Reefer 450 - Skimmer

Ty Hamatake · Nov 18, 2016

CODE3EMT said:
Oh and before I forget. You WILL have to build a stand for it. The reefer sump is 10 inches of water, rest assure the Vertex will not work that deep. You will need to raise her up to about 7 1/2 to 8 inches to skim properly. Also don't try to just tweak the pipe that controls the water level in the skimmer. You MUST raise it. Good luck, Its a beast of a skimmer......... built like an M1A1 Abrams tank, and comes in a gigantic iPhone type box.

I know the Reefer 450's sump is longer than the 350, but is it taller too? My 350's skimmer chamber sits at 8".

CODE3EMT · Nov 19, 2016

Mmm, I honestly not familiar with the 350. It may have a smaller sump. I know the 450 is definitely 10 inch water height.

jazzmik · Nov 19, 2016

Thanks @CODE3EMT ... no confusion I knew what you meant.

I knew it was big but didn't think there would be much room if I had to raise it. Gonna look like Shaq in one of those Tiny Houses.

jazzmik · Nov 19, 2016

Looking at the specs it seems 350 and 450 same height with the 450 being a little wider. Specs show both 9.4in water height.

CODE3EMT · Nov 19, 2016

Ahhh, cool. Glad you found it. I built a stand using 2 inch tall pvc pipes that I cut....... then I glued them together. I actually tried the egg crate idea but the weight of the skimmer was cracking the egg crate and I was finding small pieces of plastic in my sump. It will be very heavy once in full operation. Get yourself some silicone grease that is potable water safe, as you will need to lightly lube all o-rings. The manufacture calls for this in the manual. Once your dialed in you will most likely find your wedge pipe opened at around oh 40%........this seems to be the number most 180i owners use. Of course it will depend on height of skimmer and fine tuning and may vary slightly from user to user.