?
Maybe you can have the output of the reactor downstream of the skimmer (output in the evaporation side of sump) and maybe this will help. Ken |
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I was getting it in the sump, too but not anymore. |
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