Is lifereef really the best skimmer?

Wrasse-cal · Mar 8, 2018

jeffrey holloway said:
Great skimmer. I run a RO Various 6 on mine at a 100%. I did a overnight vinegar bath on mine, never had the micro bubble issue on mine. be patient and push as much water thru it as u like it can handle it. I also run the CO2 scrubber on mine and yes if will muffle the sound.

That's awesome to hear. I love my Varios-6. It's an amazing return pump and SO quiet but I was gun shy about using it for the skimmer given the warning about it not being pressure rated.

When you say you did the vinegar bath, do you mean you soaked the skimmer in vinegar or put it in a tub with vinegar with the pump on?

jeffrey holloway · Mar 8, 2018

I put the skimmer and pump in together and let it over flow over night. I do it to all my skimmers. Instant break-in!

Wrasse-cal · Mar 8, 2018

jeffrey holloway said:
I put the skimmer and pump in together and let it over flow over night. I do it to all my skimmers. Instant break-in!

Neat. Thanks.

Wrasse-cal · Mar 10, 2018

Update: I ran the skimmer for 24 hours to break it in. My conclusion is the Sicce 1500 appears to be too powerful for the SVS2-24. Even turned down to the minimum and with the gate valve on the skimmer all the way open, the cup was overflowing.

I’m guessing that’s the reason for all the micro bubbles. I’m going to follow what @jeffrey holloway did and try running the skimmer with a VarioS-6.

Water Dog · Mar 10, 2018

Like I said earlier, Jeff uses a Mag18 for his 24”, I highly doubt that it’s a too much flow thing. You have zero bioload in a brand new tank. It will be very difficult to judge skimmer performance with no bioload. Microbubbles will go reduce and go away once you have sufficient waste to bind to the bubbles.

Wrasse-cal · Mar 10, 2018

Water Dog said:
Like I said earlier, Jeff uses a Mag18 for his 24”, I highly doubt that it’s a too much flow thing. You have zero bioload in a brand new tank. It will be very difficult to judge skimmer performance with no bioload. Microbubbles will go reduce and go away once you have sufficient waste to bind to the bubbles.

Thanks. I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not following. With no bioload, there is less/no DOC in the water, so it should foam/rise into the cup LESS well than if the tank was stocked, right? It would foam more with more waste.

tmcca · Mar 10, 2018

I am debating going with lifereef SVS2-24 or the Nyos 120 quantum for my redsea max170. Opinions?

JoshH · Mar 10, 2018

tmcca said:
I am debating going with lifereef SVS2-24 or the Nyos 120 quantum for my redsea max170. Opinions?

Can't speak for the nyos personally, I love my lifereef though. If I could choose all over I'd still stay with lifereef, but I would get the version with the extendable neck as mentioned above. I've heard great things about nyos as well so I would say it's up to what fits best in your sump, budget and personal wants for a skimmer.

Water Dog · Mar 10, 2018

Wrasse-cal said:
Thanks. I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not following. With no bioload, there is less/no DOC in the water, so it should foam/rise into the cup LESS well than if the tank was stocked, right? It would foam more with more waste.

I can’t accurately or scientifically explain why this is the case, so please forgive me.

But I do have experience and observation to draw upon. Maybe with the slime coat built in the skimmer and with more waste in the water, the proteins stuck to the bubbles make them stickier!?!

Thus, you have less free floating microbubbles floating around? Sorry for my incoherent attempt at an explanation.

ChrisQ0904 · Mar 11, 2018

tmcca said:
I am debating going with lifereef SVS2-24 or the Nyos 120 quantum for my redsea max170. Opinions?

I also have no experience with the Nyos line of skimmers but I can tell you that my lifereef seems to out perform all my other skimmers that are other well known brands.

Water Dog said:
I can’t accurately or scientifically explain why this is the case, so please forgive me. But I do have experience and observation to draw upon. Maybe with the slime coat built in the skimmer and with more waste in the water, the proteins stuck to the bubbles make them stickier!?! Thus, you have less free floating microbubbles floating around? Sorry for my incoherent attempt at an explanation.

I'm not trying to be a smart@** but this is literally one of the best things I have read on here. Thank you for the early morning chuckle.

Wrasse-cal · Mar 11, 2018

Water Dog said:
I can’t accurately or scientifically explain why this is the case, so please forgive me. But I do have experience and observation to draw upon. Maybe with the slime coat built in the skimmer and with more waste in the water, the proteins stuck to the bubbles make them stickier!?! Thus, you have less free floating microbubbles floating around? Sorry for my incoherent attempt at an explanation.

Not knocking your experience or observations, but that makes no sense to me. With the 1500 tuned to the lowest speed and the gate valve wide open the skimmer was just pumping water into the cup. I really don’t see how that would get better with more crud in the water.

Water Dog · Mar 11, 2018

That’s okay, I didn’t think my rambling rationalization would make any sense after a Saturday evening of cocktails with friends...

But let me reiterate, in your own words, you have a brand new tank with no bioload. Based on my experience, with all skimmers for that matter, not just the Lifereef, the skimmer will perform better and microbubbles will reduce and disappear once you actually have something to skim in your water.

Wrasse-cal · Mar 11, 2018

Water Dog said:
That’s okay, I didn’t think my rambling rationalization would make any sense after a Saturday evening of cocktails with friends... But let me reiterate, in your own words, you have a brand new tank with no bioload. Based on my experience, with all skimmers for that matter, not just the Lifereef, the skimmer will perform better and microbubbles will reduce and disappear once you actually have something to skim in your water.

I can accept the micro bubbles will dissipate with use for the reasons you state. That makes sense to me. What still doesn’t is that somehow, the skimmmer cup will start not overflowing.

Water Dog · Mar 11, 2018

Wrasse-cal said:
With the 1500 tuned to the lowest speed and the gate valve wide open the skimmer was just pumping water into the cup. I really don’t see how that would get better with more crud in the water.

With no crud in the water, there are no proteins / dissolved organics to bind with the bubbles, hence your collection cup full of water. That’s why it’s called protein skimming. These are old school venturi skimmers so they won’t act like pinwheel skimmers. The stronger the pump, the better the performance typically.

Wrasse-cal · Mar 11, 2018

Right now, if I let the skimmer run, in 20 minutes, my cup will be full. I’m not concerned with skimmate quality—but unless I’m missing your point, I think we’re talking about different problems.

Water Dog · Mar 11, 2018

Wrasse-cal said:
I can accept the micro bubbles will dissipate with use for the reasons you state. That makes sense to me. What still doesn’t is that somehow, the skimmmer cup will start not overflowing.

Right now, I think you’re adjusting the skimmer for the sole purpose of reducing microbubbles, hence the collection cup full od water. Where do you currently have your bubble line set in the skimmer body? Typically to start, I’d set my bubble line to the top of the Lifereef sticker, just below where the neck starts. Leav the bubble line there and as you get life in your tank and start producing skimmate, adjust your bubble line accordingly to maximize your skimmate.

Wrasse-cal · Mar 11, 2018

Water Dog said:
Right now, I think you’re adjusting the skimmer for the sole purpose of reducing microbubbles, hence the collection cup full od water. Where do you currently have your bubble line set in the skimmer body? Typically to start, I’d set my bubble line to the top of the Lifereef sticker, just below where the neck starts. Leav the bubble line there and as you get life in your tank and start producing skimmate, adjust your bubble line accordingly to maximize your skimmate

That’s the problem. With the gate valve all the way open, so the bubble line is as low as possible, the bubbles still rise and reach the cup causing the cup to overflow in 20 minutes.

I can’t get the bubble line to get as low as you suggest. That’s why I think the pump is too powerful.

Water Dog · Mar 11, 2018

I guess all I can tell you is hurry up and get some life in your tank!

I just realized that as I was giving you tips as to where to start with your bubble line, that recommendation was for a stocked tank with actual waste to skim. I can’t give you any pointers on how to get better performance from a skimmer with nothing to skim unfortunately. That would be an excercise in futility.