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Skimmer suggestions?
- Thread starter Nickjr000
- Start date
sgarron
NJRC Member
Octopus extreme is a solid choice.
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...Product_Code=CV-EXT-300&Category_Code=Octopus
The I-Tech cone is getting great reviews.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1536745
Here is the info on them.
Skimmers are built in America from rugged PVC sheet and acrylic tube materials. All chemical and physical heat welds are professionally done. Titanium screws allow for the units to be completely disassembled. Bubble plate diffusers and air suction mufflers are incorporated. All PVC fittings are made in America by Spears. Unfortunately, my pictures were lost in a hard drive crash a several weeks ago. At the moment the best place to view photos is on Reef Central. The current stats can be found bellow.
Model 100 Cone Skimmer
Cone Base: 6”
Cone Neck: 2 ¾”
Overall Height: 21 ½” (needs an extra ½” clearance for cup removal)
Footprint without pump: 8 ¾” x 6 ½”
Recommended Pumps: DAS EX-1 (AquaBee 2000/1) or ASM Sedra 3500
Inlet: female ¾” PVC pipe socket
Recommended water level: 5 ¼” to 6 ¾” (a stable water level will increase performance and decrease adjustments)
Body Price: $300 (pump and venturi purchased separately.)
Recommended pumps (pick one)
DAS EX-1 (AquaBee 2000/1)
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: 10 ¾” x 8 ¾”
· Airdraw: At startup ~360 lph @ 9w in 6 ¼” depth of water. As the skimmer and pump “break in” I’ve had reports of up to 420 lph.
The Aquabee and this body work very well together, it is the preferred motor. RC's January 2009 TOTM is using the first prototype to this version. Unfortunately, I cannot provide the pump but it can be purchased online from any D.A.S. vendor, http://stores.petorama.net/Detail.bok?no=51. The linked pump will need to be slightly modified for use on the model 100. Instructions can be found here, www.ichthythings.com/images/itech/DASmod.pdf .
- or –
Tunze 9410.04 Hydrofoamer
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: TBA
· Airdraw: TBA
Tunze 9410.04 $136.96 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venture)
Testing has begun! I just received a "defective", they said it was loud, new style 9410.04 from Tunze. I had to drill out their airstem to make it compatible with my body. The skimmer was turned into a foam cannon by the 600+ lph of air that rushed into it. A restrictor was placed on the suction port which tamed the motor down and is now pulling ~420 lph at 14w. With further refinement this may be a winner.
- or –
ASM Sedra 3500
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: 11 ½” x 8 ¾”
· Airdraw: ~350 lph (with restrictor) @ 23w in 6 ¼” depth of water.
While effective, the Sedra 3500's air to water ratio is not the best. This means that micro bubbles will escape from the body during operation. If you have a baffled sump they should not be an issue. To eliminate the microbubbles a modification to reduce the pump suction inlet can be performed. Unfortunately, this also slightly decreases performance.
ASM 3500 $84.39 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venturi)
Model 200 Cone Skimmer
Cone Base: 8”
Cone Neck: 3 ½”
Overall Height: 23” (needs an extra 1/2” clearance for cup removal)
Footprint without pump: 11 ¼” x 8 ½”
Recommended Pump: Sicce PSK-2500
Inlet: female ¾” PVC pipe threaded
Recommended water level: 6” to 7” (a stable water level will increase performance and decrease adjustments)
Body Price: $400 (pump and venturi purchased separately.)
Recommended pumps (pick one)
Tunze 9420.04 Hydrofoamer
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: TBA
· Airdraw: TBA
Tunze 9420.04 $169.05 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venture)
Testing to begin shortly. Result will be announced ASAP.
- or –
CoralVue Sicce PSK-2500
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: 12 ¾” x 11”
· Airdraw: At startup ~600 lph @ 19w in 6 ¼” depth of water.
CoralVue Sicce $129.99 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venturi)
This combination works very well in my opinion. Unfortunately, Sicce pumps can be highly variable in noise production after being modified for protein skimmer use. Over time as the pump breaks in, the noise typically decreases. To counter the variance a silencer/muffler is included.
CoralVue Sicce PSK-2500 $100.00 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venturi)
Model 400 Cone Skimmer
Cone Base: 10”
Cone Neck: 4 ½”
Overall Height: 24” (needs an extra 1/2” clearance for cup removal)
Footprint without pump: 12 5/8” x 10”
Recommended Pump: NA
Inlet: female ¾” PVC pipe
Recommended water level: 7” (a stable water level will increase performance and decrease adjustments)
Body Price: $500 (pump and venturi purchased separately.)
Recommended pumps (pick one)
Askoll/Laguna 900 & 1500
Unfortunately, at the moment I'm not very pleased with the CoralVue Askoll 900 or 1500 motors that I’m using for the 400 model. There is too much variance in CV's machining of the venturi, needlewheel, and volutes for consistent performance. When working correctly these pumps draw 1300-1500 lph air at 40-55w in about 7” of water. The bodies are perfect but these darn pumps are holding me back. I expect to receive the new style volute and impeller combo from CoralVue. Hopefully, the pump issue will be resolved soon.
- or –
Tunze 9420.04 Hydrofoamer
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: TBA
· Airdraw: TBA
Tunze 9420.04 $169.05 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venture)
Testing to begin shortly. Result will be announced ASAP.
- or –
CoralVue Sicce PSK-2500 (x2)
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: 15” x 13 ½”
· Airdraw: At startup ~1200 lph @ 38w in 6 ¼” depth of water.
CoralVue Sicce $100.00(x2) purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venturi)
This combination works very well in my opinion. Unfortunately, Sicce pumps can be highly variable in noise production after being modified for protein skimmer use. Over time as the pump breaks in, the noise typically decreases. To counter the variance a silencer/muffler is included.
“Super Beast” Cone Skimmer
Cone Base: 12”
Cone Neck: 6”
Overall Height: 48”
Footprint without pump: 30” x 18”
Recommended Pump: Reeflo Dart Super Gold
Inlet: female 1” PVC female pipe threaded
Recommended water level: NA
Body Price and pump: $1750
The “Super Beast” or XL model was a special order prototype for a local customer. The skimmer is an external recirculator and is driven by a Dart Gold with a custom venturi and impeller. Currently, the pump draws ~3000 lph at 150 watts with a Dwyer meter attached. When the meter is removed the wattage drops to 140 so I believe the skimmer is actually pulling more air during normal operation. I hope to be able to increase the air draw and reduce wattage with further refinement of the impeller. Features include; valved collection cup & body drain, controllable bypass loop for more stable foam production, cup-neck to base dissembles, air suction silencer/muffler and the supply water is feed through the recirculating pump. This skimmer took nearly 12 months of design, construction, and tweaking to make me happy.
Prices do not include applicable taxes and shipping.
I hate sizing skimmers based upon gallons. Handling capacity is more about bioload than water volume. Since I’m a nutrient export freak my recommendations are a little conservative. The model number is the largest tank in gallons that I would recommend the skimmer for.
In a few days www.i-techskimmers.com should be up a running. It will be a community based forum for the exchange of information on all things i-Tech.
At this time, more skimmers of all sizes need to be produced. Between local and Internet sales, the response to the "I-Tech skimmer club" on RC, http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1536745 , has been very overwhelming. There is now a fairly significant waiting list, 4-6 weeks, on all models. The demand for these products has caught me off guard. I'm a LFS owner and my original intent was to offer an affordable quality skimmer line to just the local area. If you’d like to be add to the wait list please provide desired item(s), shipping address, and contact phone number. When a skimmer is ready, either my wife or I will call you requesting payment information.
Any questions?
Thank you,
John Reiter -owner
FISH and other ICHTHY stuff
[edited]
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...Product_Code=CV-EXT-300&Category_Code=Octopus
The I-Tech cone is getting great reviews.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1536745
Here is the info on them.
Skimmers are built in America from rugged PVC sheet and acrylic tube materials. All chemical and physical heat welds are professionally done. Titanium screws allow for the units to be completely disassembled. Bubble plate diffusers and air suction mufflers are incorporated. All PVC fittings are made in America by Spears. Unfortunately, my pictures were lost in a hard drive crash a several weeks ago. At the moment the best place to view photos is on Reef Central. The current stats can be found bellow.
Model 100 Cone Skimmer
Cone Base: 6”
Cone Neck: 2 ¾”
Overall Height: 21 ½” (needs an extra ½” clearance for cup removal)
Footprint without pump: 8 ¾” x 6 ½”
Recommended Pumps: DAS EX-1 (AquaBee 2000/1) or ASM Sedra 3500
Inlet: female ¾” PVC pipe socket
Recommended water level: 5 ¼” to 6 ¾” (a stable water level will increase performance and decrease adjustments)
Body Price: $300 (pump and venturi purchased separately.)
Recommended pumps (pick one)
DAS EX-1 (AquaBee 2000/1)
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: 10 ¾” x 8 ¾”
· Airdraw: At startup ~360 lph @ 9w in 6 ¼” depth of water. As the skimmer and pump “break in” I’ve had reports of up to 420 lph.
The Aquabee and this body work very well together, it is the preferred motor. RC's January 2009 TOTM is using the first prototype to this version. Unfortunately, I cannot provide the pump but it can be purchased online from any D.A.S. vendor, http://stores.petorama.net/Detail.bok?no=51. The linked pump will need to be slightly modified for use on the model 100. Instructions can be found here, www.ichthythings.com/images/itech/DASmod.pdf .
- or –
Tunze 9410.04 Hydrofoamer
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: TBA
· Airdraw: TBA
Tunze 9410.04 $136.96 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venture)
Testing has begun! I just received a "defective", they said it was loud, new style 9410.04 from Tunze. I had to drill out their airstem to make it compatible with my body. The skimmer was turned into a foam cannon by the 600+ lph of air that rushed into it. A restrictor was placed on the suction port which tamed the motor down and is now pulling ~420 lph at 14w. With further refinement this may be a winner.
- or –
ASM Sedra 3500
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: 11 ½” x 8 ¾”
· Airdraw: ~350 lph (with restrictor) @ 23w in 6 ¼” depth of water.
While effective, the Sedra 3500's air to water ratio is not the best. This means that micro bubbles will escape from the body during operation. If you have a baffled sump they should not be an issue. To eliminate the microbubbles a modification to reduce the pump suction inlet can be performed. Unfortunately, this also slightly decreases performance.
ASM 3500 $84.39 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venturi)
Model 200 Cone Skimmer
Cone Base: 8”
Cone Neck: 3 ½”
Overall Height: 23” (needs an extra 1/2” clearance for cup removal)
Footprint without pump: 11 ¼” x 8 ½”
Recommended Pump: Sicce PSK-2500
Inlet: female ¾” PVC pipe threaded
Recommended water level: 6” to 7” (a stable water level will increase performance and decrease adjustments)
Body Price: $400 (pump and venturi purchased separately.)
Recommended pumps (pick one)
Tunze 9420.04 Hydrofoamer
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: TBA
· Airdraw: TBA
Tunze 9420.04 $169.05 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venture)
Testing to begin shortly. Result will be announced ASAP.
- or –
CoralVue Sicce PSK-2500
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: 12 ¾” x 11”
· Airdraw: At startup ~600 lph @ 19w in 6 ¼” depth of water.
CoralVue Sicce $129.99 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venturi)
This combination works very well in my opinion. Unfortunately, Sicce pumps can be highly variable in noise production after being modified for protein skimmer use. Over time as the pump breaks in, the noise typically decreases. To counter the variance a silencer/muffler is included.
CoralVue Sicce PSK-2500 $100.00 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venturi)
Model 400 Cone Skimmer
Cone Base: 10”
Cone Neck: 4 ½”
Overall Height: 24” (needs an extra 1/2” clearance for cup removal)
Footprint without pump: 12 5/8” x 10”
Recommended Pump: NA
Inlet: female ¾” PVC pipe
Recommended water level: 7” (a stable water level will increase performance and decrease adjustments)
Body Price: $500 (pump and venturi purchased separately.)
Recommended pumps (pick one)
Askoll/Laguna 900 & 1500
Unfortunately, at the moment I'm not very pleased with the CoralVue Askoll 900 or 1500 motors that I’m using for the 400 model. There is too much variance in CV's machining of the venturi, needlewheel, and volutes for consistent performance. When working correctly these pumps draw 1300-1500 lph air at 40-55w in about 7” of water. The bodies are perfect but these darn pumps are holding me back. I expect to receive the new style volute and impeller combo from CoralVue. Hopefully, the pump issue will be resolved soon.
- or –
Tunze 9420.04 Hydrofoamer
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: TBA
· Airdraw: TBA
Tunze 9420.04 $169.05 purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venture)
Testing to begin shortly. Result will be announced ASAP.
- or –
CoralVue Sicce PSK-2500 (x2)
· Needle-wheel impeller
· Skimmer and pump footprint: 15” x 13 ½”
· Airdraw: At startup ~1200 lph @ 38w in 6 ¼” depth of water.
CoralVue Sicce $100.00(x2) purchased with body. (Includes pump, needle wheel and venturi)
This combination works very well in my opinion. Unfortunately, Sicce pumps can be highly variable in noise production after being modified for protein skimmer use. Over time as the pump breaks in, the noise typically decreases. To counter the variance a silencer/muffler is included.
“Super Beast” Cone Skimmer
Cone Base: 12”
Cone Neck: 6”
Overall Height: 48”
Footprint without pump: 30” x 18”
Recommended Pump: Reeflo Dart Super Gold
Inlet: female 1” PVC female pipe threaded
Recommended water level: NA
Body Price and pump: $1750
The “Super Beast” or XL model was a special order prototype for a local customer. The skimmer is an external recirculator and is driven by a Dart Gold with a custom venturi and impeller. Currently, the pump draws ~3000 lph at 150 watts with a Dwyer meter attached. When the meter is removed the wattage drops to 140 so I believe the skimmer is actually pulling more air during normal operation. I hope to be able to increase the air draw and reduce wattage with further refinement of the impeller. Features include; valved collection cup & body drain, controllable bypass loop for more stable foam production, cup-neck to base dissembles, air suction silencer/muffler and the supply water is feed through the recirculating pump. This skimmer took nearly 12 months of design, construction, and tweaking to make me happy.
Prices do not include applicable taxes and shipping.
I hate sizing skimmers based upon gallons. Handling capacity is more about bioload than water volume. Since I’m a nutrient export freak my recommendations are a little conservative. The model number is the largest tank in gallons that I would recommend the skimmer for.
In a few days www.i-techskimmers.com should be up a running. It will be a community based forum for the exchange of information on all things i-Tech.
At this time, more skimmers of all sizes need to be produced. Between local and Internet sales, the response to the "I-Tech skimmer club" on RC, http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1536745 , has been very overwhelming. There is now a fairly significant waiting list, 4-6 weeks, on all models. The demand for these products has caught me off guard. I'm a LFS owner and my original intent was to offer an affordable quality skimmer line to just the local area. If you’d like to be add to the wait list please provide desired item(s), shipping address, and contact phone number. When a skimmer is ready, either my wife or I will call you requesting payment information.
Any questions?
Thank you,
John Reiter -owner
FISH and other ICHTHY stuff
[edited]
I was thinkin of an Aqua C EV400 or a comparable ETSS. I have an etss now and I'm very happy with it. The only thing I don't like is the size of the pump you need to run it ( bigger Iwaki 55 or 70). That's a lot of electricity and money out the window each month. I also think maybe that style is getting outdated because everything today is a needle wheel and really low wattage pumps. Not to familiar with them though so this is where I need some help. Was looking at a euro reef RS-250 ( might be too small)? Anyone like them or dislike?
I also like my ETSS skimmers they are very efficient. So efficient in fact that they won't skim everyday. I should have taken pictures of the tubing going to and from my ETSS 1000 before I took my tank down. The supply tubing was black with algae while the return tubing to the sump immediately adjacent to the supply tubing had no sign of algae in it.
I have an etss reef devil deluxe and i hate it. its the most finicky skimmer on the planet. every time you feed the skimmer gets wiped out for hours. if you don't clean every few days it does absolutely nothing! my next skimmer will be a needle wheel. most likely the octopus extreme 300.
Another Octopus fan here. ;D Love those skimmers!
MSX 250 here.. pretty much the same thing as an octo Extreme but a little better. Run with Dual Sicce pumps and with the NW it is very reliable with a steady water depth. mine pulls a ton of stuff out of the tank. they also have cone skimmers for a couple buck more
This is on my 220 with a 75 sump..
www.marinesolutionsinc.com
This is on my 220 with a 75 sump..
www.marinesolutionsinc.com
I'm using a das-ex1 and it works great. built like a tank.The person i got it from got the msx because its not as tall as the das.He said they work about the same.I set it up and adjusted it and haven't had to adjust anything since.I know people also use the octopus with good results.
http://stores.petorama.net/Detail.bok?no=74
Tropiquarium sells the das skimmers
http://stores.petorama.net/Detail.bok?no=74
Tropiquarium sells the das skimmers
reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
Heres my 2cents: http://www.superskimmer.com/SumpBuddy60.htm
For sheer skimming power I just love my dual beckett MRC, but speaking of power, it'll eat it up all day long!
I have run the AMS G-4 body with a mesh modded Sicci and have to say, watt for watt, it is amazing what a meshed Sicci can do. For that reason these MSX skimmers look like a real great buy. Easily comparable to the Octo line.
But these cone skimmer have me fasinated and I really wnat to try one. It is just such a logical shape for a skimmer body, makes perfect sense.
I have run the AMS G-4 body with a mesh modded Sicci and have to say, watt for watt, it is amazing what a meshed Sicci can do. For that reason these MSX skimmers look like a real great buy. Easily comparable to the Octo line.
But these cone skimmer have me fasinated and I really wnat to try one. It is just such a logical shape for a skimmer body, makes perfect sense.
