Well after reading the TOTM thread a few months back on that other forum :rolleyes: I decided to upgrade my skimmer to the orca reeflo 250. I've been running for almost a week today and thought I'd share my initial thoughts compared to my older MR-2R.
Materials:
I'd have to say the the MRC definetly is better in this category. The Acrylic is thinner and doesn't always line up to a clean edge on the Reeflo. Not to mention the Reeflo uses Metric PVC which makes it a pain if you don't plan out the use of the Metric to English converter provided very well.
Noise
Reeflo is defenitly quieter. Almost silent.
Performance
I have to lean towards Reeflo on this one, but we aren't really comparing apples to apples. The skimmate is less, but it is dryer, more consistent, and definetly stinkier. My wife even walked by the fish closet the other day and said whatever you put in there is going to have to go it smells like fish crap over here. I can verify my ORP has also increased from the ~325 range to 350 in a week. In all fairness I believe the method of plumbing the skimmer has also played a big part in the differnce. Due to the way the Reeflo works I was able to feed it directly from the overflow vs having to use a pump from the sump with the MRC.
Heat
Not something I was expecting to change but the removal of the suggest Pan World 55 HD on the MRC and replacing it with the sequence pump on the new Reeflo my tank temp by dropped ~3 degrees. My chiller is hardly running anymore.
Ease of Use
The MRC constantly required tinkering with to keep it skimming at what I considered 100%. The Reeflo required some testing upfront to see where I wanted to run my waterlevel at, but now everything is glued and i've been running the air wide open and the wedge valve wide open and have not had to touch it in a week other than to clean the collection cup.
Overall
The Orca Reeflo 200 would be a more equal comparison to the MR-2R and probably what I should have went with since my system is only 120 gallons total. I had no idea how big this thing was going to be and would be willing to bet that it holds roughly 10-15% of tank volume. I'll update this more once everything has broken completly in.
Video
Ignore the sound my cheap nikon coolpix L12 isn't the best for recording, but it's all I had. I have no idea what it was picking up. I had also cleaned the skimmer roughly 2 hours prior to this video.
[GVIDEO]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4298907421035806055&hl=en[/GVIDEO]
Materials:
I'd have to say the the MRC definetly is better in this category. The Acrylic is thinner and doesn't always line up to a clean edge on the Reeflo. Not to mention the Reeflo uses Metric PVC which makes it a pain if you don't plan out the use of the Metric to English converter provided very well.
Noise
Reeflo is defenitly quieter. Almost silent.
Performance
I have to lean towards Reeflo on this one, but we aren't really comparing apples to apples. The skimmate is less, but it is dryer, more consistent, and definetly stinkier. My wife even walked by the fish closet the other day and said whatever you put in there is going to have to go it smells like fish crap over here. I can verify my ORP has also increased from the ~325 range to 350 in a week. In all fairness I believe the method of plumbing the skimmer has also played a big part in the differnce. Due to the way the Reeflo works I was able to feed it directly from the overflow vs having to use a pump from the sump with the MRC.
Heat
Not something I was expecting to change but the removal of the suggest Pan World 55 HD on the MRC and replacing it with the sequence pump on the new Reeflo my tank temp by dropped ~3 degrees. My chiller is hardly running anymore.
Ease of Use
The MRC constantly required tinkering with to keep it skimming at what I considered 100%. The Reeflo required some testing upfront to see where I wanted to run my waterlevel at, but now everything is glued and i've been running the air wide open and the wedge valve wide open and have not had to touch it in a week other than to clean the collection cup.
Overall
The Orca Reeflo 200 would be a more equal comparison to the MR-2R and probably what I should have went with since my system is only 120 gallons total. I had no idea how big this thing was going to be and would be willing to bet that it holds roughly 10-15% of tank volume. I'll update this more once everything has broken completly in.
Video
Ignore the sound my cheap nikon coolpix L12 isn't the best for recording, but it's all I had. I have no idea what it was picking up. I had also cleaned the skimmer roughly 2 hours prior to this video.
[GVIDEO]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4298907421035806055&hl=en[/GVIDEO]
