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Unread 04/15/2014, 08:50 AM   #26
ken6217
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Quote:
Originally Posted by d2mini View Post
Ken, this was from my two-part dosing, not the cal reactor.
I was getting it in the sump, too but not anymore.
OK good. You were getting me worried (if you know what I mean)
Ken


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Unread 04/20/2014, 05:53 PM   #27
Lucifa68
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hey d2, great idea on starting this thread. you are correct that LifeReef is not spoken about much. i just took out my SWC 250S skimmer with a bubble master 5000 pump and setup back my LifeReef vs3-30. i never really took the time before to dial it in as i was trying to run it like i was running my euroreef rs-180. i now have it dialed in pretty well so watching it . have no complaints. Jeff is a great guy with great personal support. i am actually helping a friend out who wants to setup a 300 gallon system and i told him to check out lifereef and call jeff for any questions that he mite have. there must be an untold truth about a skimmer that has not really changed design in 30 years.

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Unread 04/20/2014, 07:06 PM   #28
ken6217
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Originally Posted by Lucifa68 View Post
hey d2, great idea on starting this thread. you are correct that LifeReef is not spoken about much. i just took out my SWC 250S skimmer with a bubble master 5000 pump and setup back my LifeReef vs3-30. i never really took the time before to dial it in as i was trying to run it like i was running my euroreef rs-180. i now have it dialed in pretty well so watching it . have no complaints. Jeff is a great guy with great personal support. i am actually helping a friend out who wants to setup a 300 gallon system and i told him to check out lifereef and call jeff for any questions that he mite have. there must be an untold truth about a skimmer that has not really changed design in 30 years.

Lucifa
What exactly does that mean? The only dialing in should be the water/air level in the skimmer below the neck. There is no other adjustments to be made.
Ken


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Unread 04/21/2014, 07:09 AM   #29
Lucifa68
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hi, ken, in a nutshell i got the lifereef from my bro to replace my euroreef that had a broken pump shaft. i was trying to run the water too far up in the neck of the lifereef as i was in the euroreef.

was not having much luck and bought a swc 250s from a friend of mine. the pumps eventually started giving too much trouble and changed them to a bubble master 5000.

recently put back in my lifereef to give it another shot and so far i am happy with it. after getting a few pointers from jeff.

thats what it means. hope that clarifies for you.


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Unread 04/21/2014, 07:11 AM   #30
ken6217
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Hi, Gotcha.

I'll have mine early this week. Hopefully I can find the time one of these evenings to get it set up.
Ken


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Unread 04/21/2014, 08:14 AM   #31
d2mini
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I find that running the water level about 1/4" to 1/2" below the top-plate of the body works best for me.


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Unread 04/22/2014, 07:09 PM   #32
bawalitt
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I ordered a LifeReef vs3-30 with a Mazzie injector and Mag 12 today from Jeff. Jeff is a great guy to work with over the phone. Cannot wait to get my hands on the bad boy. any pointers or tips about the setup would be welcomed. My skimmer would be plumbed outside the sump

I am replacing a Tunze 9430 skimmer. Will keep you guys posted.


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Unread 04/22/2014, 07:14 PM   #33
ken6217
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Originally Posted by bawalitt View Post
I ordered a LifeReef vs3-30 with a Mazzie injector and Mag 12 today from Jeff. Jeff is a great guy to work with over the phone. Cannot wait to get my hands on the bad boy. any pointers or tips about the setup would be welcomed. My skimmer would be plumbed outside the sump

I am replacing a Tunze 9430 skimmer. Will keep you guys posted.
I ordered the exact same setup as you and installing it outside the sump as well. I received it today. That mazzei is long. Looks about 9".
Ken


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Unread 04/22/2014, 07:20 PM   #34
Piper27
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I got tired of the water level being around the pipe size difference 6 to 3 inch neck so i added a section of a skimz cone body
NEVER getting rid of this bad boy! Would like to get a better pump for it next tank i set up. Maybe another mazzi and 2' body section.


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Unread 04/22/2014, 07:27 PM   #35
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Picture of the top, with a ton of coralife in it... bubbles run smooth to the top and its not at all finicky.




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Unread 04/22/2014, 08:37 PM   #36
ken6217
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You should be running a larger pump with the added height.


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Unread 04/22/2014, 08:54 PM   #37
Piper27
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I was running a reeflo wahoo/marlin with the upgraded inpeller, which was more than enough.


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Unread 04/22/2014, 09:46 PM   #38
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I might as well post here as well......I just ordered a VS3-60 with the ozone kit with a Mag 24 to run it for my 465 gallon SPS tank. I have a 155 gallon sump, and the sumps sits on a foot tall platform. Thought about buying the VS3-72, but I'd have to get on a step ladder the reach the cup!

Thanks to Dennis for answering some questions about his skimmer.


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Unread 04/23/2014, 02:33 AM   #39
ksed
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I thought you bought a BK?


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I might as well post here as well......I just ordered a VS3-60 with the ozone kit with a Mag 24 to run it for my 465 gallon SPS tank. I have a 155 gallon sump, and the sumps sits on a foot tall platform. Thought about buying the VS3-72, but I'd have to get on a step ladder the reach the cup!

Thanks to Dennis for answering some questions about his skimmer.



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Unread 04/23/2014, 01:43 PM   #40
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Originally Posted by ksed View Post
I thought you bought a BK?
I haven't bought one yet. None in the country to buy.

This skimmer purchase is purely elective. I decided to try something different than my Alpha 300, and that I would go for one with a long riser tube that operates on a Mazzei injector vs the same needle wheel technology of the BK/Alpha 300 types.

The Alpha is very close to the BK SM 250/300 in the way it operates, needle wheel, etc. Great skimmer, but I am curious about the LifeReef. I haven't heard a bad thing about this line, and they have been around for 30 years.

I had an Orca 200 with a Beckett injector years and years ago, but never a Mazzei based skimmer.

Who knows, I may buy a BK SM 250 as well and do a direct comparison. I am an admitted equipment junkie.

If there is any downside to needle wheel skimmers, I have always thought that with my Alpha 300 I have to skim wet to get the best performance out of it. Never been an issue for me, as I have always skimmed wet. Cone skimmer technology, as I understand it, is based on making the exposure time of the bubbles to water longer. A broad base on the bottom and bottle neck small diameter opening at the top is how this is achieved. In the LifeReef skimmers it is old school with a tall reaction chamber. I think I can play with dryer skimming with this type of skimmer better than I can with a BK. I may be wrong, but whenever I have tried dryer skimming in a cone type, I get a huge buildup of goop on the inside of the riser tube. Wetter skimming helps stop this, but then you only can do one type of skimming.



Last edited by AcroporAddict; 04/23/2014 at 01:53 PM.
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Unread 04/23/2014, 01:53 PM   #41
ksed
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interesting to see the difference.




Quote:
Originally Posted by AcroporAddict View Post
I haven't bought one yet. None in the country to buy.

This skimmer purchase is purely elective. I decided to try something different than my Alpha 300, and that I would go for one with a long riser tube that operates on a Mazzei injector vs the same needle wheel technology of the BK/Alpha 300 types.

The Alpha is very close to the BK SM 250/300 in the way it operates, needle wheel, etc. Great skimmer, but I am curious about the LifeReef. I haven't heard a bad thing about this line, and they have been around for 30 years.

I had an Orca 200 with a Beckett injector years and years ago, but never a Mazzei based skimmer.

Who knows, I may buy a BK SM 250 as well and do a direct comparison. I am an admitted equipment junkie.



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Unread 04/23/2014, 02:11 PM   #42
ken6217
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AcroporAddict View Post
I haven't bought one yet. None in the country to buy.

This skimmer purchase is purely elective. I decided to try something different than my Alpha 300, and that I would go for one with a long riser tube that operates on a Mazzei injector vs the same needle wheel technology of the BK/Alpha 300 types.

The Alpha is very close to the BK SM 250/300 in the way it operates, needle wheel, etc. Great skimmer, but I am curious about the LifeReef. I haven't heard a bad thing about this line, and they have been around for 30 years.

I had an Orca 200 with a Beckett injector years and years ago, but never a Mazzei based skimmer.

Who knows, I may buy a BK SM 250 as well and do a direct comparison. I am an admitted equipment junkie.

If there is any downside to needle wheel skimmers, I have always thought that with my Alpha 300 I have to skim wet to get the best performance out of it. Never been an issue for me, as I have always skimmed wet. Cone skimmer technology, as I understand it, is based on making the exposure time of the bubbles to water longer. A broad base on the bottom and bottle neck small diameter opening at the top is how this is achieved. In the LifeReef skimmers it is old school with a tall reaction chamber. I think I can play with dryer skimming with this type of skimmer better than I can with a BK. I may be wrong, but whenever I have tried dryer skimming in a cone type, I get a huge buildup of goop on the inside of the riser tube. Wetter skimming helps stop this, but then you only can do one type of skimming.
This is where I'm at as well. I have a BK on my tank. Have used needle wheel skimmers for years now. I have seen so much about Lifereef, I wanted to see for myself if it is as billed, or if everyone is drinking the Koolaid.
Ken


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Unread 04/23/2014, 04:12 PM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ken6217 View Post
This is where I'm at as well. I have a BK on my tank. Have used needle wheel skimmers for years now. I have seen so much about Lifereef, I wanted to see for myself if it is as billed, or if everyone is drinking the Koolaid.
Ken
I figure instead of trading a needle wheel for a needle wheel, trade the needle wheel for something different. Not new technology of course, but something I have not used yet.


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Unread 04/23/2014, 04:41 PM   #44
Piper27
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Who is recirculating their their skimmer? Lets see the setup and pumps your using.

I was thinking about running my life reef again since I added 80 more gallons to my 100 gallon system. I am not sure if I should leave the 2' extension in or not. I probly should. Also wondering what 2 pumps I should use (at least what size in gph) if I set up my life reef as a recirculating skimmer?
I have a mag 18 and a iwaki 55 rlt laying around. But I am trying not to drill the sump...




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Unread 04/23/2014, 04:56 PM   #45
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I'm a Life Reef owner. I'm finishing up a 125g build and sold a brand new Reef Octopus XS-200 and bought a SVS-24 before I even put a drop of water in my tank.

One of the reasons for this is Jeff. He spent an awful lot of time on the phone with me. Answered all my questions and even educated me.
I asked about a custom collection cup to deal with a stand clearance issue.
Jeff said "Sure,I'll make whatever you need!"
There simply is no substitute for customer service. You'll never get the CEO of Reef Octopus (or any mass produced skimmer company) on the phone to discuss you're skimmer. (Let alone customize something for your particular application)

The Life Reef is a well made tool and Jeff's craftsmanship is excellent. It's so nice I almost don't want to use it....LOL

Should be getting things wet in the next few weeks and will definitely share my thoughts.
I don't have anything to compare it to but I'm still very confident I made the right decision.


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Unread 04/23/2014, 05:34 PM   #46
ken6217
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To me, recirculating skimmers are the way the way to go. You can feed the skimmer the amount of water to be processed per hour as you wish. Then you have a separate pump to operate the venturis.

This is the skimmer I am currently running. It is Marine Technical Concepts. It has a Blueline 40 for the two Mazzei venturis and I also use a small Eheim pump as a feed pump. The skimmer is 48".

I am getting rid of it because it is in a bedroom and the Blueline pump is too loud. Also as you can see, it is a tad too big for where it is. It is perfect for a dedicated fish room.

Now with all of that said, it is the best skimmer I have ever used. Better than the BK, H&S, SWC, Warner Marine, and Deltec that I have owned. This skimmer just works and works.

So I was curious about the Lifereef skimmer and that's why I bought it. My future plan though is to have MTC make me a 30" recirculating skimmer with one Mazzei venturi and be able to use a submersible pump to operate the venturi.
Ken





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Unread 04/23/2014, 05:59 PM   #47
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Ken
Do you find to have more skimmate than the pinwheel skimmers.


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Unread 04/23/2014, 06:06 PM   #48
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Ken, another option is to run your skimmer on a timer so it runs during the day and not at night while you're sleeping.


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Unread 04/23/2014, 06:19 PM   #49
Piper27
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How many gph are you feeding the skimmer and how big is your total system in gallons?
Nice skimmer, basically all the same parts as a life reef. Ugh thoes dual mazzies are sexy! That's some nice bubble action for a 1260 gph pump too. Thanks for sharing!


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Unread 04/23/2014, 06:20 PM   #50
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Regarding internal pumps, I've been looking at the Sicce Syncra 10 after reading another thread about it in this forum, as it is 2500 gph @ 145 watts vs the mag 24 at 2400 gph @ 245 watts. costs a bit more than the Mag 24 by about $60.

The Diablo DC internal pump by Reef Octopus that could be used as well.


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