Is lifereef really the best skimmer?

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

Jeff will customize the height shorter or taller. Just like lifereef. He's already custom cut me an extension making my skimmer 42" now.

MTC also can make a much larger dual venturi external models which are amazing. It's not listed on his site.

Oh, I know. They do all kinds of custom stuff, as well as usually fix anything that ever breaks. That was mostly tongue in cheek...

edit: BTW, I've had your MTC review thread open for the majority of this week as I slowly digest it there... Thanks for the write up!

 

[mandarin417]

I had a lifereef on my 120 but I had some trouble with if overflowing. I had the same with an Aquamaxx. I ended up with a Quantum Nyos 160 which has been a steller skimmer for me for the past year. If I had the room, I would go back to what I had over 15 years ago - an AuqaC skimmer. It performed perfect for me then.

 

[Jerry Barnes]

Have been using LifeReef on my tanks for 10+ years. Love their skimmers for the reasons mentioned from previous posters. You mentioned your skimmer section was 9" tall. That may be a little too deep for the skimmer. The sweet spot for mine have been 7". I'm using the 30" model.

 

[R4lph]

Lifereef skimmers have a loyal following because it is a proven design that has been unchanged for decades. You can use any pump (you're not tied to a proprietary pump) you want, AC or DC, as long as it provides enough flow for your particular skimmer size. Your skimmer will not become obsolete if your pump goes out. Their is only a single gate valve adjustment, so dialing in the skimmer is quite straightforward, as opposed to the many finicky pinwheel skimmers out there.

Whether it's the best will always be up for debate as many people are very brand loyal. But Lifereef skimmer owners IMO enjoy the consistency of performance and the set and forget nature along with top notch customer service from Jeff of Lifereef.

I've purchased from Jeff in the past. My last purchase didn't go so well. I spent 2700 on a complete system and it's been nothing but problems. To make a long story short after 6 months of trouble shooting and him bashing me I took it down and went with a another brand. Jeff still blames me and my plumbing for the issues. When I hooked up the new system with the SAME exact plumbing no issues at all. Then he emails all of the people that purchased from him to attack me with emails and on you tube. Jeffs customer support is not what is used to be. I'm stuck with a 2700 piece of garbage. Oh and it's up for sale if anyone is interested lol.

 

[Jcm412]

My biggest concern with lifereef is the big high pressure pumps they recommend. They are energy hogs. Will DC pumps or even a reeflo pump work on the Lifereef skimmers? If they do will they perform as well?

 

[Water Dog]

I spoke to the Sicce guys at MACNA... in about a month's time, the ADV series AC pumps should be out. I plan on getting an ADV 7.0 that runs at 55 watts. Throttled back with a gate valve and the 90 elbows, I'm expecting in the 30s for watts.

 

[Water Dog]

Oh, I forgot... the ADV 7.0 is rated for 1900 gph.

 

[jason2459]

Oh, I forgot... the ADV 7.0 is rated for 1900 gph.

More importantly though for these is, what is the max head height rating for it? You'll want at LEAST 15-16' on a 30-36". More the better. It's more important then flow IMO amd E.

My biggest concern with lifereef is the big high pressure pumps they recommend. They are energy hogs. Will DC pumps or even a reeflo pump work on the Lifereef skimmers? If they do will they perform as well?

DC pumps work just fine. Just don't expect a DC pump to be more efficient when working at the same flow rate as an AC pump.

On an AC pump the more pressure you put on it the lower the flow AND the lower the watts it pulls.

On a DC pump the more pressure you put on it the lower the flow BUT the watts used is barely lowered if at all plus the extra draw of the controller.

You can check out my MTC MVX review thread I linked to previously and is in my signature to see the effect of the maxzei venturi on an AC pump and a DC with the same watts rating.

 

[jason2459]

I posted these in another thread related to watts pulled and the lack of efficiency of a DC pump vs AC pump of the same ratings.

An AC pump will draw considerably less watts when under pressure. A DC pumps controller will do everything it can to pull full watts. Like my mag 18 rated at 150watts pulled around 60watts on my 3/4" mazzei. My waveline dc 12000 rated at 150watts pulled 147watts. My jebao 18000 rated at 130 watts pulls 149watts.

But here check this out. I currently have a dcp 18000 on my skimmer and the waveline dc12000 for a uv pump. The ratings you usually see are at the pump and not usually from the wall. The 18000 is rated for 130watts and the waveline 150watts.

They are both pulling from the wall a good amount more. The controller usually consumes around 20-30watts itself more or less depending on controllers.

 

[jason2459]

That all said I love the Jebao DCP 18000 on my MTC MVX
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/mtc-mvx-skimmer-review.252436/page-10

I have not found another internal pump AC or DC that has the head height rating of the DCP 18000 and not cost over a grand. It's rated for around 30' ! It's also been tested by another couple members and has held up to it's listed ratings.

 

[Jcm412]

So how to you calculate what watts an AC pump will pull on a particular skimmer.

 

[jason2459]

So how to you calculate what watts an AC pump will pull on a particular skimmer.

Killowatt. It's hard to know ahead of time unless someone else has measure at or close to the same head pressure with the same model pump.

Or you know all the math behind it. You would have to know the head pressure being put on the pump by the water level in the skimmer, water level the pump is in, all the piping and fittings, type of pipe or tubes used, size of them, which mazzei injector used and pressure it puts on it, etc. Plus the rating of the AC pump and its draw curve which I've only ever seen flow curves.

 

[Water Dog]

More importantly though for these is, what is the max head height rating for it? You'll want at LEAST 15-16' on a 30-36". More the better. It's more important then flow IMO amd E. DC pumps work just fine. Just don't expect a DC pump to be more efficient when working at the same flow rate as an AC pump.

The AC Sicce ADV 7.0 has a reported max head height of 16' while pushing 1900 gph at 55 watts. By contrast, the AC Fluval SP4 pushes 1822 gph at 88 watts with a max head height of 11.8'... and many are very happy with the SP4 on their 30" Lifereefs over on the big RC Lifereef thread.

 

[jason2459]

The AC Sicce ADV 7.0 has a reported max head height of 16' while pushing 1900 gph at 55 watts. By contrast, the AC Fluval SP4 pushes 1822 gph at 88 watts with a max head height of 11.8'... and many are very happy with the SP4 on their 30" Lifereefs over on the big RC Lifereef thread.

The SP6 would be better and others over in that thread have used it too with success. In contrast Jeff of lifereef uses a mag 1800 on his 24" around 15-16' head rating. Of course at a lot more watts.

The ADV 7.0 sounds nice and comparable to the mag 1800 with slightly better flow and head height ratings and much better max watt draw rating.

I found the mag18 to be ok on the 36" mvx.

 

[Water Dog]

The Sicce ADV 7.0 will be used on my 24 incher!

 

[Bruce Burnett]

@bwmalloy do you have any thoughts (now or later)? Not sure where in FL we are yet on this one. Miami?

Lemme say I'm a halide fan and I have nothing against T5's. It doesn't take any time on a google images search or R2R thread-search to find examples of awesome tanks lit by each kind as well as combo's.

That said, if you'll have to use a chiller, I would really, really consider going 100% LED on lighting. The cost numbers are already heavily in favor of LED's, but if you tack on chiller expenses the costs are a little c r a z y.

You can buy or build an LED system that will give you the same spread, punch, sparkle, pow, bam, shimmer, thwack and pop as the hybrid you're planning ....but more importantly perhaps, it will keep you from running a chiller...at least very much.

If any of that seems to make sense for your situation and you're interested in some other hypothetical ideas for lighting, can you tell me what budget you had in mind for your lighting system?

Just for perspective, have you had any reef lights in the past that you've loved or hated? Or other peoples tanks you could link to that you love or hate their light?

Also the use of a chiller unless you can put it in the garage it adds heat to the room and increases the use of your air conditioner.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

The skimmer debate. I have had Aqua C, a six foot Lifereef, ETSS, Euro Reef, Reef Dynamics, SCA, Bubble Magnus. I would never own a skimmer with the pumps inside the skimmer. The Aqua C, Life Reef, ETSS and there are others that let you use any pumps with the right head pressure. Euro Reef aka Reef Dynamics are not made any more. Ease of cleaning and maintenance are key factors beside performance. You will not go wrong with a Life Reef. Even ASM skimmers are good skimmers but you do not hear much about them as they have been around a long time.

 

[ChrisQ0904]

I just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone who took the time to leave their comments here. I wanted to jump back in and reply earlier but I still don't have mine in yet and not sure where I could have chimed in.

Yes, I did ultimately decide to go with Livereef and I was able to find a jebao pump to feed it for real cheap and it was never used. Figure i would run that for now and hopefully get a better pump in a year or so from now.

The main reason I picked lifereef is because of its "modular" ability. What I mean by that is that I can run almost any pump I want or can order extensions in the event I were to ever upgrade.

 

[ChrisQ0904]

Well I made it through most of hurricane Irma and can report that the tanks seem to be doing good and have about 135g in my new tank that the lifereef is going in. Should I empty the tank if I filled it with RO, or will the life reed be able to pull out whatever nastiness may be there from standing water?

 

[Water Dog]

If it's just RO water, no skimmer will work. It needs to be salt water for any skimmer to perform properly.