LifeReef Skimmer Comparo w/ Tunze DOC

[andy816]

I have a LifeReef vs24 with little giant pump. It is the first skimmer I have ever owned so I had nothing to compare it to except pictures of other people's skimmate. The skimmate is light green no matter how I adjusted it. My bioload is quite significant (150 gallon aggressive tank).

Well I just picked up a Tunze DOC 9010 skimmer last week. I disconnectrf the LifeReef skimmer and installed the Tunze.

After the first week, I have collected skimmate that is SIGNIFICANTLY darker and much more quantity. In one week I have much more and much darker skimmate then in 3 weeks with the LifeReef. I have tried skimming wet, dry, and everything in between but the facts remain.

The Tunze cost about $100 less but is leaving the LifeReef in the dust. I have talked to Jeff over the past 2 months trying to figure out what is wrong with my skimmer. His primary response has been that the bioload is not significant enough for the skimmer to produce a darker skimmate. Well my little experiment proved that not true.

Now don't get me wrong, I also have LifeReef Sump and it is topnotch quality. I will be buying another sump from him in the Spring of 2007 but you can bet your hiney I will not be buying another one of his skimmers.

I would still like to salvage the LifeReef skimmer since I paid about $400 for it. Does anyone have ANY suggestions to make this skimmer work better? I have the Little Giant pump opened all the way, the gate valve dialed in, and I have cleaned out all the places Jeff advises, even the venturi.

Thanks.

 

[LA-Lawman]

Hi, Welcome to Reefs.org!!!

do you have a picture of the tunze skimmer.? and how it is setup in your tank? How hard was it to setup and adjust?

now you have me interested....

on the lifereef skimmer. anyway you can make it into a needlewheel skimmer. post some pics of that skimmer also and lets see what we can do for ya.!

 

[andy816]

Sorry I do not have a camera to take pictures. But fortunately the Tunze website and Lifereef's website both have pictures of what these look like and its specs.

The Tunze is setup right now in-sump but I actually bought it for another tank where I will be installing it inside the aquarium. It was a peice of cake to install and finished in just a few minutes. It is literally plug and play. It produces nilch bubbles and is so quiet that I swear its not on if I close my eyes. It is also a venturi design skimmer like the lifereef but seems to be multi-fold more efficient. It also consumes something on the order of 25 watts, versus 4-fold that for the LifeReef. I am not trying to knock LifeReef but his website makes it seem like the greatest skimmer ever and firsthand experience shows this is not true. I know he has to make a living but I would suggest people to stay away from this skimmer. Now his sumps are a whole different story ;-)

Also dont get me wrong, the Tunze is not the greatest skimmer either, but I needed an in-tank skimmer and this was possible with the Tunze. Dont get me wrong, its not at the same level as my friend's Deltec or my local reef club's president's BubbleKing, but again those skimmers go for over $1000, which is too much for me personally...although maybe a christmas present though from the love of my life (hint hint if your reading this ;-)

Can you please tell me how to convert the lifereef into a needlewheel because I'm at my wits end trying to make it work better in its current state.

 

[LA-Lawman]

what size is the inlet? basicaly you can buy a sedra/eheim/oceanrunner/or genx-4100 needlewheel type pumps and thrown them on. it appears you have a gate valve to adjust the output flow... so it is merely finding a pump that would fit your skimmer. I would look hard at the oceanrunner needlewheel.

what is the max flow that skimmer can handle.... I know the webpage says one thing but you have made your own observations..... so lets hear them.

 

[andy816]

Interesting, so you say I can replace the Little Giant 3MDQX-SC Water Pump with a needle wheel pump? Can you explain a little further what you are thinking? Is it simply a replacement or do I modify the skimmer?

Currently, I have the pump wide open with about 2 ft of head so I estimate approximately 1050-1100gph. Both the inlet and outlet are 1".

Thanks for helping me though this. I hope we can figure this out.

 

[LA-Lawman]

this is something you have to play with. that little giant is a huge pump. especially for a small venturi skimmer.

I really dont think you have to mod the skimmer. i was looking at it. it would be nice to have a conical flange into the riser and cup. I would experiment. with a skimmer that small. a gen-x 4100 needlewheel pump or the large oceanrunner with a needlewheel would probably work real well. you can reduce the inlet with standard PVC fittings... not too hard. needlewheels dont generaly have that much flow unless there are multiple pumps.

see if you can get an oceanrunner at a good price.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, take a look at the OR3700 - they're available from Custom Aquatic. They actually list a bunch of nice skimmer needlewheel pumps from Ocean Runner, Octopus and Gen-X:

http://www.customaquatic.com/customaquatic/subsubcategorypage.asp?subcatindexid=ps-ac-pm

 

[pjf]

The Tunze cost about $100 less but is leaving the LifeReef in the dust.

I've had my Tunze 9010 for a week but I am not sure if it is adjusted correctly. Which mode are you using:
(a) In-sump mode with the skimmer sitting on its bottom or
(b) In-tank mode with a magnet holder/bracket?

My 9010 is being held by a magnet with its neck at the same level with the rim of the sump tank. Unfortunately, the blue line is 1-inch above the water level which is not optimal for in-tank mode.

I have two options:
(1) Modify a baffle to raise the water level 1" and continue using in-tank mode with the magnet holder.
(2) Build a platform for the skimmer to rest on and convert to in-sump mode.

I'd like to know which mode is giving you such success.

Thanks!