Upgrading My Skimmer - Your Recommendations for a 120 mixed reef

[Camaro Show Corals]

I have a like new Reef octopus elite 150 I’ve never used for sale currently. Perfect size for you just way to small for the 550g system I’m building.

 

[mattdg]

If by "outdated" you mean that Jeff relies on a personal consultation by phone to make sure you get exactly what you want then I guess he is guilty as charged. As a person who has owned several of the "top of the line" skimmers such as Bubble King, Vertex, Reef Octopus etc; I finally followed the advice of many a

I will stand by my opinion that the web site is definitely VERY long in the tooth, BUT, i have been browsing through it and am very impressed with the personal touch he offers. I am a big fan of that personal touch, a offering that is harder to come by these days. I will definitely be digging deeper into this option. Some of you are clearly dedicated and happy customers, which for sure helps to peak my interest.

Question for someone who has owned this particular Life Reef model. How loud is the SVS2-24 / Venturi setup with the Mag Drive 9.5? Also, if anyone has the shorter option, I believe 18", please post a picture here. Thanks!

 

[lavoisier]

I am a big fan of LifeReef. Great design and well constructed.

 

[mattdg]

I have a like new Reef octopus elite 150 I’ve never used for sale currently. Perfect size for you just way to small for the 550g system I’m building.

I'm the one that asked I was curious is all. As I noted a lot of people love their products and very few complaints posted here or elsewhere. Overall quality that is easy to see. How it performs though that is the challenge - for all skimmers.

Yeah, I have also seen no shortage of great reviews. It's always hard to tell if those reviews are justification for spending so much $$$ or actual opinions. I am certain, a bit of both. It would be helpful if there were a couple decent videos showing the smaller 180 mini installed and functioning. I totally agree, it is impossible to know how any skimmer will actual work in each individual context.

 

[fishybizzness]

I will stand by my opinion that the web site is definitely VERY long in the tooth, BUT, i have been browsing through it and am very impressed with the personal touch he offers. I am a big fan of that personal touch, a offering that is harder to come by these days. I will definitely be digging deeper into this option. Some of you are clearly dedicated and happy customers, which for sure helps to peak my interest.

Question for someone who has owned this particular Life Reef model. How loud is the SVS2-24 / Venturi setup with the Mag Drive 9.5? Also, if anyone has the shorter option, I believe 18", please post a picture here. Thanks!

I currently own the lifereef 24 with a sicce 5.0 pump. The skimmer is fairly quiet, though not silent, imo. I set it up on my 120 a few months ago and haven't had to adjust anything since. Pretty set and forgot. Only upgrade for me will be to a sicce 7.0 when I add more fish. It's very consistent with its skimming. Hopefully the last skimmer i have to buy!

 

[X-37B]

Tunze 9410 dc on my 120.
Quiet, easiest cup to clean, small and efficient.
Set it up 1.5 years ago and no adjustment needed.
No need to turn off when feeding, working in tank.
Very under-rated skimmer.
This is it in a 40 breeder sump with no baffles.

 

[Water Dog]

Yeah, the Sicce ADV 7.0 would be a great pairing for the 24” Lifereef, It‘s extremely quiet and draws a mere 55 watts. The Mag 9.5 as recommended on Jeff’s site is the smallest recommended pump for a 24”. I believe Jeff actually runs a Mag 18 on his personal 24” Lifereef skimmer. While the Mag Drives are reliable workhorses, they’re not the most energy efficient nor are they the most quiet pumps out there.

The Tunze 9410 skimmers are great, often overlooked skimmers as well. Though for a 120 gallon tank, I’d opt for the more quiet and powerful DC version of the 9410.

 

[mattdg]

I have been talking to Jeff over at Lifereef for over an hour. He really knows his stuff. Wow!

He's given me a lot to think about. Totally schooled on skimmers and better off for it!

 

[mattdg]

Yeah, the Sicce ADV 7.0 would be a great pairing for the 24” Lifereef, It‘s extremely quiet and draws a mere 55 watts. The Mag 9.5 as recommended on Jeff’s site is the smallest recommended pump for a 24”. I believe Jeff actually runs a Mag 18 on his personal 24” Lifereef skimmer. While the Mag Drives are reliable workhorses, they’re not the most energy efficient nor are they the most quiet pumps out there.

The Tunze 9410 skimmers are great, often overlooked skimmers as well. Though for a 120 gallon tank, I’d opt for the more quiet and powerful DC version of the 9410.

Totally agree, regarding the Sicce pumps. I'm a huge fan of how quiet, easy to use and dependable they are. I like Mag too, but for my down stairs systems, where noise is not an issue.

After speaking with Jeff, if I do pull the trigger on a Lifereef skimmer, I'll be going with the SVS3-24 with the ADV 7.0, short cup, modded gate valve for smaller footprint. SVS3-24 with the flange, so I can upgrade in the future, if need be.

 

[Water Dog]

Great call... if you end up going that route, I’m pretty confident that you’ll enjoy your new toy!

Here’s another great discussion if you want to do more reading on Lifereef skimmers.

 

[Fish4udog]

I have had the skimz 161 for a little over 2 yrs no problems with it, tried a simplicity wasn't impressed with it at all don't waste your money on the simplicity . Only problem is if they are discontinuing can't get parts but like anything you buy you never know when someone will discontinue the product line.

 

[mattdg]

I have had the skimz 161 for a little over 2 yrs no problems with it, tried a simplicity wasn't impressed with it at all don't waste your money on the simplicity . Only problem is if they are discontinuing can't get parts but like anything you buy you never know when someone will discontinue the product line.

Good to know. The Skimz offerings look legit, but I REALLY worry about BRS discontinuing the line. The one Skimz skimmer mentioned at the beginning, is why I started this whole thing in the first place. I was very close to pushing the buy button, but am glad I started this thread first.

Now that I've been looking into all of this skimmer info, it really stands out how many product lines BRS does discontinue, even from some of the videos they made, just last year. I can't imagine it's easy running a company like that, but there has to be some accountability. With that said, I still absolutely love their bulk offerings, the foundation of BRS, and the informative videos, even if they are all trying to sell you something.

I am pretty sure I've checked simplicity off the list, due to them using the rebranded Jebao pumps and failing to get back to me regarding some questions I had.

Boy, a company like Lifereef is becoming more and more compelling, as this thread develops. Even if Jeff eventually does discontinue the line, most of the parts will never break anyway and are easily repairable and replaceable with commonly available plumbing supplies.

 

[mattdg]

Great call... if you end up going that route, I’m pretty confident that you’ll enjoy your new toy!

Here’s another great discussion if you want to do more reading on Lifereef skimmers.

Nice. Going to check it out.

 

[Speaker]

Curious also about the simplicity line of skimmers.

There are a few other posts touting the great value and they truly are very inexpensive. They are DC, but at a very reasonable cost and basic design. The 240 DC fits my sump exactly and is "rated" for 120G heavy bio load.

Regarding longevity, I am not sure about the line of pumps they use. There is no information on the website regarding where they are sourced and manufactured. I did reach out to them directly, but have not yet heard back. I know BRS used to carry them, but no longer do. Wonder why.

I'd love to hear a little bit from long term Simplicity protein skimmer users.

Have the 320DC on my 200gal. Works great.

 

[fishybizzness]

Good dark skimmate! Couldn't be happier with lifereef

 

[lagatbezan]

I have been talking to Jeff over at Lifereef for over an hour. He really knows his stuff. Wow!

He's given me a lot to think about. Totally schooled on skimmers and better off for it!

I just ordered the svs30 insump skimmer from Jeff two weeks ago after having a long conversation with him and can’t wait till it gets here. I will be replacing my RO Sro3000int which I have not been too happy about.

 

[mattdg]

Tunze 9410 dc on my 120.
Quiet, easiest cup to clean, small and efficient.
Set it up 1.5 years ago and no adjustment needed.
No need to turn off when feeding, working in tank.
Very under-rated skimmer.
This is it in a 40 breeder sump with no baffles.

I'm going to dig a little deeper into this option, as well. I've had my eye on this skimmer for awhile. My Tunze products are hands down the most reliable thing in my tank, next to my 8 year old MP40s and ancient RK2 controller.

Wondering if anyone can confirm or deny this to be a venturi based skimmer?

How often do you need to remove and fully clean the unit, or is it able to run undisturbed for the most part?

Any loud hums or vibrations while it is running, especially for anyone owning the non DC version? That was one of the only potential issues for me, with the Lifereef skimmer. My tank is right behind our living room couch.

I am wondering how the quality of the acrylic measures up to other high end skimmers. For some reason it looks very flimsy in pictures. I may be totally wrong, but would love someones take on the build quality, especially the cup which needs to be removed regularly.

General long term reliability?

Is the little sock easily removable? How well has it worked as a media basket, especially for activated carbon?

Thanks

 

[minus9]

Just buy a Deltec and be done with it. 1000i would do the trick with a heavy bio-load 120.

 

[mattdg]

Just buy a Deltec and be done with it. 1000i would do the trick with a heavy bio-load 120.

I have heard plenty of good things about Deltec. I looked into Deltec early on. Decided against it for a few reasons, main one being the lack of local availability and service. Also, 1000i is a DC skimmer, which I am not 100% against, but as mentioned earlier, am not exactly on the DC bandwagon. I know these come in both versions AC and DC driven. Size works. I may be moving toward getting away from a needle wheel driven skimmer, and back to a full on venturi, the more I learn.

 

[minus9]

I have heard plenty of good things about Deltec. I looked into Deltec early on. Decided against it for a few reasons, main one being the lack of local availability and service. Also, 1000i is a DC skimmer, which I am not 100% against, but as mentioned earlier, am not exactly on the DC bandwagon. I know these come in both versions AC and DC driven. Size works. I may be moving toward getting away from a needle wheel driven skimmer, and back to a full on venturi, the more I learn.

They have support here in the US and have a sponsor page/thread in the sponsors section, but completely understand where you're coming from. I'm currently using a used Deltec 1351 which replaced my Nyos 160 and the Deltec which is rated for a smaller volume is keeping up with my old Nyos, if not better. The beauty of Deltec is the simplicity of their design, no bubble plate and a bunch of extra pieces, just a pump inside a chamber making tons of bubbles. Good luck with your search.