DC pump for skimmer

[Marek-S]

Does that really work ?
Does anybody who has it , uses different pump settings ?
I was thinking dial it once and leave it alone , but maybe I'm wrong and there is some benefits of having one ?

 

[pauliwalnuts]

Does that really work ?
Does anybody who has it , uses different pump settings ?
I was thinking dial it once and leave it alone , but maybe I'm wrong and there is some benefits of having one ?

1st question - Yes. When it comes to air draw per watt they're very efficient pumps.
2nd question - Yes. I use it when doing maintenance or during feedings, but there is other reasons.
3rd question - You're right, once a skimmer is set you do leave it alone. But in the case that you're tank is being over skimmed, you can throttle the pump back then raise the water level inside the skimmer to fully make the adjustment.

 

[Cu455]

If you skimmer is in the sump and on its own pump the feed mode isn't that important. If you turn off your returm pump then the skimmer will just keep skimming the water in the sump. The water in the dt with the food will have no effectnon the skimmer and vise versa. You can get a flow control valve for any pump. If your skimmer is on the same pump as the return then having that feed mode might be useful.

 

[pauliwalnuts]

You can get a flow control valve for any pump.

You do know that restricting the flow on the pump via a valve will only cause strain on the pump and actually making it draw more amperage. The dial down controller on these DC pumps act like a VFD (variable frequency drive) to lower the RPM's on the pump with less amperage. Like this making adjustments are beneficial in both ways.

I'm not telling anyone to run out and buy one. But if you're looking for power and efficiency out your skimmer, then these DC pumps are the way the go. They've been using this kind of technology for over fifty years now on elevators in tall buildings etc., and finally it's is nice to see it being used on water pumps and in the aquarium hobby.

 

[Marek-S]

1st question - Yes. When it comes to air draw per watt they're very efficient pumps.
2nd question - Yes. I use it when doing maintenance or during feedings, but there is other reasons.
3rd question - You're right, once a skimmer is set you do leave it alone. But in the case that you're tank is being over skimmed, you can throttle the pump back then raise the water level inside the skimmer to fully make the adjustment.

If they more efficient - that's great , definitely plus .
As far as feeding and maintenance I could use neptune controller to manage that.
If my thank is over skimmed I could set the skimmer for 5-6 hours a day instead running it 24/7

 

[Cu455]

You do know that restricting the flow on the pump via a valve will only cause strain on the pump and actually making it draw more amperage.

You do know you are wrong. It is situation based on pump design and pressure.

I am giving him other options in case he doesn't want to buy a new pump. Even if you consumed less energy. It will have to be a big drop in consumption to justify the price difference. DC pumps are great and have many benefits. This is not one of them. In addition to the information below you can find tests online where people used multimeters to determime the amount of amps consumed.

Valving the pump will result in a increase in pressure. The reeflo charts.
http://www.reeflopumps.com/productoverview.html

From dolphins website.
Q: My Dolphin Pump is too powerful for my system. Is there a way to decrease the amount of flow without harming the pump?A: Ball valves should be installed right after the pump intake and discharge unions for easy pump removal, and for discharge control. Discharge flow may be valved back to any flow without pump damage. The more flow is lowered, the less amps the pump will draw.

 

[samksy]

I'm using the Reef Octopus Elite 200 skimmer with DC pump. I ran it for the first 2 week with the highest setting/flow, skimmate were minimium. I keep adjusting the water output pipe and etc, didn?t work. Didn't get much skimming, and was gonna dump the skimmer, the foam head were horrible....lol! Then one day for some reason i was running it at 3 out of 5 power level. The skimmate had a great steady foam head. Left it for skimming for a few days, pretty dry skimming, then I try 4 out of 5??skimmate is perfect, it gives me the wet skim I was looking for and I had to empty the skimmer cup every 3-4 days now. Check my tank thread, I posted a day ago if you want to see pic.

 

[pauliwalnuts]

You do know you are wrong.

I'm not saying this cause I read it on the internet. I've been working with electrical motors over fifteen years now. Dude, believe me if you want. Lol. And good luck installing a discharge valve on a skimmer pump when most skimmers nowadays are venturi type.