Is lifereef really the best skimmer?

[User1]

It's one of the marketing points on their website, that the venturi drawing from the cup eliminates odors. Now that a little is collecting in the cup, I think I'm starting to get that familiar smell, but I'll give it a while longer.



Agreed

Maybe I'll eventually tune the noise out, but I did spend some time researching other skimmers this morning. It is working well though, props for that!

Ok, makes sense. I purchased my skimmer back in 2000 so maybe I'm used to it by now Then again I and others in the house will tell me when it is full or needs to be emptied as it can be smelled. Jeff reach out to you yet? Curious as to what he says about the noise.

Overall though how is it working for you and compared to the other?

 

[Silver14SS]

Ok, makes sense. I purchased my skimmer back in 2000 so maybe I'm used to it by now Then again I and others in the house will tell me when it is full or needs to be emptied as it can be smelled. Jeff reach out to you yet? Curious as to what he says about the noise.

Overall though how is it working for you and compared to the other?

Jeff did respond. He mentioned that it could be dried salt in the venturi as it was used and could have sat for a while. He provided a copy of the directions and advice on how to disassemble it. He also made the following comments that make me think some noise is to be expected:

"...with the advent of these needle-wheel jokes the hobbyists have been pacified into thinking all skimmers have to be silent. Would you rather have a protein skimmer that is very efficient but may make a bit of noise, or a silent skimmer that doesn't do all it is supposed to and requires more chemicals to be used to do what the skimmer is supposed to do?"

Seems contrary to the product page: NO SUCKING or WHISTLING NOISES, silent operation, no injector nozzle noise, no out-of-balance needle-wheel noises.

Compared to the Deltec, the skimmate is about the same color but it has more solids in it. The tank temp is .2*F higher according to the probe, not bad for the ADV 5.5 rated at 1450 gph. The Deltec was pretty low maintenance, I'd pull it out of the sump every 2 months or so to clean out the stuff that had accumulated in the channels, this skimmer should be nothing more than draining the cup.

 

[User1]

Jeff did respond. He mentioned that it could be dried salt in the venturi as it was used and could have sat for a while. He provided a copy of the directions and advice on how to disassemble it. He also made the following comments that make me think some noise is to be expected:

"...with the advent of these needle-wheel jokes the hobbyists have been pacified into thinking all skimmers have to be silent. Would you rather have a protein skimmer that is very efficient but may make a bit of noise, or a silent skimmer that doesn't do all it is supposed to and requires more chemicals to be used to do what the skimmer is supposed to do?"

Seems contrary to the product page: NO SUCKING or WHISTLING NOISES, silent operation, no injector nozzle noise, no out-of-balance needle-wheel noises.

Compared to the Deltec, the skimmate is about the same color but it has more solids in it. The tank temp is .2*F higher according to the probe, not bad for the ADV 5.5 rated at 1450 gph. The Deltec was pretty low maintenance, I'd pull it out of the sump every 2 months or so to clean out the stuff that had accumulated in the channels, this skimmer should be nothing more than draining the cup.

Thanks for the information. And yes, that is about how I'd expect his reply. All in all he is a good guy and honest. Not the greatest bed side manors but just a small thing in the bigger picture. I reached out to him when I was upgrading to the 210 and asked him if I should consider buying a new skimmer from him or if the one I had from 2000 would be fine. He had an opportunity to make a sale. Instead he looked up my name, purchase date, what, if any changes, and said no. Only changes are a few quality of life changes for the hobbyist. Go figure.

Glad it is working out well other than the noise.

 

[greg 45]

Owning and running a 1200 gallon system SPS and anemones . I have gone through my share of skimmers . I always thought bigger is better (not) . After owning skimmers that cost over 5k , they just never seemed to get the job done . I was a big advocate for another company till some issue were not resolved. I gave Jeff a call we chatted for a few and I decided to purchase a 72 inch skimmer and later a tall calcium reactor custom built 39 inch tall chamber. I can pull out a 5 gallon bucket of nasty skimmate a week , this never happened with the other companies . These two units have made my life a simple as can be .

 

[Water Dog]

So I came across a deal on an SVS2-24 that I couldn’t pass up. It was a little worse for wear, so I had Jeff make me a new skimmer cup & lid. Jeff turned it around in less than a week! She’s back to looking as good as new. She’ll be powered by an AC pump, a Sicce ADV 7.0 with a Mag 12 as backup. I really regretted selling my first Lifereef so I’m thrilled to be back and part of the Lifereef Skimmer Club!

 

[2Wheelsonly]

My LifeReef skimmer definitely makes quite a bit of noise too. Definitely the loudest part of my system. When the cabinet doors are on I don't tend to hear it as much. I've learned to live with it. Small price to pay I guess.

I would also agree that a phone call to Jeff would help sort this out. He can be a little hard to communicate with, but I've learned to deal with all walks of life over the years! His product is still great in my opinion. Using his skimmer + external refugium.

That’s interesting that it’s loud. I have a larger 36 inch with a huge mag pump and just looking at it figured it would be effective but super loud. My tank is in wall so it all sits in a fish room so didn’t care.

10 years later it’s still super quiet. My DOS and Geo reactor pump are louder.

 

[User1]

They are great skimmers. I purchased one back in 2000 after talking to Jeff for a while. I recall asking him about future upgrades and if it would work. I was a bit worried about the price back then. Anyway he assured me it would be fine up to 300 - 350 gallons all things being equal. I was like ok, sold.

Few years go by and that tank crashed due to a family reunion / vacation and CA politics (ENRON) electrical brown outs. Anyway tripped the AC breaker and no one was able to fix since we are all together and lost that tank. Took that skimmer and boxed it up thinking maybe one day I'll need it again. Years go by and when I upgraded my 40 breeder to a 210 gallon I called Jeff and verified it would be good. Now mind you he could have said no and sold me a new skimmer. Instead he asked my name, looked at his records, asked my wifes name - who bought the skimmer as a gift, said nope. Skimmer is fine and no major changes other than a few small quality of life changes he made standard that otherwise was extra at the time of my purchse.

Great. Cleaned it up and it is working perfectly. So yeah - they are one of the best skimmers around. Simply put - they work.

 

[Wrasse-cal]

So I came across a deal on an SVS2-24 that I couldn’t pass up. It was a little worse for wear, so I had Jeff make me a new skimmer cup & lid. Jeff turned it around in less than a week! She’s back to looking as good as new. She’ll be powered by an AC pump, a Sicce ADV 7.0 with a Mag 12 as backup. I really regretted selling my first Lifereef so I’m thrilled to be back and part of the Lifereef Skimmer Club!

I switched over to a Bubble King, had I known you were looking, I’d have hooked you up with your old Lifereef!

 

[Water Dog]

I switched over to a Bubble King, had I known you were looking, I’d have hooked you up with your old Lifereef!

Much appreciated! I wasn’t really looking though. It just happened to pop up on my radar at a bargain basement price, so I jumped on it. Will throw it on my next tank upgrade.

 

[t5Nitro]

I have an SVS-24 on the way with the stock mag 9.5 pump. I'm a bit interested in using the mag drive to mix new saltwater in my brute can. Does anybody have any pros or cons to using the AC sicce 5.5 vs DC sicce pumps vs Jebao DCP 6500? Looking at two things, if the pump will be quieter and also watts since the skimmer will be on continuously.

 

[Water Dog]

I would go with the ADV 7.0 over the 5.5. Both of these pumps have a max head height of 12’ which isn’t much pressure, so I’d err on the side of more flow for very slight increase in energy consumption, 50 watts va 55 watts, respectively. People have run the 24” with the DCP 6500 successfully. There is a guy on YouTube with a number of videos of his 24 incher running a DCP 6500.

 

[DS204]

@Water Dog - question for you please! I've never really been able to dial in my SVS3-24 quite right and wonder if my pump is underpowered. What flow do you recommend through a lifereef skimmer? Mine constantly skims wet, or not at all. Could be due to light bioload, but I also wouldn't mind knowing if my flow is too low or not.

Cheers, thanks.

 

[Water Dog]

Consistency of skimmate will definitely depend on stocking levels... How big is your tank and what’s in it? Also, what pump are you using?

 

[DS204]

It's a 110 gallon with only 10 fish, mostly smaller. Am using a Sicce Syncra 4.0 rated @ 951gph. Was thinking of moving up to a 1400gph pump but I recall reading somewhere through Jeff's literature that about 950gph is optimal..? Appreciate your input.

 

[t5Nitro]

Any reason to go sicce adv 7.0 vs the dcp 8000? Watts similar, pump itself is half the cost on the jebao. These are pushing more than double the flow than the stock mag 9.5. That's fine?

 

[Water Dog]

It's a 110 gallon with only 10 fish, mostly smaller. Am using a Sicce Syncra 4.0 rated @ 951gph. Was thinking of moving up to a 1400gph pump but I recall reading somewhere through Jeff's literature that about 950gph is optimal..? Appreciate your input.

Okay, although Jeff sells the 24“ skimmers standard with Mag 9.5s that have a max head height of 13.7’, I have read that he uses a Mag 18 on his 24” Lifereef. By all accounts, those running with a Mag 9.5 all generally agree that they could use more flow and generally upgrade to stronger pumps. Now your Sicce 4.0 has similar flow to that of the Mag 9.5 but over a foot less in max head height at 12.6”. So it stands to reason, yes you can definitely use a stronger pump than the Sicce 4.0 that you’re currently running.

 

[greg 45]

If you lifereef skimmer skimmate smells , you should be happy . Your fish are thanking for pulling out there poop and making the water clean and a healthy environment. I have a 72 inch skimmer on a 1200 gallon set up . When I empty the cup the neighbors can smell it.

 

[francesco.mancini]

I have 24” with sicce adv 7 . perfect combo could not be happier i switched from a bubble king

 

[Water Dog]

Any reason to go sicce adv 7.0 vs the dcp 8000? Watts similar, pump itself is half the cost on the jebao. These are pushing more than double the flow than the stock mag 9.5. That's fine?

I prefer AC pumps for these skimmers... that, and I found an ADV 7.0 for nearly half off the retail price used! If I didn’t score the Sicce, I was definitely considering the Jebao DCP 8000 as a viable alternative.

 

[greg 45]

Are you using this ADV 7.0 on a 72 inch tall lifereef skimmer .