I finally bought a brand new skimmer, Reef Octopus regal 150 int. It took me about 1000000 years to decide.
The final battle was between Reef Octopus regal 150 int DC and Aquamaxx Q2 (AC) but I ended up getting the most expensive one from the list of the candidates I had. The deciding factor was that I wanted to be able to under-skim (the dc motor control) because the bioload I have plans for is quite low. Still, it was a close battle.
I set the skimmer up today but the noise seemed quite a bit louder than I had expected, especially when I've read reviews about them being pretty quiet. This is my first large in-sump skimmer and I don't really know how loud they are meant to be. They aren't like crazy loud but I'm getting the feeling something isn't quite right. Hope it's not just me being too sensitive.
One thing to note before I explain about the noise is that the skimmer is currently sitting in the water height that is about 5cm / 2inches (or a little more) higher than the recommended height. I plan on making a stand for it but don't have the parts yet (waiting for the egg crates to arrive). Currently, I have the skimmer on the lowest speed setting. There are also quite a bit of micro-bubbles coming out from the skimmer. Maybe this is due to the water height? Other than the noise, the skimmer seems to be working alright, doesn't seem to need much break-in period (if at all).
There seems to be a combination of different kinds of noise at work here.
First, is the air suction noise coming from the silencer. This seems to be the loudest when the motor is set on the lowest speed setting.
I tried connecting a silicone tube to the silencer air inlet and directing it elsewhere and while it reduces the noise a little, it wasn't by much. Something I noticed was when I block the air inlet in the silencer, it gets a little quieter but some noise still remains (air suction + other kinds of noises) but when I unplug the silencer and just block the air hose, all of the noise (air suction + other) goes away and everything gets very quiet. It's strange but maybe the air wasn't completely blocked with the silencer on? Anyways, most of the noise goes away when there's no air going into the skimmer (I haven't tested this with the higher speed settings yet though, will try tomorrow).
Second, although I'm not sure, seems like the noise from the inside the skimmer body, with the flow of water and the bubbles hitting the inside the chamber. This is more like an impression so I could be wrong.
Third, is the pump. When I ramp the setting up, it makes the humming + some other kind of noise. I didn't test enough at the higher speed settings because the skimmer would overflow if I turn it all the way up even with the gate valve fully open.
I'll try to look into it more in detail tomorrow and post some more info if I can. Any experience or input is much appreciated. Cheers.
The final battle was between Reef Octopus regal 150 int DC and Aquamaxx Q2 (AC) but I ended up getting the most expensive one from the list of the candidates I had. The deciding factor was that I wanted to be able to under-skim (the dc motor control) because the bioload I have plans for is quite low. Still, it was a close battle.
I set the skimmer up today but the noise seemed quite a bit louder than I had expected, especially when I've read reviews about them being pretty quiet. This is my first large in-sump skimmer and I don't really know how loud they are meant to be. They aren't like crazy loud but I'm getting the feeling something isn't quite right. Hope it's not just me being too sensitive.
One thing to note before I explain about the noise is that the skimmer is currently sitting in the water height that is about 5cm / 2inches (or a little more) higher than the recommended height. I plan on making a stand for it but don't have the parts yet (waiting for the egg crates to arrive). Currently, I have the skimmer on the lowest speed setting. There are also quite a bit of micro-bubbles coming out from the skimmer. Maybe this is due to the water height? Other than the noise, the skimmer seems to be working alright, doesn't seem to need much break-in period (if at all).
There seems to be a combination of different kinds of noise at work here.
First, is the air suction noise coming from the silencer. This seems to be the loudest when the motor is set on the lowest speed setting.
I tried connecting a silicone tube to the silencer air inlet and directing it elsewhere and while it reduces the noise a little, it wasn't by much. Something I noticed was when I block the air inlet in the silencer, it gets a little quieter but some noise still remains (air suction + other kinds of noises) but when I unplug the silencer and just block the air hose, all of the noise (air suction + other) goes away and everything gets very quiet. It's strange but maybe the air wasn't completely blocked with the silencer on? Anyways, most of the noise goes away when there's no air going into the skimmer (I haven't tested this with the higher speed settings yet though, will try tomorrow).
Second, although I'm not sure, seems like the noise from the inside the skimmer body, with the flow of water and the bubbles hitting the inside the chamber. This is more like an impression so I could be wrong.
Third, is the pump. When I ramp the setting up, it makes the humming + some other kind of noise. I didn't test enough at the higher speed settings because the skimmer would overflow if I turn it all the way up even with the gate valve fully open.
I'll try to look into it more in detail tomorrow and post some more info if I can. Any experience or input is much appreciated. Cheers.
