Is lifereef really the best skimmer?

[Water Dog]

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

Me? No, it’s going on my 24” Lifereef (see photo above). It’s rated at 1900 gph but only has a 12’ max head height so it would be grossly underpowered for a 72” Skimmer. I’d use an external pressure rated Pan World or Iwaki if I had that beast. What pump are you running on yours?

 

[dragon99]

Keep in mind the Sicce ADV pumps are really a DC pump, just without a controller. That said they work fine. I tried a ADV 7 on my 24" and had very similar performance to the Skimz Leopard L90 I'm currently using.

It's probably a better overall pump than a Jebao, but they are both DC pumps and will work.

BRS - what's up with Sicce Syncra ADV pumps?

A lot of what has been discussed about the similarities and differences between the ADV and SDC pumps is over my head but it sounds like the concensus is it's basically the same pump but the SDC is controllable and the ADV is a constant speed. I've been reviewing the pump curves of these pumps...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[DS204]

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.

I have a Sicce SDC6.0 sitting on standby so maybe I'll give that a go. It's 1400gph so it's at least a step up from the Sicce Syncra 4.0 I'm using now.

Do you guys have any concern with the flange design of the skimmer interrupting the bubble forming vs a cone design? This LifeReef is my first & only skimmer so I don't have any experience with anything else. A friend of mine went with a Bubble Magus curve 9 that sports a cone design. Just wondering if I should have went that route or not. Someone at my LFS also suggested a cone design is superior to the flat, flange design but I really couldn't be sure. I've always read good things about LifeReef so that's why I went with one in the first place!

 

[Water Dog]

Keep in mind the Sicce ADV pumps are really a DC pump, just without a controller. That said they work fine. I tried a ADV 7 on my 24" and had very similar performance to the Skimz Leopard L90 I'm currently using.

It's probably a better overall pump than a Jebao, but they are both DC pumps and will work.

BRS - what's up with Sicce Syncra ADV pumps?

A lot of what has been discussed about the similarities and differences between the ADV and SDC pumps is over my head but it sounds like the concensus is it's basically the same pump but the SDC is controllable and the ADV is a constant speed. I've been reviewing the pump curves of these pumps...

www.reef2reef.com

Yeah, I read that when deciding on pumps. Your Leopard L90 is a bombproof Askoll motor block pump similar to the Fluval SP pumps. On my old Lifereef that I sold way back when, I ran a Fluval SP4 with great results, I chose to go with the ADV 7.0 this time around because of the edge in energy savings.

 

[Water Dog]

I have a Sicce SDC6.0 sitting on standby so maybe I'll give that a go. It's 1400gph so it's at least a step up from the Sicce Syncra 4.0 I'm using now.

Do you guys have any concern with the flange design of the skimmer interrupting the bubble forming vs a cone design? This LifeReef is my first & only skimmer so I don't have any experience with anything else. A friend of mine went with a Bubble Magus curve 9 that sports a cone design. Just wondering if I should have went that route or not. Someone at my LFS also suggested a cone design is superior to the flat, flange design but I really couldn't be sure. I've always read good things about LifeReef so that's why I went with one in the first place!

Dont worry about that gimmicky cone stuff. These are venturi skimmers that are based on raw power and flow. They process a lot of water relative to their finicky needle wheel driven, cone shaped counterparts.

 

[greg 45]

Me? No, it’s going on my 24” Lifereef (see photo above). It’s rated at 1900 gph but only has a 12’ max head height so it would be grossly underpowered for a 72” Skimmer. I’d use an external pressure rated Pan World or Iwaki if I had that beast. What pump are you running on yours?

I am running the pump Jeff supplied which is a Blue line 40 X HD
This skimmer replaced a large Aquarium Engineering Skimmer .

 

[User1]

Jeff at Lifereef does prefer AC pumps. I forget exactly why he doesn't push DC but probably not important. You could always email him for options. In either case remember you are not going to have a huge head height so remember when looking at numbers to compare.

I use DC pumps, Cor 15, and it is fine. Not sure how that compares to the other DC pumps mentioned here but out of all noted the only one I'd stay away from is the Jeboe. Not a fan of their build quality.

 

[DS204]

Dont worry about that gimmicky cone stuff. These are venturi skimmers that are based on raw power and flow. They process a lot of water relative to their finicky needle wheel driven, cone shaped counterparts.

Great, thanks for this info. How important is it to keep the neck of mine clean? I do that and within a week it has a light brown scum on it. Getting mixed opinions from the LFS on that. I want to dial this LifeReef in and perhaps a higher gph pump is my best chance for success.

I bought the additional mazzei intake from Jeff, too. Do you have any experience with that? Wondering if that mazzei intake requires an even higher gph pump or not. Appreciate you taking the time to help out here.

 

[Water Dog]

My understanding is that the Mazzei really doesn’t make a difference until you get up to the 30” or taller skimmers. The performance difference when installed on the 24 incher seems to be negligible. As far as the dirty neck goes, again, these skimmers are not like finicky needle wheel skimmers and will still perform well when dirty. Cleaning the neck when you empty your cup would suffice IMO.

 

[t5Nitro]

@Water Dog How is the sicce adv 7 for noise? It's a mild-moderate priority with the tank being in the main living area.

 

[DS204]

Cheers, thanks for your opinion. Appreciate any advice that I can get. Bought the Spectrapure ATO based on your post on it once upon a time and could not be happier.

Sounds like my best chance for getting this lifereef dialed in might be more flow + a heavier bioload. Would you tend to agree?

 

[Water Dog]

@Water Dog How is the sicce adv 7 for noise? It's a mild-moderate priority with the tank being in the main living area.

It‘s not up and running yet, I’m currently pay running a Deltec 1351 because of sumo space constraints. Will need to move things around to get her up and running. I am however running an ADV 5.5 as a return pump on my system and it is whisper quiet.

 

[t5Nitro]

Nice, thanks guys! I may go ahead and grab one of these pumps then and use the mag 9.5 as a salt mixing pump. I have a spectrapure AWC pump system sitting in a box!

 

[Water Dog]

@OCDean - Yes, I agree. And good call on the Spectrapure ATO, it’s bombproof... and this is coming from a longtime Tunze 3155 user. Having owned both the Spectrapure is definitely better IMO.

 

[Water Dog]

Nice, thanks guys! I may go ahead and grab one of these pumps then and use the mag 9.5 as a salt mixing pump. I have a spectrapure AWC pump system sitting in a box!

Me too on the Litermeter AWC!

 

[t5Nitro]

Me too on the Litermeter AWC!

I went back and forth with tunze vs SP. Went with the ultra precise SP ATO and the LM3 and water exchange module. If the LM3 acts like the ATO it's the first pieces of equipment people should buy in this hobby. Great equipment.

I think that'll be a task tonight and tomorrow to get the AWC pump calibrated!

 

[DS204]

I went back and forth with tunze vs SP. Went with the ultra precise SP ATO and the LM3 and water exchange module. If the LM3 acts like the ATO it's the first pieces of equipment people should buy in this hobby. Great equipment.

I think that'll be a task tonight and tomorrow to get the AWC pump calibrated!

Are you using the LM3 for auto water changes?

I love how the Spectrapure can draw water from my basement through 30ft of 1/4 tubing. Couldn't be happier. My ATO reservoir is a 44g brute bin. LOL. Enough for like 3 weeks of evaporation.

 

[Keithb22]

Great, thanks for this info. How important is it to keep the neck of mine clean? I do that and within a week it has a light brown scum on it. Getting mixed opinions from the LFS on that. I want to dial this LifeReef in and perhaps a higher gph pump is my best chance for success.

I bought the additional mazzei intake from Jeff, too. Do you have any experience with that? Wondering if that mazzei intake requires an even higher gph pump or not. Appreciate you taking the time to help out here.

best thing to do is read that packet he sends you when you buy a skimmer, it will answer all that and then some, to include not needing to clean the neck. It’s a lot of material but it will help you get this set up and then forget about it.

 

[DS204]

best thing to do is read that packet he sends you when you buy a skimmer, it will answer all that and then some, to include not needing to clean the neck. It’s a lot of material but it will help you get this set up and then forget about it.

Thanks - I did read through it a couple of times but that was a while ago and it's hard to remember everything. I should probably go back to it for a refresher.

Picked up one of his LifeRefugium's too. Plumbed it into my Red Sea tank. Neat little addition to get some low flow and help with the bacteria population.

 

[Keithb22]

Thanks - I did read through it a couple of times but that was a while ago and it's hard to remember everything. I should probably go back to it for a refresher.

Picked up one of his LifeRefugium's too. Plumbed it into my Red Sea tank. Neat little addition to get some low flow and help with the bacteria population.

I’m right there with you, having a sump built for my waterbox. Jeff is definitely utilitarian to the max and everything tends to work better than expected. Best of luck and keep us updated with your setup!